Brussels, 01/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to the OECD, pupils in Asian countries are better prepared for obtaining a job on a labour market that is increasingly demanding in terms of the skills it requires. On 1 April, the OECD published the first assessments from the PISA Programme (Programme for International Student Assessment of the OECD) on creative problem-solving methods.
The OECD measured the performance of around 85,000 15-year-olds in 44 countries and economies of the OECD, in terms of resolution of real-life problems which they had never before encountered and for which they had not been taught a solution. On average, 11.4% of 15-year-old students were considered to be effective performers in solving such problems.
Andreas Schleicher from the OECD said that, “Today's 15-year-olds with poor problem-solving skills will become tomorrow's adults struggling to find or keep a good job”. He added that decision-makers and those responsible for education should reform their education systems and teaching programmes to help pupils develop problem-solving abilities, which are increasingly required in contemporary economies.
Asia at the top. The study reveals that Asian students are in the lead, with two countries ahead of them all: Singapore (562) and South Korea (561), out of an OECD average established at 500 points. Japan, Macao (China), Hong Kong (China), Shanghai (China) and Chinese Taipei are also in the top group. Nine European Union countries achieve a score above the OECD average, together with Canada, Australia and the United States, but they do not, however, achieve the levels of the Asian countries quoted (Finland, the United Kingdom, Estonia, France, the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium).
Socio-economic status has little impact. The countries that achieve good scores in basic subjects (mathematics, reading comprehension and science) do not necessarily have good scores in complex problem solving. This is the case in the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, where pupils were more successful in problem solving than in the main basic subjects taught at school. Nonetheless, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were still more than twice as likely on average to have worse results compared to their fellow pupils from wealthier backgrounds.
One out of five pupils is not up to tackling the job market. Although only one out of nine pupils is able to solve the most complex problems (OECD average), this proportion falls to one out of five pupils in Singapore, South Korea and Japan. Throughout the whole of the OECD, one out of five pupils is unable to solve the simplest problem, which means that these pupils do not have the basic skills required for entering the labour market.
Boys outperforming girls. The disparities between boys and girls in the most complex problem solving are low, particularly among poor performers in this area. Nonetheless, boys obtain better results, except in Australia, Finland and Norway. As an OECD average, there are three boys for every two girls who are the best problem solvers. In 23 countries, boys outperform girls; in five countries, girls outperform boys and there is no significant difference in the remaining 16 countries. (IL)