How can education build trust in a polarised world_Jonathan James_OECD .pptx

Jonathan James, Analyst, OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation presents at the OECD webinar 'How can education build trust in a polarised world?' on 17 October 2025 https://oecdedutoday.com/webinars/ with data from https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/trends-shaping-education-2025_ee6587fd-en.html

1. How can education build trust in a polarised world? OECD Education Webinar Jonathan James, Analyst 17 October 2025 OECD Directorate for Education and Skills

2. Launching Monday 22 October (link to follow) Available online: scan the QR code or download from: https://doi.org/10.1787/ee6587fd-en

3. Why is this a pivotal moment for trust? Democracies face external pressures… and internal strains Climate change Geopolitical tensions Economic uncertainty Declining voter turnout Growing polarisation Mis- and disinformation

4. Democracy in decline? Voter turnout in parliamentary elections by world region (1960-2023) TRENDS SHAPING EDUCATION 2025 © OECD 2025 , https://doi.org/10.1787/ee6587fd-en Source: International IDEA (2024), “Voter Turnout Database” (Database), https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/voter-turnout-database .

5. Polarisation - a symptom and a driver of distrust? Vote share of parties by category, 31 European countries (1993-2022) Source: OECD (2025), Trends Shaping Education 2025, https://doi.org/10.1787/ee6587fd-en , based on Rooduijin et al., (2023) Affective polarisation: Dislike or distrust for those associated with opposing political views

6. OECD Trust Survey 2023 Share of population with high or moderately high trust in the national government by age, level of education and political agency, OECD average (2023) Source: OECD (2024), OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions – 2024 Results: Building Trust in a Complex Policy Environment , OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9a20554b-en., Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en . OECD average 44% low or no trust 39% High or moderately high trust

7. Two types of trust Trust “ A person’s belief that another person or institution will act consistently with their expectation of positive behaviour” (OECD, 2024) Interpersonal trust Institutional trust

8. The Common Thread: Building Trust through Education Lifelong learning approaches that foster strong foundational skills Civic education that teaches students about democracy and lets them practice it Trustworthy educational institutions that show competence , honesty , and reliability

9. People with stronger numeracy skills show higher interpersonal trust Adults aged 25-65 reporting positive outcomes for trust, by numeracy proficiency level (2023) Figure 3 High skills, 51% Low skills, 25% Improve foundational skills for people of all ages Source: OECD (2024e), Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World?: Survey of Adult Skills 2023, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b263dc5d-en .

10. Civic education that teaches students about democracy and lets them practice it CIVIC KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTITUDES An open classroom climate Opportunities to discuss social and political issues openly Cultivate a supportive environment F ramework for teaching controversial issues (Pace, 2022) Address emotions Student engagement (e.g., student councils, participatory budgeting) Resilience to false and misleading content 78% 41% Source: ICCS 2022 Diversify offer Widen scope Ensure inclusion Professional learning Classroom strategies Community engagement Key drivers A coordinated approach Prepare thoroughly