Today’s students live in an interconnected, diverse and rapidly changing world. In this complex environment, a student’s ability to understand the world and appreciate the multiple different perspectives they are likely to encounter is key to their success.
In 2018, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted its first evaluation of students’ capacity to live in an interconnected world. The assessment focused on students’ knowledge of issues of local and global significance, including public health, economic and environmental issues, as well as their intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes. The results of this assessment – PISA 2018 Volume VI – will be launched on 22 October.
Want to get a head start on what this latest Volume is all about? Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, unveils the main themes addressed in Volume VI and what to expect from the data.
Helping students navigate an interconnected world — What to expect from PISA 2018 Volume VI
1. PISA 2018 Results
Programme for International Student Assessment
Are students ready to thrive in an interconnected world?
Results from the first assessment of Global Competence
2. PISA 2015
OECD
Partners
Environmental
degradation
Climate change
Migration
Middle class
Polarisation
of societies
Renewable energy
Loss of
biodiversity
Water and food
shortages
Natural
disasters
Financial
crises
Nationalism
Democratisation
Multinational
companies
Harmonization
of values
Interdependent
markets
Trade
openness
Emerging
economies
Poverty
Ageing
Radicalisation
Tourism
Inequality
International
governance
Global
integration
3. PISA 2015
OECD
Partners
Environmental
degradation
Climate change
Migration
Middle class
Polarisation
of societies
Renewable energy
Loss of
biodiversity
Water and food
shortages
Natural
disasters
Financial
crises
Nationalism
Democratisation
Multinational
companies
Harmonization
of values
Interdependent
markets
Trade
openness
Emerging
economies
Poverty
Ageing
Radicalisation
Tourism
Inequality
International
governance
Global
integration
Contemporary societies call for complex forms
of belonging and citizenship where individuals
must interact with distant regions, people and
ideas while also deepening their
understanding of their local environment and
the diversity within their own communities.
Effective communication and appropriate
behavior within diverse teams are keys to
success in many jobs, and will remain so as
technology makes it easier for people to connect
4. • Are students able to critically examine contemporary issues of local,
global and intercultural significance?
• Do students understand and appreciate multiple cultural perspectives
(including their own)?
• Are students prepared to interact respectfully across cultural
differences?
• Do students care about the world and take action to make a positive
difference?
• What inequalities exist in access to education for global competence
between and within countries?
• What approaches to multicultural, intercultural and global education
are commonly used in school systems worldwide?
• How are teachers being prepared to develop students’ global
competence?
Key questions for the PISA 2018 assessment
5. • The first place where children encounter the diversity of
society
• Provide students with opportunities to learn about global
developments that affect the world and their own lives
• Teach students to develop a fact-based and critical
worldview
• Equip students with an appreciation of other cultures and an
awareness of their own cultural identities
• Engage students in experiences that facilitate international
and intercultural relations
• Promote the value of diversity, which in turn encourages
sensitivity, respect and appreciation
A role for schools
7. PISA’s definition of global competence
e.g. history course about industrialisation in
the developing world
8. PISA’s definition of global competence
Effectively combining knowledge
and critical reasoning in order to
establish an informed opinion on a
global or intercultural issue.
Material, social and
subjective aspects of
culture
Requires higher order thinking
skills such as selecting and
weighing appropriate evidence,
as well as media literacy.
Globally competent students can draw on
and combine the disciplinary knowledge and
modes of thinking acquired in schools to ask
questions, analyse data and arguments,
explain phenomena, and develop a position
concerning a local, global or cultural issue
e.g. history course about industrialisation in
the developing world
9. PISA’s definition of global competence
Willingness and capability to
understand global issues, and
others’ perspectives and behaviours
from multiple points of view.
Recognising that perspectives and
behaviours – including one’s own –
are inherently shaped by various
influences and concepts of reality
Globally competent students can
retain their cultural identity but are
simultaneously aware of the cultural
values and beliefs of people around
them, they examine the origins and
implications of others’ and their own
assumptions
e.g. student noticing culturally-related behaviour
10. PISA’s definition of global competence
Understanding the cultural norms
of different contexts and adapting
behaviour and communication
accordingly
The capacity to interact with others in
ways that are open (i.e. with sensitivity
and engagement), appropriate (i.e.
respectful) and effective.
Globally competent students create
opportunities to take informed, reflective
action and have their voices heard
e.g. effective collaboration with students
in other countries
11. PISA’s definition of global competence
Readiness to respond to a given
local, global or intercultural issue.
Being ready and willing to take
informed, reflective action and an
engagement to improve living
conditions in one’s own
communities and beyond.
15. 1. Evaluate evidence and explain issues
The student takes the
information at face value
without considering
contextual factors.
The student considers
contextual factors to
assess the reliability of a
source. They can detect
clear biases and
inconsistencies, but show
a rather limited view of
reliability.
The student understands
perspectives as intrinsic to
sources. They can
distinguish the
communicative intentions
of sources and claims
(facts, opinions,
propaganda). They can
take into account stated
and unstated premises in a
statement about global or
intercultural issues,
evaluate whether the
assumptions or premises
are reasonable or well-
grounded in evidence.
Example: Selecting sources:
Weighing their reliability and relevance
16. Basic
The student has a simplistic
view of perspectives: one
person, one perspective
Intermediate
The student sees differences
in perspectives as rooted in
cultural, religious, socio-
economic, regional and
other backgrounds. They
recognise that they also hold
a particular worldview.
Advanced
The student can describe
and interpret multiple
perspectives, and articulate
relationships among them.
They also understand that
an individual’s identity is
complex (e.g. one can hold
simultaneous identities).
They recognise that they
also hold a particular
worldview.
2. Identify and analyse multiple perspectives and world views
Example: Recognising perspectives
and world views
17. 3. Understand differences in communication
The student lacks
awareness of the social
impact and effects on
others of different
communication styles.
The student understands
some of the social impact
of different
communication styles,
including how linguistic
choices may result in a
breakdown of
communication.
The student can
anticipate and manage
breakdowns in
communication.
He can employ linguistic
devices such as avoiding
categorical claims,
providing re-
statements, connecting
to what others said,
sharing questions and
puzzles, acknowledging
contributions.
Example: Understanding the norms
of respectful dialogue
18. Questionnaire
How informed are you about the following topics?
(Please select one response in each row.)
I have never
heard of this
I have heard about
this but I would not
be able to explain
what it is really about
I know something
about this and
could explain the
general issue
I am familiar with
this and I would
be able to explain
this well
Climate change and global warming 01 02 03 04
Global health (e.g. epidemics) 01 02 03 04
Migration (movement of people) 01 02 03 04
Impacts of developments in the global economy 01 02 03 04
International conflicts 01 02 03 04
Hunger or malnutrition in different parts of the world 01 02 03 04
Causes of poverty 01 02 03 04
Equality between men and women in different parts of the
world 01 02 03 04
19. Other questions
Construct Example question
Adaptability I can deal with unusual situations.
Respect for people from other cultures I value the opinions of people from different
cultures
Global-mindedness When I see the poor conditions that some people
live under, I feel a responsibility to do something
about it.
Self-efficacy regarding global issues I can explain why some countries suffer more
from global climate change than others
Student’s engagement (with others)
regarding global issues
I keep myself informed about world events via
social media
Global competence activities at school I am often invited by my teachers to give my
personal opinion about international news
20. 22-23 October 2020
Online Event
conference.afs.org
#AFScon
Worldwide launch of
PISA Global
Competence
Assessment results
Notas del editor
Much healthier European participation in the questionnaire element, although with some notable exceptions (Nordics, Netherlands, Belgium and England and Wales).
A combination of factors have unfortunately led to many countries deciding not participate in PISA GC:
Some countries were worried that a PISA assessment on global competence could put additional pressure on an already overloaded curriculum and teachers.
Some countries considered global competence to be too complex, multidimensional and dependent on the cultural context to be reliably measured in an assessment like PISA.
Some countries cited methodological concerns (namely a lack of adequate development time and testing – the first iteration of the assessment framework developed by the PISA contractor was rejected by countries, and so the OECD then took ownership of the development in-house and with a new group of experts. However, this complete redevelopment meant that, given the very tight timeline of the PISA development cycle, there was not enough time to conduct a full-scale Field Trial due to lack of time to translate all the assessment materials into all PISA languages etc.)
However, given that the OECD doesn’t explicitly ask countries as to why they are not participating in the options they choose, we have no real way of knowing the exact reasons why countries did not choose to participate.
Global competence is a multi-dimensional concept, and one that is supported in all dimensions by four distinct, yet interrelated “building blocks”. These are knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.
For example if we take the first dimension – “examine local, global and intercultural issues” – this requires knowledge of a particular issue; the skills to transform awareness into a deeper understanding; and the attitudes and values to reflect on the issue from multiple perspectives.
Effective education for global competence therefore gives students the opportunity to use and develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes and values in relation to global or intercultural issues.
There are two elements to the PISA GC assessment:
You can see from the slide that the cognitive test focuses on the cognitive facets of global competence: in other words, it will give us valuable international data on whether students can use their background knowledge and cognitive skills to critically analyse and respond to new information on global issues or culturally diverse people.
The questionnaire will provide complementary information on the attitudes and social skills of students that are relevant to global competence but whose measurement goes beyond the parameters of the PISA cognitive test.
Although values are also an integral component of the framework, they will not be directly assessed in PISA 2018.
The framework provides a detailed explanation of what students should be able to do at different levels of development for all the four cognitive processes (table 1 in the framework document)
Levels of development for the four cognitive processes (table 1 in the framework document)