Education: The Global Challenges Facing Schools

A new report by Ipsos on global attitudes towards education and schools has highlighted the breadth of issues that affect different systems around the world. More than 1,000 respondents took part in each of the 30 countries surveyed between June 21 and July 5, 2024. 

A third of respondents in the U.S. say that political or ideological bias is the greatest challenge facing their country’s educational system today. Similarly, 30 percent of adults in Hungary and Poland felt the same. Worry over their children's safety was the second most commonly picked concern in the U.S. at 31 percent. It was also a main concern in France (30 percent), India, Mexico and Brazil (24 percent each).

In Indonesia, six in ten respondents stated that unequal access to education was the greatest issue troubling the schooling system, with the next two most commonly selected answers inadequate infrastructure (36 percent) and insufficient usage of technology (30 percent). Meanwhile, in the UK, a lack of public funding was cited by 40 percent of respondents, marking the largest share of the 30 countries polled, followed by several South American nations (Colombia at 37 percent, Chile at 36 percent and Brazil at 35 percent). 

The survey also found that the most positive perceptions of education systems were primarily in Asia. Adults in several countries across the region were also more likely to say that they thought the education system in their country is contributing to reducing social inequalities. For example, the vast majority of respondents in India (72 percent) agreed with this statement, as well as Singapore (68 percent), Thailand (66 percent), Indonesia (64 percent) and Malaysia (63 percent). At the other end of the spectrum of 30 countries were Turkey (34 percent) and Hungary (30 percent).