Portugal is above average for creative thinking among students assessed in PISA

Portugal is among 12 countries with above-average creative thinking scores, according to a new OECD Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report due on Tuesday.

The PISA 2022 report, PISA 2022 Results (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creative Schools, assesses the creative thinking abilities of students in 64 countries and economies around the world. This is the first time this issue has been analyzed by the Economic Cooperation Organization in this assessment. and Development (OECD).

Students from Singapore came in first place, scoring “significantly higher than all other participating countries/economies”, with an average score of 41 out of 60.

However, another 11 countries also performed above the OECD average of 33 points. In descending order: Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Belgium, Poland and Portugal (34 points).

Overall, the systems that perform best on creative thinking are those that also perform above the OECD average in maths, reading and science, with the exception of Portugal, which scores close to the average for those systems . Above average skills and creative thinking.

In addition, systems that performed significantly above OECD averages in math, reading and science, such as systems in the “Czech Republic, Hong Kong (China), Macau (China) and Chinese Taipei,” are now close to average or below average on creative thinking. .

“Today’s students must be able to think creatively and adapt to new ways of thinking and acting as our society increasingly depends on innovation and knowledge creation to solve emerging problems,” the report says.

In Portugal, students performed better on visual expression tasks, while in Singapore they excelled in various types of problems, especially social problem solving, and in Korea they scored higher than others in scientific problem solving and problem solving. , which required this (…) to evaluate and improve ideas.”

The analysis, released on Tuesday, shows differences in creative thinking within countries and that “socioeconomic differences in creative thinking persist” and that in most countries and economies there are “significant gender differences” in creative thinking. girls outperform boys “in all tasks.”

Noting that critical thinking requires dedication from students, the study shows that “students in all countries and economies generally have positive attitudes toward learning and engaging in creative work in general.”

Nearly 83% of students in OECD countries said they enjoyed learning something new, and in Portugal and eight other countries the percentage who “agree or strongly agree” was more than 90%.

“Boys and students from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular showed higher levels of disinterest in creative thinking tasks.”

Believing in one’s creativity leads to improved academic performance, and schools and teachers can make a difference in the direction of creative thinking.

According to the report, on average around seven in 10 students in OECD countries believe that creativity is not limited to the arts, and eight in 10 believe that creativity can be found in almost all subjects. In Portugal, almost nine out of every 10 students.

Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills at the OECD, notes in the study that creative thinking is “the second most important skill for workers after analytical thinking,” according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report.

However, it states that “creative thinking is not just about staying competitive in the job market. It also acts as a powerful stimulus to learning itself, deepening students’ concentration on their learning, activating high-level cognitive skills and stimulating the development of emotional and emotional development.” sustainability and well-being.”

The official emphasizes that teachers can teach creative thinking, and is concerned that “only about half of students believe that their creativity is something they can change.”