OECD/France Workshop, 23-24 May 2011
Innovation Strategy for
Education and Training: the
general framework
Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin
OECD/CERI
The context
• OECD Innovation Strategy (MCM 2010)
– Importance of innovation for growth
– « Empower people to innovate »
• OECD Skills Strategy (MCM 2012)
– Identify and assess essential skills for growth and how they
are developed
• CERI Innovation Strategy for Education and
Training:
– Education and skills for innovation
– Innovation in education
INNOVATION IN EDUCATION
Innovation strategy
for the education sector
• Stimulating science-driven innovation
• Stimulating business-driven innovation
• Stimulating teacher-driven innovation
• Stimulating user-driven innovation
 Innovation = radical innovation or continuous
improvement
Some policy instruments
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Educational Research
Educational development
Market mechanisms
Assessment
Curriculum policy
School organisation
Educational information systems
Innovation and experimentation funds
SKILLS AND EDUCATION FOR
INNOVATION
Skills/qualifications for Innovation
• Do skills matter for innovation?
– Yes, the lack of qualified personnel within the business and the
sector is quoted as one of the top impediments to innovation by
innovative businesses
• What skills/qualifications foster innovation in the economy?
– A broad mix of skills: scientific and non-scientific; general and
vocational
• Has recent innovation led to a change in the level and type of
education demanded?
– Evidence of hollowing out of wage distribution in the US, Canada,
EU-15 (skill biased technical change + something else)
• Are certain uses of workforce skills associated with more
innovation?
– Yes, learning organisations where employees learn, are trained and
have discretion are also associated with more lead innovation
– There are different national « cultures » about that
Individual Skills for Innovation
• Literacy and numeracy: « foundation » skills are key to access
lifelong learning (upper secondary education?)
• What individual competences for innovation (« 21st Century
skills ») should people acquire to contribute to innovation as
producers and users?
– Subject-based skills (know-what and know-how)
– Skills in thinking and creativity (critical thinking,
imagination, curiosity)
– Behavioural and social skills (self-confidence, energy,
passion, leadership, collaboration, communication)
• Departing from classification between « cognitive »/ « noncognitive » skills or « hard »/« soft » skills
Education for innovation
• Competences to be stimulated:
– Creativity
– Entrepreneurship
– Interest in learning
• Educational policy questions:
– How broad/narrow should be the curriculum?
– How to develop all categories of skills simultaneously?
– What change in teaching and assessment practices?
• Limited current evidence:
– Importance of traditional academic competences
– Importance of specialisation
How to foster these skills?
• What do we know about the impact of some curricula
and pedagogies on specific skills belonging to these
broad categories at different educational levels:
– Arts education
– STEM education
– Entrepreneurship education
• What are the promising ideas and practices in this
area?
• What policy measures could we propose to policy
makers and practitioners?
Stephan.Vincent-Lancrin@oecd.org
THANK YOU
www.oecd.org/edu/innovation