Portugal is among the 12 countries with above-average performance in creative thinking, according to a new report from the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), presented today.
Thereport PISA Results 2022 (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creative Schools assesses the creative thinking skills of students in 64 countries and economies around the world, the first time the issue has been analyzed in this assessment by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Singaporean students came first, with “significantly higher scores than all other participating countries/economies”, averaging 41 points out of a total of 60.
But 11 other countries also performed above the OECD average (33 points). In descending order: Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Belgium, Poland and Portugal (34 points).
In general, the systems that perform best in creative thinking are among those that also perform above the OECD average in Mathematics, Reading and Science, with Portugal being an exception, performing close to average in the assessment of these skills and above average in creative thinking.
Systems that perform well above the OECD average in math, reading and science, such as the “Czech Republic, Hong Kong (China), Macao (China) and Chinese Taipei”, are now close to or below average in creative thinking.
“Today’s students need to be able to think creatively and adapt to new ways of thinking and doing, as our societies increasingly depend on innovation and the creation of knowledge to meet emerging challenges,” says the report.
In Portugal, students were better at visual expression tasks, while in Singapore they were successful in various types of tasks, especially social problem solving, and in Korea they scored higher than the rest in scientific problem solving and “in tasks that required them (…) to evaluate and improve ideas”.
The analysis released today shows differences in creative thinking within countries and that “socio-economic divisions in performance persist in creative thinking”, as well as that, in most countries and economies, there are “significant gender gaps” in creative thinking, with girls outperforming boys “in all tasks”.
Pointing out that critical thinking requires engaged students, the study indicates that “students in all countries and economies have broadly positive attitudes towards learning and engaging in creative work in general”.
Almost 83% of students in OECD countries said they enjoyed learning new things, and in Portugal and eight other countries the percentage of those who “agreed or strongly agreed” was over 90%.
“Boys and disadvantaged students in particular showed higher levels of disinterest in creative thinking tasks.”
Believing in your creative potential results in better performance and schools and teachers can make a difference when it comes to creative thinking.
According to the report, in OECD countries, on average, around seven out of 10 students believe that creativity is not exclusive to the arts and eight out of 10 believe that it is possible to be creative in almost all subjects. In Portugal, it’s almost nine out of 10 students.
Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, notes in the study that creative thinking is “the second most important skill for workers, behind analytical thinking” according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2023 report.
It notes, however, that “creative thinking is not just about remaining 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 emotional development, resilience and well-being.”
He points out that teachers can teach creative thinking and considers it worrying that “only around half of students believe that their creativity is something they can change”.
