This chapter examines the relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their educational outcomes, as well as their career preparedness and job aspirations. Educational outcomes include students’ academic performance in reading, mathematics, and arts; levels of absenteeism and tardiness; and students’ expectations to complete tertiary education. Career preparedness and job aspirations cover students’ participation in career development activities and their future career plans, including whether they expect to have a managerial or professional career or start their own business.
Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives
Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023
4. Educational success and career prospects
Abstract
In Brief
Build students’ task performance skills, particularly achievement motivation and persistence, and curiosity. Students with higher levels of these skills achieve higher grades in reading, maths and arts; are less likely to be late or skip school; and are more likely to expect to complete tertiary education. Developing these skills may help reduce disparities between students as these skills are associated with positive academic outcomes in a similar way among different student groups. These skills also predict greater social mobility aspiration among students whose parents have less prestigious or lower-paid jobs.
Consider how methods of academic assessment also measure students’ social and emotional skills. For example, assessment methods that take into account students’ contributions in class may indirectly measure their assertiveness, while some assessments may require students to use creative thinking skills more than others.
Make career development activities more accessible to disadvantaged students and those with lower levels of social and emotional skills. Disadvantaged students and students with lower levels of social and emotional skills more broadly are more likely to be uncertain about their future career plans and take part in fewer career development activities. This suggests that, despite these students having the most need for support with career planning, they are less likely to access it.
Ensure career development activities allow students to explore a variety of education and career options, including vocational education and training (VET). In many sites, almost all students say they expect to complete tertiary education, suggesting a lack of awareness or interest in alternative education and career pathways.
Provide students with reliable information about their own skills and which skills are needed for different careers. This information could help students form realistic career plans which are more likely to succeed. While students are aspiring to careers based on their fit with their skills, students’ expectations may not always know what skills jobs require. This may be exacerbated by the fact that the most common career development activities that students undertake involve conducting research online, which may provide inaccurate information, or information poorly tailored to their needs.
Prioritise building students’ knowledge and skills. Efforts to boost students’ aspirations as a tool to improve outcomes may be ineffective as most students display high levels of ambition for their future education and career. Education systems should focus resources on building students’ knowledge and skills, including achievement motivation, persistence, and curiosity, to help them to fulfil their aspirations.
Social and emotional skills predict educational success
Education enables personal development and societal progress: enhancing employability, fostering economic growth, and contributing to social cohesion. Yet, access to high-quality education is not universal and there are large disparities in academic performance and career outcomes based on factors outside of individuals’ control, including where they live, their sex and family background. Education systems invest considerable resources in trying to reduce these disparities. While academic knowledge and skills are essential, social and emotional skills are equally important for students to flourish. The findings outlined in this chapter demonstrate that students’ social and emotional skills are linked to their educational outcomes and future aspirations, even after accounting for differences by gender and socio-economic and migrant background. The development of students’ social and emotional skills therefore does not come at the expense of academic learning. Instead, addressing disparities in these skills can be part of an effective strategy to improve students’ educational outcomes.
Disparities in educational and labour market outcomes between student groups may, in part, be explained by inequitable distribution of these skills. Disadvantaged students consistently report lower levels of curiosity and task performance skills across sites, as discussed in Chapter 2 of this report, and curiosity is one of the skills with the strongest relationship with economic, cultural and social status. Disadvantaged students are more likely to be in school environments that are less safe and less academically rigorous, where teachers’ resources are redirected from high quality teaching to managing students’ behaviour (OECD, 2019[1]). These environments are less stimulating for curious students, which may lead to dulled interest in learning and disengagement. While the gaps in task performance skills, such as achievement motivation and persistence, between advantaged and disadvantaged students are smaller than for curiosity and several other skills, disadvantaged students report lower levels of these skills in most sites.
Adolescence is an important period for career exploration. Students are considering which occupations would be a good fit with their developing interests, values, and skills. At this time of exploration, students benefit from support from adults, including their parents, teachers, and career advisors. This support is especially critical in today's labour market, which is marked by increasing uncertainty and the need for adaptability. The rapid evolution of technology and emerging industries means that, when students enter the labour market, careers they aspired to may no longer be in-demand. Additionally, new careers that only recently emerged will be available to them. In such a dynamic environment, support to navigate these new opportunities and build the flexibility and resilience to thrive in a continuously changing professional landscape becomes invaluable.
Students’ academic success: grades and levels of absence and tardiness
In this section, the relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and academic outcomes (students’ grades in reading, mathematics, and arts1 and their levels of absence and tardiness2) are explored, beginning with those skills most predictive of these outcomes. Box 4.1 provides an overview of levels of absenteeism and tardiness in participating sites.
Academic attainment and levels of absence and tardiness are closely linked: students who frequently arrive late - or skip school altogether - miss out on valuable teaching time and tend to achieve poorer grades. While lateness is more common and typically has less serious consequences than skipping school, both can be warning signs that a student is at risk of dropping out of school (Chung and Lee, 2019[2]; OECD, 2019[1]). These behaviours also impact students who are not late or absent: other students in the class can be disrupted by late arrivals and teachers’ resources can be taken up by dealing with latecomers and repeating missed information (Wilson et al., 2008[3]). Many education systems therefore aim to reduce levels of absenteeism and tardiness behaviours to improve students’ academic attainment, as well as other outcomes. SSES results show that, in general, similar social and emotional skills are associated with both academic success and lower levels of absence and tardiness. Cultivating these skills in students can therefore be a tool for education systems to improve students’ academic outcomes.
Students with higher task performance skills and curiosity tend to achieve greater academic success
Social and emotional skills are significantly and consistently associated with academic success in all participating sites. Task performance skills (achievement motivation, persistence, responsibility and self-control) and curiosity are the skills most strongly and consistently associated with higher grades across all three subjects, as well as lower levels of absenteeism and tardiness.
Figure 4.1 presents the relationship between each social and emotional skill and students’ grades on average across sites. This demonstrates that, on average across sites, higher levels of all skills except sociability and stress-resistance are associated with better grades in all subjects. Achievement motivation is the skill most strongly linked to better grades, followed by persistence, curiosity, responsibility, and self-control. Each point shape represents a different subject (maths, reading and arts) and the high overlap between these points indicates that these associations are broadly similar across subjects. Figure 4.2 shows the relationship between social and emotional skills and levels of absenteeism and tardiness, indicating that higher levels of all skills except sociability are associated with lower levels of lateness and skipping school on average across sites. Again, achievement motivation is most strongly linked to lower levels of these behaviours. These findings align with those from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 (OECD, 2023[4]), which found that, across over 50 countries and economies, students with higher levels of curiosity and persistence scored around 11 points more, on average, in maths than their peers.
The relationships between these skills and academic outcomes are similar for girls and boys and students from advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds, demonstrating that these skills can support engagement with learning in a similar way for all students (refer to Tables B4.2, B4.3, B4.5, B4.6, B4.8 and B4.9). Disparities in levels of these skills – as discussed in Chapter 2 – may explain some of the disparities in academic performance between students from these different sociodemographic groups.
Figure 4.1. Relationships between social and emotional skills and students’ maths, reading and arts grades
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on maths, reading and arts grades, average across sites
Note: Significant coefficients at a threshold of p < 0.05 are coloured, non-significant coefficients are outlined. Models control for gender, socio-economic status, migrant status and school fixed effects. Academic grades for Ottawa (Canada) and arts grades for Delhi (India) are not available.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Tables B4.1, B4.4 and B4.7
Students with high task performance skills set high standards for themselves, persevere when confronted with obstacles, honour their commitments, and avoid distractions. These skills support students’ success in school and beyond. Task performance skills have been repeatedly shown to be positively related to academic performance, as well as job performance across a range of occupations (von Stumm, Hell and Chamorro-Premuzic, 2011[5]). A recent OECD review found a high level of evidence that students’ task performance skills, particularly self-control, can be developed in a school setting (Steponavičius, Gress-Wright and Linzarini, 2023[6]).
High levels of curiosity indicate an interest in ideas, a love of learning and an inquisitive mindset. Other studies have also found a strong link between this skill and academic performance, with curiosity even posed as the ‘third pillar’ of academic performance alongside intelligence and task performance skills3 (von Stumm, Hell and Chamorro-Premuzic, 2011[5]). Curious individuals are more likely to persist in the face of challenges because their intrinsic motivation to understand and discover keeps them engaged and focused on their learning. Young children typically have a strong desire to learn about the world around them, asking questions and exploring their environment to understand how things work and why things are as they are. These early behaviours help to reduce uncertainty and close knowledge gaps, with higher curiosity in the early years predicting later academic achievement (Shah et al., 2018[7]). Education systems can nurture this natural interest in learning, ensuring that school environments provide opportunities for growth and mastery on which highly curious students thrive. Without these opportunities, students may become apathetic or bored, leading to disengagement. Indeed, highly curious students have been found to only outperform their less curious peers when their school provides a challenging, but non-threatening, academic environment (Kashdan and Yuen, 2007[8]).
Figure 4.2. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and absenteeism and tardiness
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ absenteeism and tardiness, average across sites
Note: All coefficients are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status. See Annex A for information about how the student's absenteeism and tardiness index was calculated. Higher scores on the absenteeism and tardiness index indicate higher levels of these behaviours.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.13
Students with higher emotional control and optimism tend to have better academic outcomes, however the relationship between stress-resistance and academic success is more complex
Students who report higher emotional control and optimism (two of the three emotional regulation skills) tend to be late and skip school less often and have stronger academic performance in almost all sites (see Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2). Students with high levels of these skills use effective strategies for regulating anger and irritation and have positive expectations for the future. Emotional regulation skills, particularly optimism, are predictive of positive health and well-being outcomes, including life satisfaction and psychological well-being (see Chapter 3). The consistent relationships between these skills and academic outcomes illustrate how poor well-being and mental health difficulties can be a barrier to learning for some students. Students who struggle to control their emotions, or have negative expectations, can struggle to focus on their studies, engage in classroom activities, and maintain the motivation necessary for academic success.
The relationship between stress resistance, which is also an emotional regulation skill, and grades is different to that for emotional regulation and optimism. Overall, there is either no relationship or only a small positive relationship between stress-resistance and grades across sites. When these relationships are examined separately by gender, stress-resistance is negatively associated with grades in a minority of sites among boys, meaning boys with higher stress-resistance tend to have poorer grades in these systems (refer to Tables B4.2, B4.5 and B4.8). This is seen in Helsinki (Finland) and Sintra (Portugal) for both maths and reading and in Chile for reading only. Among girls, there is either no relationship between stress-resistance and grades or a small, positive relationship. These differences reflect how students’ responses to stress – which appear to differ, on average, by gender – may lead to different outcomes. Excessively high resistance to stressors, such as an upcoming deadline or exam, might result in some students making less effort for an assessment. At the same time, difficulties modulating anxiety and calmly solving problems can limit students’ academic performance, as well as negatively impacting their well-being. As outlined in Chapter 3, higher stress-resistance is one of the strongest predictors of greater life satisfaction and psychological well-being among students. Examining the relationship between stress-resistance and grades may help education systems understand the impact of assessment approaches on students, including how this varies between different student groups.
Students who report higher tolerance, empathy and trust tend to have better academic outcomes
Students who report higher tolerance, empathy and trust tend to achieve higher grades and are late and skip school less often (see Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2). Students with these skills are open to different views and values; understand and care about others; and assume others have good intentions.
Once a student has established a pattern of chronic absenteeism and poor attainment, it is challenging to intervene and turn things around (Tanner-Smith and Wilson, 2013[9]). Preventative measures should therefore be put in place by education systems. Effective interventions aimed at reducing school dropout rates and bolstering attendance have several features in common. Notably, the importance of all stakeholders - including students, teachers, and parents - being united and committed to shared goals and the establishment of an authoritative, yet supportive, school environment are key factors for promoting attendance and engagement in learning (Keppens and Spruyt, 2017[10]). Developing social and emotional skills among students, as well as teachers and other education professionals, can help build a positive school climate and sense of belonging. Within such an environment, where the school community feels safe and secure, students can better engage with learning.
Trust is the skill with the largest gap between younger (10-year-olds) and older students (15-year-olds), with older students reporting lower levels of this skill in all sites in SSES (see Chapter 2). This shift demonstrates the importance of creating a school environment that enables students to thrive during the transition from primary to secondary education. This transition happens at a key time developmentally, when students are seeking genuine and lasting relationships beyond their family, often finding these among their peers. Previous relationships are often severed, and new ones are established between students and their teachers and between students themselves. Teachers can build trust with and between their students by being clear, consistent, and fair in their practice and taking action when needed, such as intervening when a student is bullied. Schools are therefore perfect hubs for social and emotional learning: these skills can be developed through the consistent integration and modelling of them within everyday teaching, not just through dedicated programmes and interventions.
Students with higher levels of assertiveness achieve higher grades
Higher levels of assertiveness are associated with stronger academic performance in at least one subject in all sites except Houston (United States) – see Figure 4.4, Figure 4.5 and Figure 4.6. Students with high levels of assertiveness can confidently voice their opinions and take the lead. Assertiveness has one of the largest differences across skills by socio-economic background, where economically, socially and culturally disadvantaged students typically report lower levels of this skill than their advantaged peers (see Chapter 2). While assertiveness may convey advantages to learning, the relationship between this skill and academic outcomes may also reflect the influence of students’ demonstration of this skill on teachers’ evaluations – whether intentionally or otherwise. It is not uncommon for teachers to give better assessments of students from higher economic, social and cultural backgrounds than their peers, even when their objective academic performance is the same (Batruch et al., 2023[11]). Differences in levels of assertiveness is one mechanism that could explain this trend, as teachers may give more credit to students who contribute more often and more confidently in class and within assessments. The advantage conveyed by assertiveness also extends to the workplace: employees with higher levels of this skill tend to receive higher job performance ratings (Steponavičius, Gress-Wright and Linzarini, 2023[6]). Importantly, assertiveness can be developed among students in school environments, including among disadvantaged students (Steponavičius, Gress-Wright and Linzarini, 2023[6]). Efforts should therefore be made to build students’ assertiveness, but systems should also consider whether assessment outcomes are overly influenced by students’ displays of confidence, which may not always reflect their ability.
Academic assessments can also assess students’ social and emotional skills
Students’ grades were collected directly from schools. The knowledge and skills that were assessed for each subject, and the methods used to assess them, therefore differed between sites. These differences may explain why some skills are more strongly related to academic performance in some sites than others (Figure 4.4, Figure 4.5 and Figure 4.6). For example, the relationship between curiosity and reading and maths grades is particularly strong in Delhi (India) and Ukraine, yet weaker in Kudus (Indonesia) and Gunma (Japan). Assertiveness is more strongly associated with higher grades in Daegu (Korea) and Peru than in most other sites. In other areas, creativity or collaboration skills are more strongly associated with academic performance. These disparities can reflect different assessment methods or differing value placed on the demonstration of certain skills within assessments across education systems. For example, assessment methods that measure students’ contributions in class could benefit students with greater assertiveness, while those that require students to work together on a group project might require demonstration of collaboration skills. Some assessments also put a strong focus on knowledge recall, which require students to review and memorise information, supported by task performance skills, while others put a greater focus on assessing students’ problem-solving skills that reflect their ability to think creatively. Assessments of academic performance, therefore, whether intentionally or otherwise, also indirectly measure students’ social and emotional skills.
Creativity tends to be more strongly associated with better performance in reading and arts than mathematics
The relationship between skills and grades are highly consistent across different subjects, with task performance skills and curiosity the strongest predictors of higher grades across all three subjects, followed by assertiveness (see Figure 4.1). Higher levels of creativity tend to be more strongly associated with better performance in reading and arts than mathematics in most sites (see Figure 4.7). While reading and arts are subjects with which creative expression are more traditionally associated, many countries incorporate creative thinking into their mathematics curricula. Embedding creative thinking approaches can support the development of a deeper conceptual understanding of mathematics, as well as enabling students to apply their mathematical knowledge to new problems (Hadar and Tirosh, 2019[12]). Creativity is positively associated with mathematics performance in Bogotá (Colombia), Delhi (India), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Peru, Sobral (Brazil) and Ukraine. The presence of this association in some sites but not others may reflect different methods of teaching and assessing mathematics between countries.
Students with higher sociability tend to achieve poorer grades and have higher levels of absenteeism and tardiness in a minority of sites
Students who reported higher levels of sociability tend to achieve poorer grades in at least one subject in some locations: Colombian sites (Bogotá and Manizales), Istanbul (Türkiye), Italian sites (Emilia-Romagna and Turin), Sintra (Portugal) and Spain (see Figure 4.4, Figure 4.5 and Figure 4.6). In all of these sites where data is available, this skill is also associated with higher absenteeism and tardiness (see Figure 4.7). However, in most sites, there is no relationship between sociability and these outcomes. Wider research examining the relationship between extraversion and academic performance has found similarly mixed results, with several studies finding negative associations, while others find no association or even a positive association (O’Connor and Paunonen, 2007[13]). This suggests that the relationship between sociability and academic performance is complex and unlikely to be direct: the ability to initiate and maintain social connections does not necessarily come at the expense of academic performance. Where we do see these associations, they may reflect evolving and, at times, conflicting priorities during adolescence, where peer relationships become more important (Brown and Larson, 2009[14]). An increased focus on social interactions may lead to a redistribution of time and energy, diverting attention away from academic endeavours for some students. Indeed, the opposite trend is observed among 10-year-olds, where higher levels of sociability are associated with higher grades. Students therefore need to be supported, particularly during the sensitive period of adolescence, to manage competing demands on their time and achieve a healthy balance between their social and academic lives.
Box 4.1. Levels of absenteeism and tardiness
The better students’ attendance and the more class time their teacher spends on actual teaching, the better their academic performance on average (OECD, 2021[15]). Conversely, students who are regularly truant are more likely to drop out of school, have poorly paid jobs, have unwanted pregnancies, and even abuse drugs and alcohol. Disparities in levels of absence and tardiness between sites matter because maintaining high levels of school attendance helps to maximise time for teaching and learning.
On average across sites, almost half of 15-year-old students report being late for school at least once in the previous two weeks. There is much variation between participating sites (see Figure 4.3). Students in Gunma (Japan) rarely report being late for school, while around two-thirds of students said they had been late at least once in Bulgaria. Skipping classes or an entire school day is less common than lateness, however more than three-in-ten 15-year-old students still report this at least once in the past two weeks on average across sites. A small minority of students (less than 1-in-20) in Jinan (China) and Gunma (Japan) said they had skipped a whole school day, while over half of students in Italian sites (Turin and Emilia-Romagna) said they had done so. On average, students with lower academic performance, a migrant background, lower economic, social and cultural status and boys were more likely to report these behaviours than their peers (see Tables B4.10, B4.11 and B4.12).
Figure 4.3. Rates of absenteeism and tardiness by site
Percentage of students who arrived late or skipped classes at least once in the last 2 weeks and mean of the absenteeism and tardiness index, by sites
Note: Higher scores on the absenteeism and tardiness index indicate higher levels of these behaviours. See Annex A for information about how the student's absenteeism and tardiness index was calculated.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Tables B4.10 and Table B4.11
Figure 4.4. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and maths grades by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of 15-year-olds' individual skills on maths grades by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. All models control for gender, socio-economic, migrant status and school fixed effects. Maths grades for Ottawa (Canada) are not available.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.1
Figure 4.5. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and reading grades by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of 15-year-olds' individual skills on reading grades by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. All models control for gender, socio-economic, migrant status and school fixed effects. Reading grades for Ottawa (Canada) are not available.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.4
Figure 4.6. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and arts grades by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of 15-year-olds' individual skills on arts grades by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. All models control for gender, socio-economic, migrant status and school fixed effects. Arts grades for Ottawa (Canada) and Delhi (India) are not available.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.7
Figure 4.7. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and absenteeism and tardiness by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of students’ individual skills on absenteeism and tardiness by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status. Higher scores on the absenteeism and tardiness index indicate higher levels of these behaviours. See Annex A for information about how the student's absenteeism and tardiness index was calculated.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.13
Preparing for the future: take-up of career development activities
In this section, the relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their take-up of career development activities – such as researching careers and doing an internship - are discussed4.
Transition, whether from one level of education to another or to the world of work, brings uncertainty and shifts in students’ routines, expectations, and responsibilities. Some students are well equipped to seize the opportunities that accompany times of change. Other students face difficulties navigating ambiguity and pressure that can impact their later career progression and earning potential. Career exploration in schools can help students become better prepared and increase their chances of success in the labour market (Covacevich et al., 2021[16]). It is therefore important to measure whether students participate in career development activities. Previous research has found that many students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, do not take up these opportunities. Of course, students’ participation in them depends on their availability. However, as demonstrated in this section, students’ social and emotional skills can also support their career exploration: supporting their interest in new pursuits, resilience in high-pressure situations and perseverance to achieve their goals.
Most students have taken part in multiple career development activities
The average number of career development activities undertaken by students was between three and four across sites, meaning that most 15-year-olds had engaged in multiple activities (see Table B4.33). Researching careers online was the most common activity (undertaken by over three-quarters of students on average across sites) followed by researching tertiary education programmes online (carried out by over three-fifths of students). High take-up of these activities indicates some degree of initiative-taking by students, as this research can be carried out with little to no support from parents or teachers. However, this also demonstrates the importance of high-quality online content being available to students to support their career exploration and directing students towards these. Without guidance, students’ research may be ineffective or even counter-productive: they may not find the information they need or may consume misleading information.
There was greater variation between sites in activities that typically require coordination or organisation by their school, particularly in speaking to a career advisor, but also in doing an internship, attending job shadowing or work-site visits and visiting a job fair (see Figure 4.8). This likely reflects the different availability of these services and activities for students in different education systems, or that they are only made available to older students. For example, in Spain, most 15-year-olds had spoken to a career advisor, whereas less than 1-in-50 students had done so in Gunma (Japan). Students in Helsinki and Peru were more likely to have done an internship than students in Italian sites (Turin and Emilia-Romagna) and Gunma (Japan).
Figure 4.8. Students’ participation in career development activities
Percentage of students who undertook the following career development activities, by site
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.33
Disadvantaged students are less prepared for their future education and career than their advantaged peers
Advantaged students tend to participate in more career development activities than disadvantaged students (see Table B4.34). This is particularly the case for completing questionnaires about their interests and abilities, touring tertiary education institutions and job shadowing – all activities that typically require facilitation by adults. This difference in participation exists even though disadvantaged students tend to be more in need of support with their careers, given that they and their parents have fewer economic, social and cultural resources to draw on.
As noted in other studies, a lack of career readiness is particularly associated with disadvantage, which is consistent with the fact that that two facets used in the measure of students’ economic, social and cultural status are the education level and occupations of students’ parents. Parents who they themselves did not attend tertiary education or have high-status careers are typically less well equipped to support their children navigate these paths. Studies have found that parental involvement in students’ career exploration is particularly important, with levels and type of support either contributing to or detracting from students’ decision-making (Ahn et al., 2022[17]; Watson, Nota and McMahon, 2015[18]). Some career development activities – such as job shadowing and internships – can also be more readily available to advantaged students through their family’s social network (Roth, 2018[19]; Tholen et al., 2013[20]). Furthermore, living, travel and equipment costs can also be a barrier to disadvantaged students touring institutions or undertaking workplace-based opportunities.
While these results demonstrate that there is some way to go to make sure that the students who are most in need of support in developing their career plans receive it, there are exceptions that demonstrate how policy can make a difference. In Italian sites (Emilia-Romagna and Turin), disadvantaged students are more likely than advantaged students to have spoken to a career advisor and, in Helsinki (Finland), over half of both advantaged and disadvantaged students had done an internship. It is therefore important that disadvantaged students have equal access to career development activities and are encouraged and facilitated to take these up.
Students with higher levels of social and emotional skills – particularly creativity and curiosity - undertake more career development activities
In all sites, students with higher levels of open-mindedness (creativity, curiosity, tolerance), task performance (achievement motivation, persistence and responsibility) and engaging with others skills (assertiveness, energy and sociability) tend to have participated in more career development activities in all sites (see Figure 4.9 and Figure 4.10).
These consistent relationships demonstrate how students can draw on their social and emotional skills as resources to support their career exploration. Students with high levels of creativity and curiosity are well-equipped to navigate an increasingly uncertain labour market, exploring different career trajectories and emerging industries. Those with greater achievement motivation and persistence – the skills most strongly associated with greater academic performance – set themselves stretching objectives and persevere to meet them, which might include researching requirements to meet their goal and proactively seeking out stretching opportunities, such as internships and job shadowing. Assertive students are better equipped to meet their goals, as they can confidently voice their needs and opinions and take the lead when needed. In contrast, students with low levels of these skills may struggle with change and thinking outside established norms, which can constrain their future career options. Such students may particularly struggle in an environment where careers options are more complex and career trajectories are less linear: students and employees who do not take an active role in their careers may fall behind their peers.
Coupled with the finding that disadvantaged students have undertaken fewer of these activities, these results suggest that students who are already better equipped to meet their career goals tend to engage in more career exploration activities than those in most need of support. In some schools, career development activities may be more tailored towards, and taken up, by students who are interested in tertiary education, perhaps overlooking the needs of other students who would thrive in a different path. This may explain, in part, findings from earlier in this chapter that almost all students expect to take-up tertiary education in many sites.
Figure 4.9. Relationships between students' social and emotional skills and participation in career development activities
Standardised regression coefficients of students’ individual skills on number of career development activities undertaken, average across sites
Note: All coefficients are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Model controls for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.35
Figure 4.10. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and participation in career development activities
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on number of career development activities undertaken by site
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Model controls for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.35.
Ambitions for the future: expectations to complete tertiary education and have a managerial or professional career
In this section, the relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their expectations for their future, including whether they expect to complete tertiary education5 and if they expect to have a managerial or professional job in the future or are uncertain about their career plans6, are discussed.
One goal of education systems is to orientate students towards education and career tracks that best align with their interests and skills. Information on students' educational and career expectations and predictors of these can support education systems to achieve this important goal. Evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that career uncertainty and lack of ambition can be indicators of concern for schools, as these are signals that a student is not thinking critically about their transitions into work. Results from SSES indicate that students with poorer social and emotional skills, particularly lower levels of curiosity, are less ambitious for their future.
Most students are ambitious for their future education and career
In all participating sites, most students say they expect to complete tertiary education, and in almost all sites, over half of students expect to have a managerial or professional job when they are 30 (see Figure 4.11). On average across sites, 84% of students expect to complete tertiary education and 57% expect to have a managerial of professional career. These findings indicate that students generally have high aspirations, particularly when coupled with findings later in this chapter that show high proportions of students expecting to start a business.
Although expectation to complete tertiary education and have a managerial or professional career tends to be a little lower among both disadvantaged students and those with the lowest academic grades, expectations are still relatively high among these groups (see Figure 4.11 for a comparison of these expectations among disadvantaged and advantaged students in each site). On average across sites, around three-quarters of disadvantaged students and bottom academic performers expect to complete tertiary education and around half expect to have a managerial or professional career. This suggests that much underachievement among these student groups results from gaps between students’ aspirations and the knowledge and skills needed to achieve them, rather than a lack of ambition in the first place.
Expectation to complete tertiary education is particularly high in Istanbul (Türkiye), Jinan (China), Manizales (Colombia), Sobral (Brazil) and Suzhou (China), where almost all students (over 95%) expected this. The lowest level of this expectation was in Kudus (Indonesia) and Helsinki (Finland), where around two-thirds of students expected to complete this level of education.
The highest levels of ambitious career plans are found in Bogotá (Colombia), Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Istanbul (Türkiye) – with over 7-in-10 students expecting managerial or professional careers - and the lowest levels in Helsinki (Finland), where around one-third of students expected this.
Figure 4.11. Students’ expectations to complete tertiary education and have a managerial or professional career in the future, by socio-economic status
Difference in students’ expectation to complete tertiary education and have a managerial or professional career by sites and socio-economic status
Note: Only the differences that are statistically significant are added near the site names. The target population includes only public schools in Delhi [India], Houston [United States], Ottawa [Canada] and Sobral [Brazil] and only private schools in Dubai [United Arab Emirates]. Differences by socio-economic background in these sites, including in comparison to other sites and the average across sites, should be interpreted with caution as the full range of student backgrounds in the geography is unlikely to be represented.
Source: OECD, SSES Databases (2019, 2023) Tables B4.17, B4.24 and B4.25.
While high aspirations can indicate that a student is ambitious and motivated, these high expectations in aggregate may represent expectations that will not be realised among a sizeable proportion of students in many sites. Indeed, rates of expectation to complete tertiary education vary widely from recent rates of completion of this level of education in many of these sites, even when considering recent increases in tertiary education take-up in many countries. For example, despite the large variation in expectations of completing tertiary education between 15-year-old students in Istanbul (Türkiye) and Helsinki (Finland) seen in SSES (over 95% compared to around two-thirds respectively), the proportion of people who actually completed tertiary education was the same in Türkiye and Finland in 2022, at just over two-fifths (OECD, 2023[21]). Rather than less ambitious, expectations among students in Helsinki (Finland) appear more realistic than in many other sites. Indeed, not all students are best served by a tertiary degree and many students who attempt this level of education do not complete it, with only two-fifths of bachelor’s students graduating within the expected timeframe for their programme in OECD countries (OECD, 2023[21]). High expectations of this outcome may therefore reflect a lack of awareness or attractiveness of more suitable options in some sites, such as vocational education and training (VET).
Girls tend to be more ambitious for their future education and career than boys
A larger proportion of girls have ambitious plans for their future compared to boys. On average across sites, 88% of girls expect to complete tertiary education compared to 80% of boys, while 61% of girls expect to have a managerial or professional career compared to 49% of boys. These expectations reflect trends in actual take-up and completion of tertiary education: women make up a small but clear majority of new entrants across OECD countries and are also more likely to complete their studies than men (OECD, 2023[21]).
Girls are more likely to expect to complete tertiary education in all sites except Daegu (Korea), Jinan (China) and Sobral (Brazil) where there is little to no gender gap in these expectations.
Girls are more likely to expect to have a managerial or professional career in all sites except Gunma (Japan), where there is no gender difference. The gender gap in these career plans is largest in Houston (United States) and Sobral (Brazil). In these sites, around three-quarters of girls expect managerial or professional careers, compared to around half of boys. In contrast, boys are more likely to be uncertain about their career plans in most sites, particularly in Jinan (China).
Students with higher levels of open mindedness skills and task performance skills are more ambitious for their future education and career
Students with higher levels of curiosity are more likely to expect to complete tertiary education and have a professional or managerial career, on average, in all sites (see Figure 4.12 and Figure 4.13). In addition, higher levels of other open-mindedness skills (tolerance and creativity), task performance skills (persistence, achievement motivation, self-control, responsibility) and empathy are associated with these expectations in most sites. See Figure 4.14 and Figure 4.15 for these relationships in each site.
As noted earlier in this chapter, students who report higher levels of curiosity and task performance skills also tend to have better academic outcomes. The fact that students with high levels of these skills are also more likely to expect to attend tertiary education and have a managerial or professional career demonstrates the close link between success at school and onward academic and career success. This also suggests some alignment between students’ expectations and the skills needed to adapt to the academic demands and learning-rich environment of tertiary education. Task performance skills can support students with the increased workload and independence of study that is often required at higher levels of education, which can be a challenging transition for many students. In a small number of sites, there was little to no relationship between task performance skills and expectation to complete tertiary education, which could indicate a lack of preparedness for tertiary education among students in these areas: students with low levels of these skills who expect to attend tertiary education may be at higher risk of drop-out. High rates of student attrition – where students leave an educational program before completing it – is a problem in many countries. A review of predictors of academic performance found that only task performance skills7 had more than a trivial positive relationship with academic performance at a tertiary level after controlling for prior academic performance at secondary education (Poropat, 2009[22]).
Programmes of study at this level are also typically more complex and require more higher order thinking skills: critical, creative, and analytical processing of information that allow individuals to go beyond memorisation and recall. Therefore, the association between higher levels of curiosity and creativity and expectation to attend tertiary education also indicate good alignment between the skills required for this endeavour and students’ expectations. Students with high levels of tolerance are open to different points of view and values. Tertiary institutions are typically large and often diverse places, drawing staff and teachers from a wider area than a primary or secondary school. Students with higher levels of this skill will be better equipped to engage effectively with people who have a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds.
Figure 4.12. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and expectation to complete tertiary education by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of students’ individual skills on expectation to complete tertiary education by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.19.
Figure 4.13. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and expectation to have a managerial or professional career
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ expectation to have a managerial or professional career, average across sites
Note: Significant coefficients at a threshold of p < 0.05 are coloured, non-significant coefficients are outlined. Model controls for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.30
Figure 4.14. Relationship between students’ social and emotional skills and expectation to complete tertiary education by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ expectation to complete tertiary education by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.19
Figure 4.15. Relationship between students’ social and emotional skills and expectation to have a managerial or professional career by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ expectation to have a managerial or professional career by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.30
Students’ career plans: expectations to have in-demand careers or start a business
In this section, relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their career plans – their expectations to have careers in specific sectors or to start their own business - are discussed.
One important role of education systems is to prepare students for the future labour market. Understanding the current aspirations of students and their predictors can help education systems and economies prepare for the future. Students’ alignment with a future-oriented labour market is explored through students’ expectation of having one of several occupations identified as in-demand or creating their own business. Entrepreneurial activity plays a vital role in economic development through its creation of jobs, innovation, and increased market competitiveness. The results from SSES show that, even at age 15, students are selecting careers and developing entrepreneurial intention that align with their self-evaluations of their social and emotional skills.
Students with higher levels of curiosity and creativity are more likely to expect a career in the ICT, science and engineering sector
Higher levels of curiosity and, to a lesser extent creativity and task performance skills (achievement motivation, self-control and persistence), are associated with a greater expectation to take up a career in ICT, science and engineering (see Figure 4.16).
Figure 4.16. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills on expectation of a career in ICT, science and engineering, average across sites
Effect of a one standard deviation increase in a given social and emotional skill on the probability of expecting a career in ICT, science, and engineering
Note: Significant coefficients are coloured, non-significant coefficients are outlined. Model controls for gender, socio-economic, migrant status. ICT, science and engineering sector refers to ISCO codes 21, 25, 31 and 35.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.39
The link between curiosity and anticipation of a career in the ICT, science and engineering suggests good alignment between students’ skills and their career choice: the desire to seek out new information and understand more about a subject of phenomenon is a fundamental driver of scientific discovery and progress. The fact that this skill and task performance skills are those most strongly associated with expectation to complete tertiary education also demonstrates alignment, as high levels of education are typically a requirement of these careers.
In a minority of sites, students with lower levels of engaging with others skills are more likely to expect a career in the ICT, science, and engineering sector
In some sites, lower levels of engaging with others skills (assertiveness, sociability, and energy) are associated with higher expectations of a career in ICT, science or engineering sectors. This suggests that students who tend to be more timid and less confident socially might expect a career in ICT, science or engineering to not require much interaction with others and consist mostly of independent work. While the ability to work independently is often an important element of jobs in these sectors, interpersonal skills are also often a key requirement. These skills are put into practice when collaborating with other professionals, delivering presentations, and communicating findings to funders, policymakers and the general public. These sectors need individuals with leadership skills and aspirations, particularly given the relevance of these careers to the future labour market. As demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community need to be able to engage with others to improve scientific literacy, build trust among the general public and dispel misinformation. As the capability and impact of digitalisation, including artificial intelligence, continues to grow, leadership and communication skills among experts in these areas will be invaluable.
Students with higher levels of curiosity, task performance skills and empathy are more likely to expect a career in the health sector
Higher levels of task performance skills (achievement motivation, persistence, responsibility and self-control), curiosity and empathy are associated with a greater expectation to take up a career in the Health sector in most sites (see Figure 4.17).
The most common job within the health sector anticipated by students is a doctor. These findings align with two of the most common motivations reported by medical students: an intellectual interest or a desire to help others (Goel et al., 2018[23]). In addition, the relationship between achievement motivation and persistence – the skills most strongly associated with academic performance – are consistent with the depth and length of study typically required for a career in medicine.
Figure 4.17. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and expectation of a career in health, average across sites
Effect of a one standard deviation increase in a given social and emotional skill on the probability of expecting a career in health
Note: All coefficients are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Model controls for gender, socio-economic, migrant status. Health sector refers to ISCO codes 22,32 and 2634
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.41
Box 4.2. Levels of expectation of an in-demand occupation
On average across sites, careers in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), science and engineering; health; and green jobs were similarly popular among 15-year-old students, with around 1-in-6 students expecting to work in each of these sectors in the future (see Table A4.37). A career in teaching is less attractive to 15-year-olds than other in-demand sectors, except in Delhi (India), Jinan (China) and Suzhou (China), where teaching was a similar or more popular choice compared to the other three sectors. Teaching was particularly unpopular in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), where only 1% of students expected to join this profession, as well as in Houston (United States), Bogotá (Colombia), Ottawa (Canada), Sintra (Portugal) and Sobral (Brazil). The comparative unpopularity of a career in teaching sits in the context of teaching shortages in many countries (OECD, 2023[21]).
Figure 4.18. Students expecting careers in in-demand sectors
Percentage of students who expect to work in: ICT, science and engineering; health; green jobs; teaching by gender, average across sites
Note: All differences are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. ICT, science and engineering sector refers to ISCO codes 21, 25, 31 and 35; health to ISCO codes 22, 32 and 2634; and teaching to ISCO code 23. Green jobs refer to "environmentally friendly" occupations as classified in: Scholl, N., S. Turban and P. Gal (2023), "The green side of productivity: An international classification of green and brown occupations", OECD Productivity Working Papers, No. 33, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Tables B4.37 and B4.38
There are gender differences in expectations to take-up careers in these professions. In all sites, boys are more likely to express interest in the ICT, science and engineering and green jobs sectors than girls. In contrast, girls are more likely to express interest in careers in the health and teaching sectors. In many sites, advantaged students are more likely to expect a career in ICT, science and engineering than disadvantaged students, as well as careers in Health and green jobs in some sites.
Students with higher levels of engaging with others skills, optimism and creativity are more likely to expect to start their own business
Higher levels of most social and emotional skills are associated with an expectation to start a business in the future. These relationships are strongest and most consistent for engaging with others skills (energy, assertiveness, sociability), optimism, creativity and task performance skills (see Figure 4.19). See Figure 4.21 for these relationships in each site.
Figure 4.19. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and entrepreneurial intention
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ entrepreneurial intention, average across sites
Note: All coefficients are statistically significant with a threshold p < 0.05. Model controls for gender, socio-economic and migrant status. Entrepreneurial intention is measured on a 0-10 scale.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.49
As with students’ career plans, these relationships show some alignment between students’ career goals and their skills. Many of these social and emotional skills are associated with business creation, as well as subsequent management of the business and its success (Rauch and Frese, 2007[24]). However, it is likely from the high proportions of students who expect to start their own business - see Box 4.2- that many students’ entrepreneurial intentions will either not be realised or be unsuccessful. For some students, this may be because their skills are not well-matched with their intentions. In particular, the fact that energy and optimism are more strongly related to this goal than achievement motivation – which tends to be a better predictor of success – may explain why many students with entrepreneurial intention do not start a business or their efforts fail at an early stage. Risk-taking, energy and optimism are needed to recognise and exploit opportunities in uncertain situations, however they can also lead to unrealistic forecasts of the future. In particular, the combination of heighted risk taking and a lack of knowledge and experience is particularly associated with poor business decisions and early business failure (Korunka et al., 2010[25]; Åstebro et al., 2014[26]). In addition, while many students may have the skills needed to maximise their chances of success, these are only one factor in determining business success. Students’ characteristics, personality and skills are important factors, but the environment in which a business is founded and the resources available to entrepreneurs tend to play a bigger role in avoiding failure (Korunka et al., 2010[25]).
Box 4.3. Levels of expectation to start a business in participating sites
On average across sites, almost half of 15-year-old students say they are likely or very likely to start their own business. This expectation is more common in some sites than others. In Gunma (Japan) and Jinan (China), this expectation is found among fewer than 1-in-5 students whereas in Bogotá (Colombia) and Peru, around two-thirds of students have this expectation. In Kudus (Indonesia), this figure is close to three-quarters of students.
In most sites, boys are more likely to expect to start their own business, except in Kudus (Indonesia) and Peru, where girls were more likely, and in Bogotá (Colombia), Chile, Sobral (Brazil) and Ukraine, where there is no significant difference. Advantaged students are more likely to expect to start their own business compared to disadvantaged students, except in Peru, where disadvantaged students are more likely, and in Chile, Bogotá (Colombia) and Sobral (Brazil) where there is no significant difference.
Figure 4.20. Students’ entrepreneurial intention by student characteristics
Difference in the students' entrepreneurial intention index, by gender and socio-economic status, average across sites
Note: Significant differences at a threshold of p < 0.05 are coloured, non-significant differences are outlined. Entrepreneurial intention is measured on a 0-10 scale.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.48
Figure 4.21. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and entrepreneurial intention by sites
Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on students’ entrepreneurial intention by sites
Note: Significant coefficients are at a threshold of p < 0.05. Models control for gender, socio-economic and migrant status. Entrepreneurial intention is measured on a 0-10 scale.
Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B4.49
Annex 4.A. Chapter 4 Tables
Online tables for each chapter can be accessed via the StatLink.
Table 4.1. Tables Chapter 4. Educational success and career prospects
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Notes
← 1. Students’ grades were collected from their schools in three subjects: reading, mathematics and arts. The relationships between social and emotional skills and students’ grades are assessed in 21 sites spanning 19 countries (grade data was not available for Ottawa [Canada]).
← 2. Students were asked how often they had arrived late, skipped classes or a whole day of school during the past two weeks. The frequency of these behaviours and the relationships between social and emotional skills and these behaviours are assessed in 15 sites (data on these behaviours were not collected in SSES 2019).
← 3. In this paper, the authors refer to Conscientiousness, which is the Big 5 domain on which the Task performance skills domain is based within the SSES assessment framework.
← 4. 15-year-old students’ readiness for their future career was explored by asking them if they had undertaken any of the following career development activities: an internship, attending job shadowing or work-site visits, visiting a job fair, speaking to a career advisor, completing a questionnaire to understand their interests and abilities, researching careers online, and researching or touring a tertiary education institution. The average number of these activities undertaken and the relationships between social and emotional skills and the number of activities completed are assessed in 15 sites (data on these behaviours were not collected in SSES 2019).
← 5. Tertiary education builds on secondary education, providing learning opportunities in specialised fields of study. It includes what is commonly known as academic education, but also advanced vocational or professional education (OECD/Eurostat/UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2015[27]). 15-year-old students were asked the highest level of education they expect to complete. The frequency of students’ expectations to complete tertiary education and the relationships between social and emotional skills and this expectation are assessed in 22 sites.
← 6. 15-year-old students were asked what job they expected to have at age 30. This information was used to categorise students as having:
Managerial or professional career plans: students who expect to have a managerial or professional occupation (based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) groups 1 and 2).
Uncertain career plans: students who did not cite a specific occupation they expect to have at age 30.
The frequency of students’ expectations to have ambitious or uncertain career plans and the relationships between social and emotional skills and these expectations are assessed in 22 sites.
← 7. In this paper, the authors refer to Conscientiousness (the Big 5 domain on which the domain Task performance skills is based within the SSES assessment framework).