Data on participation in vocational programmes provide insights on the importance of VET in the education and training systems of different countries, where there is considerable variation, especially at upper secondary level. Participation patterns are also sometimes viewed as an indicator of the attractiveness of VET. This is indeed the case in countries where enrolment in vocational rather than a general programmes is a matter of student choice, subject to few or no constraints. In many countries, however, student choice is subject to various constraints. Half of the countries that participated in the 2022 Survey of Upper Secondary Completion Rates report that students’ choices are limited by their school performance (e.g. grades in lower secondary education). Performance in an external examination is a factor in nine countries and teacher or school recommendations matter in seven countries. Finally, in four countries the type of lower secondary education pursued limits the upper secondary options available to students. Only six countries with available information report that students’ choice of upper secondary programme was entirely unconstrained (see the Dashboard on Upper Secondary Education Systems).

There is a growing consensus among OECD countries about the importance of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Research from a variety of contexts suggests that participation in high-quality ECEC is associated with positive outcomes in both the short and long term (OECD, 2021[7]). Some ECEC programmes have been shown to help children develop their cognitive, social and emotional skills. The progress that children make at a young age can have a lasting impact on their academic performance, well-being and earnings in later life (García et al., 2020[8]; Heckman and Karapakula, 2021[9]). Identifying which aspects of ECEC services constitute high-quality provision is therefore of great policy interest. The quality of ECEC provision has often been considered in terms of the structure of services and of the processes at work within settings (Slot, 2018[10]). Structural characteristics cover the infrastructure and organisation of ECEC services, such as group sizes, funding arrangements, types of staff and workforce training. Meanwhile, process quality concerns the daily interactions that occur between children and their environment as part of their ECEC programme, including their relationships with their peers, staff, families, communities and physical surroundings (Cadima et al., 2020[11]).

On average across the countries and other participants with true cohort data (see the Definitions and Methodology sections), 72% of students who enter upper secondary education graduate from any programme within the theoretical duration of the programme. Two years after the end of the theoretical duration, the average completion rate increases to 82% (Table B3.1). This delay in completion for some students may reflect various factors, including grade repetition, changes in programme choice or delayed fulfilment of the requirements for graduation.

Tertiary education is the most flexible and diverse level of education today, with a vast array of programmes on offer, from professional courses that provide students with practical skills to enter the labour market directly, to research-oriented degrees that prepare students for doctoral studies and academia. As a non-compulsory level of education, there is a variety of different pathways for those who wish to pursue further education after secondary school and students may engage in other personal or professional activities before starting their tertiary education.

Students who are interested in pursuing tertiary education have access to a variety of pathways in different countries. The vast majority of OECD countries promote academic, professional or vocational programmes at the bachelor's level to develop necessary competencies for students attending tertiary education. On average, 77% of first-time tertiary graduates in OECD countries obtain a bachelor’s degree (Figure B5.1). In 13 countries, the share is 85% or above and it is 100% in Greece where a bachelor’s degree is the only pathway available to those entering tertiary education for the first-time (Table B5.1).

Many factors at the individual, institutional, national and global levels drive patterns of international student mobility. These include personal ambitions and aspirations for better employment prospects, a lack of high-quality higher educational institutions at home, the capacity of higher education institutions abroad to attract talent and government policies to encourage cross-border mobility for education (Bhandari, Robles and Farrugia, 2020[12]). The needs of increasingly knowledge-based and innovation-driven economies have increased the global demand for tertiary education, while increasing wealth in emerging economies has prompted the children of the growing middle classes to seek educational opportunities abroad. Simultaneously, economic (e.g. costs of international flights), technological (e.g. the spread of the Internet and social media enabling contacts to be maintained across borders) and cultural factors (e.g. use of English as a common working and teaching language) have contributed to rendering international study substantially more affordable and accessible than it was previously.