CHAPTER D – Indicator D1: How much time do students spend in the classroom?

OECD

CHAPTER D – Teachers, the learning environment, and the organisation of schools

 

Indicator D1: How much time do students spend in the classroom?

 

This chapter of the OECD Report covers the time spent by students in the classroom. It discusses how providing instruction in formal classroom settings accounts for a large portion of public investment in education and the fact that it is up to countries themselves to make the choices that concern both the overall amount of time devoted to instruction and the subjects that are compulsory. The choices reflect national and/or regional priorities and preferences concerning what material students should be taught and at what age. Almost all countries have statutory or regulatory requirements regarding hours of instruction. According to the report, primary education lasts six years on average across OECD countries and economies, ranging from four to seven years. On the other hand, lower secondary education lasts three years on average across OECD countries and economies, ranging from two to five years.

The number of grades allocated to each level of compulsory education may differ within countries, across subnational entities. Countries allocate annual instruction time differently over the year, and the number of instruction days and their distribution throughout the school year may vary accordingly, as it is dependent on the countries’ cultural and traditional holiday structures. OECD countries additionally vary in the way they organise recess and breaks within the school day, however, in most countries, the organisation of breaks is usually similar at primary and lower secondary levels.

Intended instruction time is the total number of hours during which schools are obliged to offer instruction in compulsory and, if applicable, non-compulsory subjects. This is defined at a national level, as are the total statutory number of hours on intended and/or compulsory instruction time. In the case of federal or decentralised countries, the latter may be defined by the subnational or regional levels. Instruction time may differ among subnational entities within a single country. Variations in the annual amount of instruction hours can translate into significant variation in the total number of hours of instruction over the whole duration of primary education.

Compulsory instruction time refers to the amount and allocation of instruction time that must be provided in almost every public school and must be attended by almost all public sector students, as per public regulations. The report highlights that students receive 4,590 hours of compulsory instruction over 6 years of primary education and 3,049 hours during 3 years of lower secondary general education on average across OECD countries. Compulsory instruction time per year generally increases with age, so it only captures the time spent by students in formal classroom settings (as established by public regulations). In more than two-thirds of OECD countries and economies (21 out of 33 countries) and economies at primary level and 25 countries and economies at lower secondary level), instruction was delivered via distance learning during school closures in 2020. (OECD/UIS/UNESCO/UNICEF/WB, 2021)

The year of reference for the above figure is 2020.

Source: OECD (2021), D1.1 (https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-aglance/EAG2021_Annex3_ChapterD.pdf)

 

In about three out of five countries and economies with available data, there is no non-compulsory instruction time, meaning that intended and compulsory instruction time are the same for primary and lower secondary students. In another two-fifths of the countries and economies, intended instruction time includes both compulsory instruction time and a specified amount of non-compulsory instruction time: six countries at primary level and seven at lower secondary level. On average across OECD countries, 42% of the compulsory instruction time is devoted to providing students with fundamental skills in literacy and numeracy: 25% on reading, writing, and literature, and 17% on mathematics. Religion, ethics, and moral education; information and communication technologies (ICT); technology; practical and vocational skills; and other subjects make up the remainder of the non-flexible compulsory curriculum at the primary level, representing about 12% of the compulsory instruction time on average across OECD countries. At the lower secondary level, there is substantial variation in how countries allocate time to the different subjects within the compulsory curriculum. The difference between the primary and secondary levels of education shows that there are major differences in the allocation of time to school subjects the older the students grow. Across ages, there are also changes in the proportion of instruction time devoted to other subjects.

In most countries, central and state authorities establish regulation or recommendations regarding instruction time and the curriculum. However, local authorities, schools, teachers, and/or students also have varying degrees of freedom in organising instruction time or in choosing subjects. Despite this, flexibility in the choice of subjects is less common across OECD countries. Curriculum flexibility allows more agile interventions to minimise the impact of learning interruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional activities before and after classes offered by the school are not per se part of the non-compulsory curriculum. Particularly, non-compulsory education excludes morning care classes or after-school care classes, even if they are officially regulated.

 

Original text written by OECD

Summary author Olga Ruiz Pilato