Imagine it: an education conference in the heart of Kyiv, where every speaker is preparing for an air raid siren to go off at any moment. And yet—or perhaps because of it—policymakers, researchers, teachers, and foreign experts are sitting there together thinking about how to better train, support, and value teachers. In times of war, in the middle of an ongoing crisis, not to keep things going but to fundamentally reform education. Andreas Schleicher wrote about it on the OECD education blog.

What is happening in Kyiv and the surrounding area is more than symbolic. Ukraine has been implementing an ambitious educational reform for years under the name ‘New Ukrainian School’, and is inspired by Finland and Singapore, among others. An important focus: how do we make teaching a strong, attractive, sustainable profession? Not by constantly setting up new hoops for beginning teachers to jump through, but by thinking about learning paths, careers and professional growth. With real classroom experiences, with mentors, with room for reflection and collaboration. And with appreciation for expertise, including that of lateral entrants or people with different backgrounds.

That sounds logical, perhaps even familiar. And yet, according to Schleicher, research by the OECD shows that in many countries, precisely that deep, shared professional development is lacking. Teachers often still learn too much alone, at times in ways that do not suit their needs, or without a clear link to what they really need in the classroom. Ukraine wants to tackle that differently—even now, or better: certainly now.

The numbers are surprising. Between 2018 and 2022, Ukrainian students’ math proficiency declined less than in many other countries, despite war and mass school closures. An OECD survey also shows that Ukrainian 15-year-olds feel better at school than their peers elsewhere on average—they feel more seen, less anxious, and less angry, as if school offers some kind of anchor in a sea of ​​uncertainty.

And that may be the real lesson. Education is vulnerable – but also incredibly powerful. Not just to transfer knowledge, but to offer perspective. Not just to prepare for exams, but to continue to search together for something better.

What Ukraine shows us is not a blueprint that you can simply copy—preferably, there is no war here. But it does remind us of something fundamental: the quality of an education system depends on the people who make a difference there every day and on the way we help them grow, even—or perhaps just—in the most difficult circumstances.