Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives

Ukraine (19 of 27 regions)

This site note provides an overview of how social and emotional skills are distributed among different student groups and how they are related to students’ well-being, educational outcomes and future aspirations in Ukraine. It draws on data from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) 2023.

SSES measured the following social and emotional skills among 10- and 15-year-old students:

• Task performance skills (persistence, responsibility, self-control and achievement motivation)

• Emotional regulation skills (stress resistance, emotional control and optimism)

• Engaging with others skills (assertiveness, sociability and energy)

• Open-mindedness skills (curiosity, creativity and tolerance)

• Collaboration skills (empathy and trust)

Results for Ukraine in this note are compared to the average across participating sites. This average includes:

• Sites that participated in SSES 2023 in all analyses: Bulgaria, Bogotá (Colombia), Chile, Delhi (India), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Gunma (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Mexico, Peru, Sobral (Brazil), Spain, Turin (Italy) and Ukraine

• The following cities that participated in SSES 2019, where possible: Daegu (Korea), Houston (United States), Istanbul (Türkiye), Manizales (Colombia), Ottawa (Canada), Sintra (Portugal) and Suzhou (China)

Data for achievement motivation between 2019 and 2023 are not comparable, therefore analyses for this skill only include SSES 2023 sites.

All SSES 2019 sites surveyed both 10- and 15-year-olds, whereas surveying 10-year-olds became optional in SSES 2023. The average across sites for 10-year-olds therefore includes data from all SSES 2019 sites who did not participate in 2023 and the following SSES 2023 sites: Bogotá (Colombia), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Sobral (Brazil) and Ukraine.

The OECD collaborated with EdCamp Ukraine NGO, the SSES national project partner, supported by the State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine, to implement the SSES in Ukraine.

   

For further information, refer to ‘Social and emotional skills for better lives: Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023’ and the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023 Technical Report (forthcoming).

Cautionary notes for the interpretation of results for Ukraine

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine meant that a minority of Ukrainian regions where it was not safe to conduct the Survey are not covered. Data are representative of 19 of 27 Ukrainian regions. For this reason, data for Ukraine is labelled ‘Ukraine (19 of 27 regions)’. In addition, the consequences of the war also had an impact on students’ participation rates. Data for 10-year-old students should be interpreted with some caution as student response rates were lower than expected (72%). Data for 15-year-old students should be interpreted with caution as student response rates were much lower than expected (57%).

Survey operations took place in September and October 2023 in Ukraine. When interpreting findings, readers should consider that the manifestation of students’ skills and students’ perceptions of the survey questions may have varied in a war context. Survey operations in some schools were also interrupted on occasion, such as by air raid alarms or electricity outages.

How are students’ social and emotional skills distributed across socio-demographic groups in Ukraine?

Differences in skills between boys and girls

• At age 15, girls in Ukraine reported lower levels of stress resistance, emotional control, energy, trust, and self-control than boys, on average. At age 10, girls reported lower levels of stress resistance, energy, trust, emotional control, and optimism than boys, on average. Gender differences at age 15 were larger in stress resistance but smaller in emotional control, energy, and trust in Ukraine compared to the average across sites.

• At age 15, boys in Ukraine reported lower levels of empathy, tolerance, achievement motivation, responsibility, sociability, and creativity than girls, on average. At age 10, boys reported lower levels of empathy and creativity than girls, on average. Gender differences at age 15 were larger in empathy, tolerance, achievement motivation and responsibility in Ukraine compared to the average across sites. While girls reported lower levels of sociability and creativity than boys on average across sites at age 15, the opposite was found in Ukraine, where boys tended to report lower levels of these skills.

• In Ukraine, there were no gender differences at age 15 in levels of optimism. Girls reported lower levels of this skill, on average, in almost all other sites.

Figure 1. Largest gender differences in skills in Ukraine at age 15

Standardised differences between the scores of 15-year-old girls and boys in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: The five skills with the largest gender differences in Ukraine are included, ordered from the largest to smallest difference. All standardised differences between boys and girls are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Differences in Ukraine that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table T1_skills_gender_PerSD_T

Differences in skills between advantaged and disadvantaged students

• Disadvantaged 15-year-old students in Ukraine reported lower levels of all social and emotional skills except emotional control, trust, and achievement motivation than advantaged students, on average. Among 10-year-olds, disadvantaged students reported lower levels of all skills except stress resistance, emotional control, trust, and self-control than advantaged students. At age 15, differences by socio-economic background in stress resistance, assertiveness, tolerance, responsibility, and self-control were larger in Ukraine compared to the average across sites.

• The social and emotional skills with the largest differences between advantaged and disadvantaged students at age 15 in Ukraine were assertiveness, tolerance, creativity, empathy, and self-control.

Figure 2. Largest differences between advantaged and disadvantaged students in skills in Ukraine at age 15

Standardised differences between the scores of 15-year-old advantaged and disadvantaged students in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: The five skills with the largest socio-economic differences in Ukraine are included, ordered from the largest to smallest difference. All standardised differences between advantaged and disadvantaged students are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Differences in Ukraine that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table T1_skills_ses_PerSD_T

Differences in skills between 10- and 15-year-olds

• 15-year-old students in Ukraine reported lower levels of achievement motivation, trust, optimism, energy, assertiveness than 10-year-olds, while 10-year-old students reported lower levels of empathy, tolerance, responsibility, creativity, and curiosity than 15-year-olds, on average.

• Age differences in social and emotional skills were often smaller in Ukraine compared to other sites. Ukraine has the smallest age differences in energy and optimism across all sites, and there were no age differences in sociability, stress resistance, or persistence in Ukraine, whereas 15-year-olds reported lower levels of these skills than 10-year-olds in almost all other sites.

Figure 3. Largest age differences in skills in Ukraine

Standardised differences between the scores of 10- and 15-year-olds in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: The five skills with the largest age differences in Ukraine are included, ordered from the largest to smallest difference. All standardised differences between 10- and 15-year-olds are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Differences in Ukraine that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table T1_skills_gender_PerSD_T

How are students’ social and emotional skills linked to their educational outcomes and career prospects in Ukraine?

Levels of absence and tardiness and students’ ambitions for the future

• In Ukraine, 59% of 15-year-olds had arrived late for school at least once in the two weeks prior to the SSES assessment, which was above the average across sites (48%). In Ukraine, 37% of students had skipped classes and 36% had skipped at least one day of school in the prior two weeks, above the average across sites for these behaviours (29% and 31% respectively).

• In Ukraine, 79% of 15-year-olds expect to complete tertiary education and 49% expect to have a managerial or professional job when they are 30. Both expectations were below the average across sites (84% and 57% respectively).

Relationships between social and emotional skills and academic outcomes

• In Ukraine, 15-year-old students with higher levels of curiosity, achievement motivation, persistence, responsibility, tolerance, self-control, and creativity tended to achieve better grades in mathematics, reading and arts and reported being late and skipping school less often. Higher levels of empathy and assertiveness were also associated with achieving better grades in all three subjects in Ukraine, while higher levels of emotional control and trust were associated with less absence and tardiness.

• The positive relationships between open-mindedness skills and grades are stronger in Ukraine compared to the average across sites. The relationships between curiosity and tolerance and grades in all subjects and between creativity and both mathematics and arts grades were stronger in Ukraine compared to the average across sites.

Figure 4. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and grades in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on maths and reading grades among 15-year-olds in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: Significant coefficients at a threshold of p < 0.05 are coloured, non-significant coefficients are outlined. Coefficients in Ukraine that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Tables B4.1 and B4.4

Relationships between social and emotional skills and students’ ambitions for the future

• In Ukraine, 15-year-old students with higher levels of open-mindedness skills (curiosity, tolerance, and creativity), task performance skills (persistence, self-control, creativity, and achievement motivation) and empathy tend to have higher expectations of both completing tertiary education and having a managerial or professional job when they are 30. Students with higher levels of assertiveness and stress resistance also tend to have higher expectations of completing tertiary education, while students with higher levels of sociability and optimism tend to have higher expectations of a managerial or professional job in Ukraine.

• The relationship between skills and students’ expectation to attend tertiary education are larger compared to the average across sites for stress resistance, curiosity, tolerance, persistence, and responsibility in Ukraine, while the relationship between skills and students’ expectation to have a managerial or professional career were larger compared to the average across sites for optimism, sociability, creativity, tolerance, and self-control.

Figure 5. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their future aspirations in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ expectations to complete tertiary education and have a managerial or professional job in the future among 15-year-olds in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: Significant coefficients at a threshold of p < 0.05 are coloured, non-significant coefficients are outlined. Coefficients in Ukraine that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Tables B4.19 and B4.30

How are students’ social and emotional skills linked to their health and well-being outcomes in Ukraine?

Students’ health behaviours

• 15-year-old students in Ukraine reported higher frequencies of most healthy behaviours - eating breakfast and fruit and vegetables, exercising, and getting 8 hours sleep - compared to the average across sites. Levels of smoking or drinking alcohol among 15-year-olds in Ukraine were similar to the average across sites.

• Students with healthier behaviours in Ukraine tended to report higher levels of all social and emotional skills (particularly emotional regulation skills, task performance skills and energy), as well as greater life satisfaction and psychological well-being.

Figure 6. Percentage of 15-year-old students engaging in unhealthy behaviours in Ukraine compared to the average across sites

Note: Frequencies of each behaviour that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by an asterisk against the behaviour.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B3.3

Gender differences in health and well-being outcomes

• On average across sites in the Survey, 15-year-old girls tend to report poorer health and well-being outcomes than 15-year-old boys across all indicators (health behaviours, life satisfaction, current psychological well-being, relationship satisfaction, body image and test and class anxiety). In Ukraine, girls reported poorer psychological well-being, greater test and class anxiety and unhealthier behaviours compared to boys, on average. However, there were no gender differences in life satisfaction or relationship satisfaction in Ukraine, and boys tended to report poorer body image than girls. Compared to the average across sites, average differences between boys and girls in Ukraine were smaller for current psychological well-being, while gender differences in health behaviours and test and class anxiety were both of a similar size.

Relationships between social and emotional skills and students’ health and well-being outcomes

• In Ukraine, 15-year-old students with higher levels of all skills, particularly optimism, stress resistance, and emotional control, reported better health and well-being outcomes (health behaviours, life satisfaction, current psychological well-being, relationship satisfaction, body image and test and class anxiety). The positive relationship between the skill of trust and all health and well-being outcomes was stronger in Ukraine than the average across sites.

Key features of SSES 2023

What is the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills?

The Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) is an international survey designed by the OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation to improve understanding of social and emotional skills among 10- and 15-year-old students. The Survey aims to understand how levels of these skills differ among students with different characteristics; how these skills matter for important student outcomes; and how students’ school and home environments influence skill development.

Which social and emotional skills are covered in the Survey?

The 15 skills measured in the Survey were selected to provide a comprehensive coverage of those that are relevant for children’s and adolescents’ success and well-being. Further information on why and how these skills were selected can be found in the SSES assessment framework (Kankaraš and Suarez-Alvarez, 2019[1]).

How were these skills measured?

All students complete a questionnaire where they indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with a series of statements. Examples of statements include: ‘I keep working on a task until it is finished’, ‘I stay calm even in tense situations’ and ‘I am able to defend my interests when they are challenged’.

Who participated in the Survey?

All sites in SSES 2023 surveyed 15-year-olds and surveying 10-year-olds was optional. Students in sixteen sites – six countries and ten sub-national entities – participated in SSES 2023. Data from seven sites who participated in the first round of SSES in 2019, but not in 2023, are also included in analyses in this report wherever possible to expand the coverage of the international average.

Some 18,000 10-year-old and 52,000 15-year-old students took the SSES assessment in 2023, representing about 630,000 10-year-olds and 3 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 16 participating sites. In Ukraine, 2,942 10-year-old and 1,881 15-year-old students completed the assessment, representing about 416,000 10-year-old and 290,000 15-year-old students.

References

[1] Kankaraš, M. and J. Suarez-Alvarez (2019), “Assessment framework of the OECD Study on Social and Emotional Skills”, OECD Education Working Papers, No. 207, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5007adef-en.