Created on: 11 Sep 2024
A major report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) has highlighted the deep inequalities that are present throughout education systems.
The annual Education at a Glance report identifies that inequality starts at the earliest stage, in Early Years Education, and can persist throughout each stage of an individual’s education career and on into life beyond education.
Amongst the most glaring findings in the report are:
The most disadvantaged children who are most in need of quality early education are those least likely to have access to it.
The average number of teaching staff in Early Years has fallen.
The most disadvantaged students do not achieve the same level of educational performance as their more advantaged peers.
These inequalities continue into employment where employability and earnings for those achieving lower educational outcomes are less than for more affluent peers.
Teacher shortages can aggravate inequalities and hold back country performance in PISA tests. At the start of the 2022/23 academic year, 18 out of 21 countries for which data are available faced teacher shortages.
Gender imbalances in fields of study perpetuate stereotypes and inequalities, limiting opportunities for both genders and narrowing perspectives.
On average across OECD countries, tertiary-educated young women working full-time and for the full year earn 83% of the earnings of their male peers.
Commenting on the findings of the Report, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The OECD Education at a Glance report has highlighted some deeply concerning inequalities which are prevalent throughout our education systems and into society beyond, including here in Scotland. As the report highlights, these inequalities start at the earliest stage of education, in the Early Years.
In Scotland, we have seen a significant cuts to teacher numbers in our Early Years settings over the past decade, with serious and damaging consequences for our youngest learners. This cost-cutting in the Early Years has spread to other sectors of our education system too, with cuts to staffing and resources in both the primary and secondary sectors. The truth is that we need substantial additional investment, including more teaching staff, in our Early Years, Primary and Secondary establishments if we are to create a fairer and more equitable education system where all young people have an equal opportunity to learn, thrive and achieve.”
Ms Bradley added, “The Scottish Government has repeatedly stated that it is committed to tackling inequality and to closing the poverty-related attainment gap. This requires much greater investment in our education system and in our teaching professionals. The number of teachers employed across Scotland continues to fall, and the crippling workload placed on teachers continues to increase.
As the OECD report highlights, employing highly qualified, professional teachers, with good working conditions, including fair and sustainable workloads, and paying them well is key to ensuring a high-quality education system which can deliver fair opportunities for all learners. Scotland’s teachers continue to earn less than many of their international counterparts, despite having amongst the largest classes and highest teaching time commitments in the OECD nations.
With a teacher workforce that is around 80% women, rates of pay within teaching are contributing to the gender-pay gap which is also highlighted in the OECD report. Scotland’s schools, Scotland’s young people and Scotland’s teachers deserve better – there must be greater, sustained investment in Education as a vital public service for the benefit of the entire country.”