Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives

Peru

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

SSES 2023 measured the following skills among 15-year-old students in Peru:

• 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 Peru 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), 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), and Suzhou (China)

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

Standardised differences referred to in this report quantify the size of the difference between two groups – such as differences in levels of stress resistance between boys and girls – using a common scale. The difference can be interpreted as the number of standard deviations, on average, by which the groups differ.

The OECD collaborated with the Office of Quality Measurement of Learning (UMC) of the Ministry of Education of Peru as the national project partner to implement the SSES in Peru.

For further analysis and 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).

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

Differences in skills between boys and girls

• 15-year-old girls in Peru reported lower levels of stress resistance, emotional control, optimism, energy, sociability, trust, and self-control than 15-year-old boys, on average. Gender differences in several of these skills (stress resistance, optimism, energy and sociability) were larger in Peru than on average across sites.

• 15-year-old boys in Peru reported lower levels of tolerance, empathy, achievement motivation, persistence and responsibility than 15-year-old girls, on average. Gender differences in tolerance were larger in Peru than on average across sites.

Figure 1. Largest gender differences in skills in Peru

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

Note: The five skills with the largest gender differences in Peru 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 Peru that are significantly different to the average across sites are indicated by the asterisk against each skill.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B2.4

Differences in skills by students’ socio-economic background

• Levels of social and emotional skills among the most advantaged and most disadvantaged students, according to their economic, social, and cultural status, are compared. This status is based on students’ parents’ levels of education and occupations, as well as household possessions. Disadvantaged students are those in the bottom quarter within their site based on this status, while advantaged students are those in the top quarter.

• Disadvantaged 15-year-old students in Peru reported lower levels of empathy, tolerance, and sociability than advantaged students, on average.

• The distribution of social and emotional skills by socio-economic background is different in Peru compared to other sites:

  • Unlike most other sites, there were no differences by socio-economic background in most other social emotional skills, including creativity, assertiveness, and curiosity, for which such socio-economic differences were found in almost all sites.

  • Disadvantaged students in Peru reported higher levels of responsibility than their advantaged peers. This was not seen in any other site, with advantaged students reporting higher levels of this skill in most sites and no difference by socio-economic background in a number of others.

Figure 2. Largest differences between advantaged and disadvantaged students in skills in Peru

Standardised differences between the scores of 15-year-old advantaged and disadvantaged students in Peru

Note: The skills with significant differences by socio-economic background in Peru 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.

Source: OECD, SSES 2023 Database Table B2.5

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

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

• In Peru, 58% of 15-year-olds had arrived late for school at least once in the two weeks prior to the SSES assessment, above the average across sites (48%). On the other hand, skipping school was less common in Peru compared to other sites, with 20% of students having skipped classes and 27% having skipped at least one day of school in the prior two weeks, both below the average across sites (29% and 31% respectively).

• In Peru, 87% of 15-year-olds expect to complete tertiary education and 59% expect to have a managerial or professional job when they are 30, both above the average across sites (84% and 57% respectively).

Relationships between social and emotional skills and academic outcomes

• In Peru, higher levels of most skills were associated with better grades in maths, reading and arts among 15-year-old students: task performance skills (achievement motivation, persistence, self-control, and responsibility), assertiveness, open-mindedness skills (curiosity, tolerance, and creativity), empathy, emotional control, and optimism. Students with higher levels of stress resistance also tended to achieve better grades in arts. Higher levels of all social and emotional skills were also linked to lower levels of absence and tardiness in Peru.

• In Peru, the relationship between the skills of persistence, assertiveness, tolerance and creativity and grades in maths and reading were stronger than the average across sites. Persistence, assertiveness, and creativity were also more strongly related to lower levels of absence and tardiness in Peru compared to the average across sites.

Figure 3. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and grades in Peru compared to the average across sites

Standardised regression coefficients of individual skills on maths and reading grades among 15-year-olds in Peru 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 Peru 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 Peru, higher levels of empathy, curiosity, persistence, tolerance, creativity, and achievement motivation were linked to higher expectations of completing tertiary education and having a managerial or professional job at age 30. Students with higher levels of assertiveness were also more likely to expect to complete tertiary education, while higher levels of responsibility were linked to higher expectations of having a managerial or professional job.

• Higher levels of trust were linked to lower expectations of completing tertiary education in Peru, whereas the opposite was found on average across sites.

• In Peru, the relationship between persistence and students’ expectation to have a managerial or professional career were stronger than on average across sites.

Figure 4. Relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their future aspirations in Peru 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 Peru 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 Peru 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 Peru?

Students’ health behaviours

• 15-year-old students in Peru were less likely than on average across sites to report not getting enough sleep (43% get less than 8 hours sleep most nights, compared to 57% on average) and having smoked or drunk alcohol (7% reporting having ever done this, compared to 17% on average).

• Frequency of exercise and skipping breakfast were similar in Peru to the average across sites (31% exercise once a week or less and 37% skip breakfast most days in Peru).

• In Peru, 37% of students reported not eating fruit or vegetables most days, a little above the average of 35% across sites.

Figure 5. Percentage of students who reported engaging in unhealthy behaviours in Peru 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

• In Peru, as in almost all sites, girls report worse levels of all six measures of health and well-being (life satisfaction, current psychological well-being, test and class anxiety, health behaviours, relationship satisfaction and body image) than boys, on average.

• Gender differences in life satisfaction and current psychological well-being were larger in Peru than the average across sites, while gender differences in health behaviours were smaller than average. Gender differences in relationship satisfaction, body image and test and class anxiety in Peru were similar to the average across sites.

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

• In Peru, 15-year-old students with higher levels of all skills – particularly optimism – reported better health behaviours, life satisfaction, current psychological well-being, relationship satisfaction and body image. Higher levels of most skills (all except empathy and tolerance) were associated with lower test and class anxiety in Peru.

• Higher levels of responsibility, self-control and assertiveness were more strongly associated with all health and well-being outcomes in Peru compared to the average across sites, while higher levels of sociability and creativity were more strongly associated with most of these outcomes in Peru compared to average (all except test and class anxiety for creativity and all except current psychological well-being for sociability).

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 Peru 3,057 15-year-old students completed the assessment, representing about 543,900 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.