Publications & Documents

The Network on Labour market, economic, and social outcomes of learning (LSO Expert Network) has diligently worked on the selection of indicators for monitoring adult learning policies. Their inaugural theoretical framework on adult learning, published in 2013, covered a broad spectrum of policy areas. This comprehensive scope reflected both the focus of existing data sources and the challenges encountered in data collection efforts. Over the past decade, significant policy shifts have occurred, reshaping adult learning systems both domestically and internationally. Concurrently, there have been improvements in the availability and frequency of data pertaining to adult learning. In response to these developments, this working paper presents an updated theoretical framework on adult learning, aiming to enhance the identification of statistical data concerning adult learning systems and facilitate the selection of pertinent indicators for monitoring purposes. Additionally, the paper offers detailed insights into national priorities and practices within this domain.

For the first time ever, PISA measured the creative thinking skills of 15-year-old students across the world. Alongside assessments in mathematics, science and reading, students in 64 countries and economies sat an innovative test that assessed their capacity to generate diverse and original ideas, as well as to evaluate and improve upon others’ ideas in creative tasks. These ranged from written and visual expression to scientific and social problem solving. This PISA in Focus highlights some of the main findings from Volume III of PISA 2022. It focuses on the main factors linked to students’ creative thinking performance, including their proficiency in other academic subjects, their gender, socio-economic profile, views on creativity, attitudes, social-emotional characteristics and their school environment.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students around the world know and can do. This volume – Volume III, Creative Minds, Creative Schools – is one of five volumes presenting the results of the eighth round of the PISA assessment. For the first time, in 2022, PISA assessed students’ capacity to engage in creative thinking in 64 countries and economies, defined as students’ capacity to produce original and diverse ideas. This volume describes student performance in creative thinking in different contexts and how creative thinking performance and attitudes vary across and within countries and economies. It examines differences in performance by student characteristics, including gender and socio-economic status, as well as school-characteristics. The volume also offers an insight into school leader and teacher attitudes towards creative thinking, how opportunities for students to engage in creative thinking vary across schools, and how these factors are associated with student outcomes.

As part of broader digitalisation efforts, half of public employment services (PES) in OECD countries are employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance their services. AI is being adopted across all key tasks of PES, including most commonly to match jobseekers with vacancies. While several PES have been using such tools for a decade, adoption of AI has been increasing in recent years as these become more accessible. New AI use cases have emerged to assist employers in designing vacancy postings and jobseekers in their career management and job-search strategies. AI initiatives have significant impact on PES clients, changing how they interact with the PES and receive support, and PES staff, altering their day-to-day work. As PES seek to maximise the opportunities brought by AI, proactive steps should be taken to mitigate associated risks. Key considerations for PES include prioritising transparency of AI algorithms and explainability of results, establishing governance frameworks, ensuring end-users (staff and clients) are included and supported in the development and adoption process, and committing to rigorous monitoring and evaluation to increase the positive and manage any negative impact of AI solutions.

OECD countries are increasingly investing in better understanding the potential value of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve public governance. The use of AI by the public sector can increase productivity, responsiveness of public services, and strengthen the accountability of governments. However, governments must also mitigate potential risks, building an enabling environment for trustworthy AI. This policy paper outlines the key trends and policy challenges in the development, use, and deployment of AI in and by the public sector. First, it discusses the potential benefits and specific risks associated with AI use in the public sector. Second, it looks at how AI in the public sector can be used to improve productivity, responsiveness, and accountability. Third, it provides an overview of the key policy issues and presents examples of how countries are addressing them across the OECD.

Social and emotional skills (SES) are important for various life outcomes, such as academic achievement, mental health, job performance or civic engagement. The assessment of these skills in children and adolescents, however, currently relies heavily on the use of self-reported questionnaires. As such, there is an urgent need for more direct measurement approaches of SES, which look at behaviours, actions and choices, in order to diversify the current portfolio of available assessments. The aim of this working paper is, thus, to map and review innovative assessment tools as well as technological approaches, aimed at the direct assessment of SES. Firstly, the paper documents almost 60 different behavioural tools, namely tasks and digital games. These instruments are reviewed according to a set of criteria, including their reliability, construct and ecological validity, and feasibility. Secondly, the paper identifies technological approaches, such as biophysiological measures, virtual reality or different artificial intelligence applications. Many of these technologies have the potential of being transversally integrated into different tasks and game, enriching the quality of SES assessment, albeit bringing new challenges. Lastly, the paper promotes a dialogue between the different types of innovative assessments, identifying comparative strengths and challenges.

Most workers who will be exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) will not require specialised AI skills (e.g. machine learning, natural language processing, etc.). Even so, AI will change the tasks these workers do, and the skills they require. This report provides first estimates for Canada on the effect of artificial intelligence on the demand for skills in jobs that do not require specialised AI skills. The results show that the skills most demanded in occupations highly exposed to AI are management, communication and digital skills. These include skills in budgeting, accounting, written communication, as well as competencies in basic word processing and spreadsheet software. The results also show that, in Canada, demand for social and language skills have increased the most over the past decade in occupations highly exposed to AI. Using a panel of establishments confirms the increasing demand for social and language skills, as well as rising demand for production and physical skills, which may be complementary to AI. However, the establishment panel also finds evidence of decreasing demand for business, management and digital skills in establishments more exposed to AI.

The upsurge in children’s screen time has sparked concerns about its impact on children’s learning, development, and well-being. Three-quarters of students in OECD countries spend more than one hour per weekday browsing social networks and nearly one in three students gets distracted by using digital devices in class. How to protect and equip students to navigate digital environments? This PISA in Focus explores why students rely on devices and how their digital device use relates to their mathematics performance, sense of belonging at school, and how much they become distracted. It highlights the role of education policies that improve students’ digital skills and behaviours and prepare teachers to teach with technology in protecting students from digital distractions at school and beyond, and building their ability to navigate digital environments.

In today's world, the digital landscape plays a crucial role in children's lives, offering opportunities for education, socialising and entertainment. However, it also poses risks such as cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content and breaches of privacy. There are also concerns that excessive screen time can impact children's social and emotional development, leading to debates about the quality of their interactions. Recent findings from the PISA survey further highlight a negative correlation between leisurely digital device use at school and academic performance. This OECD brochure 'Students, digital devices and success' collates the latest research on digital devices and education from across the OECD’s Directorate for Education and Skills to support countries efforts to set policies in this area