THE MAIN RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY OF BEYOND ACADEMIC LEARNING

Digest №23. THE OECD REPORT ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS – BEYOND ACADEMIC LEARNING

The results from the OECD Survey of Social and Emotional Skills are summarized and divided into five areas: characteristics of students and schools, academic achievements, psychological well-being, creativity, attitude towards bullying and school.

This study is not aimed to propose fundamentally new conclusions.  The results of the study prove that those patterns known from the old days are still present in the participating schools. The results from the OECD Beyond Academic Learning provide scientific evidence justifying the need for the further research of social and emotional status of students that has previously attracted public attention.

Moreover, considering the limited number of studies on emotional intelligence and social skills and their influence on students’ performance, such reports as Beyond Academic Learning make the case for social and emotional skills in an educational context.

Demographics and social and emotional skills.  One of the clearest findings of the survey is that 15-year-old students have lower scores on most social and emotional skills than 10-year-old children. This implies that over time children’s tolerance and self-control is increasing, while optimism, confidence and energy is decreasing. The girls’ scores are much lower than that of boys for many factors. The socio-economic status of students is also of great importance for the development of social and emotional skills.

The most important aspect of the survey is the difference in performance between schools and within schools. While there is a slight difference in basic skills between different schools, the differences between students of the same school are significant. These gaps may occur at the level of a class however this data has not been considered in the study. Two children with the same abilities can attend two different schools and expect completely different results from themselves. This suggests that non-cognitive skills depend on the context.

Academic achievements. The results of this strand are also clear. Firstly, the academic achievements of those children who are motivated to learn and pursue their goals will be correspondingly high. This implies that schools should be able to engage these students through the educational process. Secondly, this requires striking a balance between adapting the academic environment to the students’ needs and encouraging them to be autonomous learners. Therefore:

• The positive relationship has been identified between the level of trust of 15-year-old students and their performance in mathematics;
• The students’ motivation to learn influences their willingness or unwillingness to continue their education in the future;
• Social and emotional skills and the choice of future occupation influence each other. Students may choose an occupation according to their characters or develop the skills required for future occupation. This should be considered when providing career guidance at schools.

Psychological well-being. There are numerous factors influencing the students’ well-being such as optimism, stress resistance and emotional management.  The OECD experts also note the relationship between competitiveness and support. In a competitive environment, students need social and psychological support to increase their well-being.

Creativity. The survey shows that children with high level of creativity are highly motivated and persistent in learning, although they could have various levels of skills of self-management and emotional management skills.  Moreover, the level of creativity is decreasing over time, and to a greater extent for girls rather than boys.

Bullying and student relationships. In the final part of the digest, the OECD experts review the issues of bullying, student-student relationships and their views on their place in school life. Students who consider themselves part of the school have higher levels of interaction and optimism, while the student-teacher relationship has a positive influence on optimism, motivation to learn and sociability. Overall, boys at younger ages are more susceptible to bullying, while girls in later years are less likely to see themselves as part of the school.

References:

OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning: First Results from the Survey of Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris.