Fostering Social and Emotional Skills for Well-Being and Social Progress

Children need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional capabilities to adapt to today's demanding, changing and unpredictable world. OECD countries and partner economies recognise the importance on the holistic development of individuals. However, there are big gaps between stakeholders' knowledge, expectations and practices on how to foster such skills. This paper presents evidence on the importance of social and emotional skills; on how policy makers and schools are currently enhancing and monitoring such skills; and, on the existing gaps between knowledge, expectations and practices to mobilise these skills. The paper concludes by pointing ways in which education stakeholders can do more to better develop and mobilise the skills that drive individual's well-being and social progress. The paper draws on findings and frameworks that are being published in a full OECD report entitled ‘Skills for Social Progress: the Power of Social and Emotional Skills’ in the first half of 2015.     

Decomposing achievement gaps among OECD countries

In this study, we use decomposition methods on PISA 2006 data to compare student academic performance across OECD countries. We first establish an empirical model to explain the variation in academic performance across individuals, and then use the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method to decompose the achievement gap between each of the OECD countries and the OECD average. Results indicate that the explained portion of the achievement gap varies across countries. In some countries, our empirical models are able to account for almost all the achievement gap, while unexplained country-specific effects still dominate in other countries. Finally, we use two Asian countries, Japan and Korea, to demonstrate how to identify major factors that have contributed to the observed achievement gap across countries.     

‘Better policies for better lives’?: constructive critique of the OECD’s (mis)measure of student well-being

ABSTRACT

Facing increasing critique that PISA focuses too narrowly on cognitive achievement and human/knowledge capital, the OECD has recently shifted some of its focus to student happiness. The 2017 Students’ Well-Being report distinguishes between ‘happy schools’ and ‘unhappy schools’, showing that among students who combined high performance and life satisfaction, northern European countries topped the charts. Meanwhile, students in East Asian countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea registered the lowest ‘life satisfaction’ scores among all participating countries. This piece points out some of the problems inherent in the OECD’s recent turn to happiness, problematizing the OECD yardstick of life satisfaction. Attempting to keep the critique constructive, we suggest that the OECD may want to consider using alternative metrics, then briefly highlight one developed in East Asia from different first assumptions: the Interdependent Happiness Scale. In conclusion we flag, but cannot answer, some related educational questions concerning policy, pedagogy, and priorities for the future.     

Where do you come from,where do you go? Assessing skills gaps and labour market outcomes for young adults with different immigration backgrounds

Using PISA and PIAAC data from twelve OECD countries, we examine the gap in cognitive skills among immigrants and natives and evaluate how those differences have evolved over time. We also consider how demographics, family background and school quality explain the development of cognitive skills of young people with immigrant backgrounds. The results show, first, that some convergence in skills occurs between second-generation immigrants and natives over time. Second, demographics, family background and school quality variables all contribute to the achievement gaps across different groups.     

Introduction—Improving skills development for employability in an ever-changing world

The article provides an overview of the global economic landscape in which the contemporary skills development discourse is located. Effective skills development oriented to market needs and to competitiveness in high-value global value chains will help developing economies to avoid the middle income trap. It outlines major issues and challenges that developing economies need to deal with in crafting appropriate policies and strategies for skills development: addressing the persistent problem of skills-jobs mismatches, strengthening the participation of the private sector to increase market-oriented training, assuring inclusive growth, preparing for the expansion of green economy opportunities, and increasing emphasis on soft skills. It also provides an introduction to the various articles in the special issue.     

试论制度变迁对东亚经济一体化影响

面对世界经济一体化与区域经济集团化并行的局面,东亚各国必须全力推动本地区经济一体化。但是,东亚经济一体化面临着许多制约因素,其中东亚各国制度变迁与东亚经济一体化的发展脱节对其影响甚大。因此,分析东亚经济一体化过程中体制变迁的必要性,提出行之有效的体制变革方案刻不容缓。     

Institutional governance and management systems in Sub-Saharan Africa higher education: developments and challenges in a Ghanaian Research University

This article examines the developments and challenges of higher education in developing countries. Using a thorough qualitative interview of deans, directors and heads of Department of the University of Ghana, this paper draws on their analysis to discover unexplored issues that affect the universities in developing countries. The study identifies weakness in institutional policies and infrastructure deficiency of higher education in Ghana as key challenging factors. Findings also show congestion of students in academic facilities of learning, teaching overloads and lack of research facilities as key factors hampering academic development in higher education. Therefore, the work advocates for the development of policies that take into account the institutional realities in the field of higher education. Governmental policies aimed at enhancing higher education in developing economies must first improve the existing institutional set up for their chance of success.     

The effects of post-compulsory education and training systems on literacy and numeracy skills: A comparative analysis using PISA 2000 and the 2011 survey of adult skills

This article analyses the contribution of post-compulsory education and training systems to the development of literacy and numeracy skills across OECD countries. While there is extensive cross-country comparative research on the effects of primary and lower secondary education systems on aggregate skills levels, there has been little comparative analysis of system effects after the end of lower secondary education. This article uses a quasi-cohort analysis of the tested literacy and numeracy skills of 15-year-olds in PISA 2000 and 27-year-olds in the 2011 OECD Survey of Adult Skills (SAS) to estimate the gains in different countries in mean levels of competence in literacy and numeracy. We found that Nordic countries (Norway and Sweden) with comprehensive upper secondary education and training systems and German-speaking countries (Austria and Germany) with dual systems of apprenticeship were particular effective, whilst countries with mixed systems (England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Spain) showed a relative decline in both literacy and numeracy. The education system characteristics that account for these differences are (a) the inclusiveness – as proxied by high rates of participation at 17/18 and low social gradients of level 3 completion; (b) the esteem of vocational programmes; and (c) curriculum standardisation with regard to the study of maths and the national language.     

The modality effect on reading literacy: perspectives from students’ online reading habits,cognitive and metacognitive strategies,and web navigation skills across regions

This study tested the effects of the modality of reading formats (electronic vs. print), online reading habits (engagement in different online reading activities), use of cognitive strategies, metacognitive knowledge, and navigation skills on printed and electronic reading literacy across regions. Participants were 31,784 fifteen-year-old students (50.78% female) from 19 countries and economies in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment database. Results showed that students exhibited better reading literacy in the print environment. Moreover, information-seeking activities, control strategies, knowledge of metacognitive strategies, and navigation skills positively predicted reading literacy in both print and electronic formats for all regions, whereas social reading activities negatively predicted reading literacy in print and were most harmful for the Asian region in both formats. Memorization strategies were negatively associated with reading literacy in both formats for Australasian, Western and Eastern EU, and South American regions, but not for the Asian region. Online reading habits, regardless of types, had no impact on reading literacy in both formats for the South American region. The study findings provided suggestions for literacy instruction in the e-learning era across different regions.     

Re‐imagining and rescripting the future of education: global knowledge economy discourses and the challenge to education systems

Using critical discourse analysis as a methodology for analysis, this paper sets out the nature and form of the challenges directed to the compulsory schooling sector by the knowledge economy that is contained in key policy and related documents put out by the OECD, the World Bank and the UK government. The OECD and the World Bank’s policy agendas are increasingly important in setting policy and programme agendas for the developed and developing countries respectively; however there are important differences between the two institutions regarding how education should be redesigned. The World Bank’s redesign of education favours the market and individualism as the means for developing knowledge and skills for the knowledge economy. The OECD, however, while concerned with human capital formation, rejects the market model in favour of an institutionally embedded liberalism to overcome the problems posed by tacit knowledge. The UK, on the other hand, has promoted the idea of personalized learning. The paper suggests that this idea is particularly problematic for developing a system of innovation for the economy that is dependent on high levels of social interaction.

The first half of the twenty‐first century will, I believe, be far more difficult, more unsettling, and yet more open than anything we have known in the twentieth century. I say this on three premises; none of which I have time to argue here. The first is that historical systems, like all systems, have finite lives. They have beginnings, a long development and finally, as they move far from equilibrium and reach points of bifurcation, a demise. The second premise is that two things are true at these points of bifurcation; small inputs have large outputs (as opposed to times of the normal development of the system, when large inputs have small outputs); and the outcome of such bifurcation is inherently indeterminate. The third premise is that the modern world system as a historical system has entered into a terminal crisis and is unlikely to exist in 50 years. However, since its outcome is so uncertain, we do not know whether the resulting system (or systems) will be better or worse than the one in which we are living, but we do know that the period of transition will be a terrible time of troubles, since the stakes of the transition are so high, the outcome so uncertain, and the ability of small impacts to affect the outcome so great. (Wallerstein, 1999, p. 1)     

Assessing the basic skills of the highly educated in 21 OECD countries: an international benchmark study of graduates’ proficiency in literacy and numeracy using the PIAAC 2012 data

This study compares the literacy and numeracy proficiencies of higher education (HE) degree holders in 21 OECD countries based on primary analysis of the national data sets collected via the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2012 study. The differences in the graduates’ average literacy and numeracy proficiencies amongst the OECD countries are substantial. Depending on the country, a smaller or greater proportion of a young highly educated age group does not have sufficient skills in literacy or numeracy to cope with many of the everyday tasks requiring the use of that skill. The PIAAC study challenges existing evaluation practices of the effectiveness of HE in fostering individual skills and puts into perspective the attempts to lift national average skill levels by increasing the HE sector’s intake.     

教育扩张和经济周期下教育经费投入的特征与趋势——基于2008-2018年《经合组织教育概览》的比较分析

随着《中国教育现代化2035》的发布,我国教育迎来新一轮发展,对教育经费的投入也提出了新的要求。在我国当前经济下行压力加大的情况下,考察近年来世界主要经济体在教育扩张和经济周期下教育经费投入的特征和趋势,将具有积极的借鉴意义。因此有必要基于2008-2018年《经合组织教育概览》教育经费投入数据,从规模和结构两大维度比较分析世界主要经济体经费投入的特征与趋势,并对投入—产出机制在其中发挥的重要支配作用进行评析。     

国际社会构建学习型城市 推进终身学习策略综述

"学习型城市"这一概念由发达国家提出,最早主要由经济合作与发展组织和欧盟推动,但现在它已经在向发展中国家不断延伸。随着发展中国家城市化进程的加快,政府部门需要发挥重要作用来制订详细的计划和目标,通过教育机构、教学手段和政治举措促进全民学习。建设学习型城市面临着挑战与风险,不能仅仅停留在概念和理论层面上,而是要有改革的实际行动,政府要有明确的、可持续的政治意愿和承诺,为学习者创造出大量的学习机会。联合国教科文组织应当加强与成员国的通力合作,通过学习型城市网络的建设,营造出更多更好的学习型城市。     

One-third of the globe: The future of higher education in China and India

China and India together account for almost 25% of the world’s postsecondary student population. Most of the enrolment growth in the coming several decades will be in developing countries, and China and India will contribute a significant proportion of that expansion, since China currently educates only about 20% and India 10% of the age cohort. Both countries are expanding the higher education sector, while at the same time seeking to improve its quality. Challenges of funding, educating qualified academics, and building a sustainable academic culture are significant. An emerging private higher education sector and developing masters and doctoral programmes are additional pressures. Internationalization is a key factor as well, as both countries seek to expand their global profile and develop strategies for international programmes. Also, higher education development is central to future economic growth of these two of the world’s fastest growing economies.     

适时调整高等教育结构以应社会发展之需——东南亚国家高等教育改革与发展的基本经验

20世纪是东南各国高等教育取得重大发展的时期。本文分析了东南亚各国根据社会经济发展的需求，采取有效措施，及时调整高等教育结构及发展速度和办学方向，从而，促进了本国经济的发展。     

Cross-national perspectives on the role of assessment in counselling: A preliminary report

This preliminary report examines the role of formal assessment in the counselling process from a cross-national perspective. Counsellors and counsellor-educators from twenty countries were surveyed to determine the extent to which they use formal assessment procedures in counselling and the types of assessment instruments being used. Results indicated that many, but not all, counsellors use assessment instruments. In non-North American countries, there is some tendency to use instruments developed in the North American context, with or without modifications to test content and norms. This preliminary study suggests a perceived need for development of culture-specific assessment tools, and the implications for counsellor training of developing counselling and assessment skills with cross-cultural relevance.     

对日本自由贸易政策的评析

长期以来日本坚持参与关贸总协定和世界贸易组织的多边谈判,却不愿意参与地区优惠协定。但近年来日本开始改变政策,致力于与东亚国家建立自由贸易区。这一变化的原因主要在于国际上有被边缘化的压力,以及国内经济改革的期望,东亚政治战略考虑以及美国政策变化等。日本参与东亚自由贸易区的道路将极其困难,主要的阻力将来自于日本国内以及与东亚国家政治关系的困扰。     

小议如何在经济全球化背景下实现中国经济的健康发展

经济全球化是一把＂双刃剑＂,它一方面有利于加强各国经济的联系与相互依赖,促进世界经济的发展;另一方面又会对各国经济,尤其是弱小国家和发展中国家经济发展带来挑战与威胁。本文浅析了经济全球化背景下中国经济发展的机遇与挑战,并就如何应对参与经济全球化,保障中国经济健康发展提出了四条策略。     

Positioning higher education for the knowledge based economy

This article questions the assumption that increasing competition among higher education institutions is the best method of achieving a strong higher education sector in developing countries. It notes that there has been increasing emphasis on the importance of higher education institutions for sustainable development, particularly because of their importance to the global knowledge economy. For the same reason, the appropriate management of the relationship between the state and higher education institutions is vital to a strong and dynamic future for these institutions. This paper proposes a menu of options for higher education governance, grouped around ‘state-centric’ and ‘neo-liberal’ models of development. The ‘state-centric’ model proposed is based on a variety of examples of high performing Asian economies, in particular, while the ‘neo-liberal’ model is based on emerging trends in higher education management in countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The paper suggests that despite pressure across the globe to encourage a market among universities, this may not always be the most efficient use of resources, or the best way to integrate universities in a country’s drive for economic growth.