International Keynote: The OECD Teaching Compass: Navigating curriculum change and teacher agency in a complex world

In a rapidly changing global landscape, education systems are being challenged to prepare young people for futures we cannot fully predict. Building on the OECD Learning Compass 2030, the newly launched OECD Teaching Compass provides a practical framework to empower teachers and school leaders as agents of curriculum change — strengthening professional agency, the competences, and the well-being needed to help all learners thrive. At the heart of the Teaching Compass is its “anchor,” which recognises teachers’ being, belonging, and becoming — rooted in professional identity, dignity, integrity, sense of purpose, and the capacity for sense-making and meaning-making. Drawing on examples from OECD countries and beyond, this keynote will show how the Teaching Compass can be applied to align teaching practices with long-term learning goals, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration (including STEM/STEAM), and equip educators to respond confidently to emerging challenges. It will also explore how teachers can navigate the volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) of today’s world — particularly in the era of generative AI. OECD (2020), Curriculum Overload: A Way Forward, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/3081ceca-en https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-teaching-compass_8297a24a-en.html Future of Education and Skills 2030/2040 | OECD OECD (2020), What Students Learn Matters: Towards a 21st Century Curriculum, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/d86d4d9a-en OECD (2024), An Evolution of Mathematics Curriculum: Where It Was, Where It Stands and Where It Is Going, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/0ffd89d0-en OECD (2024), Curriculum Flexibility and Autonomy: Promoting a Thriving Learning Environment, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/eccbbac2-en