Brussels, 08/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is to hold a conference in Amsterdam on 18 and 19 November on the role of teachers in the education system, in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and to be attended by high-ranking civil servants, scientists and representatives of teachers' unions, who will look into ways of ensuring high-quality teaching whilst attracting new teachers into the system. The conference will coincide with the publication of a study entitled "Teachers matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers", the fruit of two years of research in 25 countries. Many teachers who joined the profession in the 1960s and 1970s are now approaching retirement, which will pose problems in terms of replacing their professional experience, but also offers the opportunity to bring significant changes to the teaching body, the study underlines. Various sessions will tackle several specific elements of education policy, such as: how to make teaching more attractive, developing the skills and knowledge of teachers, improving the effectiveness of teachers in schools and getting teachers involved in drawing up and implementing education policies.