The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has published "Education at a Glance 2009, OECD Indicators". The publication includes information on education in the 30 member countries. Additional information can be found for Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation and Slovenia. The data are mainly from the school year 2006-2007. The majority of data on Iceland are based on information from Statistics Iceland.
The publication comprises four chapters that discuss: The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning; financial and human resources invested in education; access to education, participation and progression, and the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The publication includes numerous tables and charts. Additional material can be found on the OECD website.
Incentives to stay in education are likely to rise over the next years
The OECD’s annual publication, Education at a Glance, is now published at a time when there are difficulties in the world’s economy. Since the publication is mostly based on data from the school year 2006-2007 the effects of the financial crisis are not yet visible in the data in the publication. According to the OECD it is likely that there will be incentives for people to take part in education over the next years due to the financial crisis. The OECD points out that education is a good investment and that the net public return from an investment in tertiary education is more than 50,000 USD on average for a student in the OECD countries. At the time of an economic downturn the opportunity costs for students due to a loss in earnings while studying are smaller than in a better financial situation. At the same time it is more difficult for new graduates to enter the labour market, where they compete with older, more experienced workers for jobs. Younger people with little education, who lose their jobs, are more likely to be long-term unemployed. With increasing participation of young people in education the gap between well educated young people and less educated older people is widened, leaving the older workers more vulnerable if they lose their job. The governments need to examine how best to organise continuing education to meet the needs of older people, according to the OECD. It is expected that expenditure on education will be thoroughly examined and it will be debated how best to finance education.
At the same time the OECD points to data depicting the possible social consequences of education. Those who are more educated are more likely to be in better health, show more political interest and interpersonal trust.
Iceland spends more on education than any other OECD country
Iceland’s expenditure on educational institutions amounted to 8.0% of GDP in 2006 which puts Iceland in first place among the OECD countries (figure 1). The weighted average for the OECD was 6.1% of GDP and the average for the OECD countries was 5.7%. Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP has remained stable in Iceland since 2003, when expenditure on pre-primary education was included for the first time. A total of 18.1% of public expenditure was devoted to education in Iceland in 2006 while the average for the OECD countries was 13.3%.
In general it can be stated that a country’s age distribution and participation in education has considerable influence when comparing expenditure on education. Expenditure is usually higher in countries with a young population and where students are a large proportion of the population, as is the case in Iceland.
When considering expenditure per student from primary to tertiary education the OECD countries spend on average 7,840 USD per student in 2006, while Iceland spent 8,823 USD on average per student. The number of students at the tertiary level in Iceland increased by 54% from the year 2000 to 2006. Expenditure on educational institutions at the tertiary level did not keep up with student numbers and in 2006 the expenditure was 90% of the expenditure per student in 2000. When considering the compulsory and upper secondary levels combined, the expenditure per student increased by 35% in Iceland during the same period.
An increasing number of foreign students in Iceland
For the first time data from Iceland are published in Education at a Glance on mobile students, i.e. students moving from one country to another for the purpose of studying. Exchange students are not included when that information is available. Mobile students in tertiary education in Iceland were 5.2% of all students during the school year 2006-2007 and 11.9% of students when only the doctorate level (ISCED 6) was considered. When only looking at foreign citizens in tertiary education in Iceland they were 4.9% of students and 14.4% of students at ISCED level 6 (figure 2). Icelandic universities attract a growing number of foreign students and the number of foreign citizens studying in Icelandic universities has almost doubled since the school year 1999-2000.
More new entrants to the tertiary level than graduates with the matriculation examination in Iceland
There are more new entrants to the tertiary level in Iceland than graduate with the matriculation examination at the upper secondary level, the exam granting admission to tertiary education. Iceland has one of the highest net entry rates into tertiary-type A education of all OECD countries at 73%, while the OECD average is 56%. When accounting for the foreign students the net entry rate in Iceland is 61%. Net entry rates are computed by dividing the number of new entrants in each age group by the population of that age group, then adding up the rates for the total.
Twice as many women as men graduate from academic programmes at the tertiary level in Iceland
The net graduation rate at the tertiary level of education is the highest in Iceland of all OECD countries. The net rate for first-time graduation for tertiary-type A programmes is 63.1% in Iceland while the average for OECD countries is 38.7%. The graduation rate in Iceland is 88.7% for females and 39.5% for males. Nowhere in the OECD countries is the difference between the sexes greater than in Iceland. The net graduation rate is computed by adding up age-specific graduation rates.
Icelandic compulsory school teachers use 75% of lesson time on teaching
The OECD undertook the so-called TALIS survey on teachers and principals at the lower secondary level in 24 countries during the school year 2007-2008. In Iceland teachers and principals at the primary level also took part. The survey results show that teachers in the participating countries spend approximately 80% of lesson time on teaching, while a part of the lesson time is spent on maintaining order in the class and on administrative tasks. In Iceland the proportion is 75% while almost 17% of the lesson time is spent on maintaining order in the classroom, which is among the highest proportion in the TALIS countries. In 13.8% of schools in the participating countries there had not been any evaluation of the school in the past 5 years, while the corresponding proportion for Iceland was 5.0%. In general teachers have a positive attitude towards an evaluation of their work and believe that it increases job satisfaction as well as making their work more effective. Three out of every four teachers in the TALIS countries do not expect to be rewarded for increasing the quality of their work. Teachers in Iceland are rather satisfied in their job and have high self-efficacy. They follow the constructivist view on teaching more than teachers in any other TALIS country, but according to these ideas students are active participants in the search for knowledge and find their own solutions to problems.
The basic salary of teachers as a proportion of GDP is the second lowest in Iceland
The ratio of teachers’ salaries in compulsory education after 15 years of experience when compared with GDP per capita is 0.71 in 2006-2007. Only in Norway is the ratio lower than in Iceland or 0.68. The average for the OECD countries is 1.17 at the primary school level and 1.23 at the lower secondary level. At the upper secondary level the situation is similar; there the ratio is 0.90 for Iceland, 0.72 for Norway but 1.30 on average for the OECD countries. The OECD points out that care must be taken when teachers’ salaries are compared internationally. Teaching time is different between countries and class size varies. Additional payments are not included, neither are taxes nor various other public payments.
OECD’s press release on Education at a Glance can be found on the OECD website.