Towards a Better Future

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Chapter Eleven: The Financing and Resourcing of Education at Primary and Post-Primary Levels CHAPTER ELEVEN The Financing and Resourcing of Education at Primary and Post-Primary Levels: What Can We Learn from the OECD’s Education at a Glance? INTRODUCTION The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has its roots in the establishment of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in 1948 to run the Marshall Plan for the re-construction of post-war Europe. In 1961, with the addition of the U.S., Canada and 18 other countries to its membership and a new OECD Convention, the OECD officially came into being. There are now 35 member countries in Europe, North and South America and Asia, of which 22 are members of the European Union. Ireland joined in 1961. The stated mission of the OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. (www.oecd.org) — 167 —
Towards a Better Future: A Review of the Irish School System The OECD Directorate for Education and Skills develops and analyses quantitative, internationally comparable indicators and it publishes these annually in a volume entitled Education at a Glance. Together with OECD country policy reviews, the stated purpose of these indicators is to assist governments in building more effective and equitable education systems. The most recent editions of this report at the time of writing were 2015 and 2016. As with so many compendiums of official statistics, there is a time lag in the availability and analysis of data. Most of the figures in the 2015 Education at a Glance refer to the years 2012 or 2013 and the figures in the 2016 edition refer mainly to the year 2013/14. In this chapter, we draw upon these two volumes to provide a picture of the financing and resourcing of selected aspects of education in Ireland, in comparison with OECD and EU averages, and with selected other countries. All references to Education at a Glance 2015 and 2016 will be indicated by page numbers. SOME DEFINITIONS Some key terms must be understood when reading the comparative information provided by the OECD on financing and resourcing. The indicators on costs, salaries and expenditure are normally expressed in US dollars (USD). To provide more accurate comparisons, the data for each country are also converted using Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs). When expressing costs/expenditure etc. they are calculated for each country in relation to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). All definitions can be reviewed on the OECD website www.oecd.org. Purchasing Power Parities These are the rates of currency conversion that equalize the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between countries. In their simplest form, PPPs are simply price relatives that show the ratio of the prices in national currencies of the same goods or services in different countries. PPPs are also calculated for product groups and for each of the various levels of aggregation up to and including GDP. Expenditure and costs are expressed in USD throughout the Education at a Glance volumes. We will use the $ to indicate USD where relevant. Gross Domestic Product The OECD state that Gross Domestic Product or income (GDP) is the aggregate used most frequently to represent the economic size of countries and, on a per capita basis, the economic wellbeing of residents. Calculating PPPs is the first step in the process of converting the level of GDP and its major aggregates, expressed in national currencies, into a common currency to enable these comparisons to be made. Reading from an Irish perspective there are a couple of things to consider. A country’s progress can be measured in a number of ways. The most commonly-used measures are the rate of national economic growth (or income) as measured by Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic — 168 —
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Towards a Better Future

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