This document discusses the relationship between education and interpersonal trust. It analyzes data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) regarding levels of trust among adults in different countries. It finds that countries with higher average literacy scores on PIAAC also tend to have populations with higher levels of trust. Additionally, it shows that individuals with higher educational attainment themselves, as well as those who had fathers with higher education, are more likely to express trust in others. Overall, the document argues that education plays an important role in building and maintaining interpersonal trust through enhancing skills, socialization, and occupational outcomes.
2. Trust in educational
governance
Trust in schools and
teachers
Trust in the pedagogical
relationship
Trust as an learnable
skill and attitude
2
Interpersonal Trust
Social Capital
Stakeholders
Families
Community
Learners
EDUCATION
Trust
3. Educational roots of trust
Analysis of PIAAC data with
focus on interpersonal trust
“There are only a few
people you can trust
completely”
“If you are not careful,
other people will take
advantage of you”
4. Likelihood of positive social and economic
outcomes among highly literate adults
Source: Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) (2012)
5. The relationship between
interpersonal trust and literacy
Australia
Austria
Flemish Community of
Belgium
English Speaking
Community of Canada
French Speaking
Community of Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
England
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Ireland
Italy
Japan
KoreaNorthern Ireland
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Slovak Republic
Sweden
United States
R² = 0.2866
240
250
260
270
280
290
300
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Percentage of individuals who disagree that "If you are not careful, other people will take advantage of
you”
PIAACscore
6. The relationship between trust and
diversity (% immigrants)
Australia
Austria
Flemish Community of
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Great Britain
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Korea
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
The Slovak Republic
Sweden
United States
R² = 0.0061
n
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Percentage of individuals who disagree that "If you are not careful, other people will take
advantage of you”
%population25-64withatertiarydegree
7. And Income inequality (Gini index)
Australia
Austria
Flemish Community of
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
Denmark
Spain
Estonia
Finland
France
Great Britain
IrelandItaly
Japan
Korea
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
The Slovak Republic
Sweden
United States
R² = 0.2049
0.2
0.22
0.24
0.26
0.28
0.3
0.32
0.34
0.36
0.38
0.4
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Percentage of individuals who disagree that "If you are not careful, other people will take
advantage of you”
Giniindex
9. Intergenerational disparities in levels
of interpersonal trust
Countries are ranked in descending order to the raw percentage point difference associated with having a father with a tertiary degree (before adjusting for individuals' own
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Spain
Ireland
TheUnitedStates
Norway
Italy
Denmark
Germany
TheRussianFederation
France
Finland
FrenchSpeakingCommunityofCanada
TheCzechRepublic
TheNetherlands
Australia
Average
Austria
EnglishSpeakingCommunityofCanada
Poland
England
Japan
FlemishCommunityofBelgium
Estonia
NorthernIreland
Cyprus
Sweden
Korea
TheSlovakRepublic
Father has a tertiary degree (before controlling for individual's own educational attainment) Father has a tertiary degree (after controlling for individual's own educational attainment)
Percentagepointdifference
10. Important to building and maintaining trust in a
number of ways:
• Enhancing cognitive skills
• Behavioural habits
• Occupational sorting
• Socialisation processes
The role of education
11. • Importance of interpersonal trust
• Role(s) of education
• Impact:
– quality of education systems
– access to higher education
– social-emotional skills
– inequality
In sum