site.btaUPDATED OECD Survey: 15-Year-Old Bulgarians Have Lower Expectations for Completing Higher Education

Socio-emotional skills are crucial for academic success, professional realization and quality of life of young people. This is the main conclusion of a global survey by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the social and emotional skills of 15-year-old students, which was presented in Sofia on Friday.  The survey is conducted for the second time and covers over twenty countries from four continents, and the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation ensures the inclusion of Bulgaria in it. In Bulgaria, the survey was conducted among 3,012 students and 555 teachers from 80 schools across the country, and the questionnaires were filled in by students, teachers and school principals. "I am extremely proud that the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation has helped Bulgaria to be selected to host the presentation of the OECD Global Report, although our country is not yet a full member of the organization," said Dimitar Tsotsorkov, member of the Foundation's Management Board. 

The OECD study provides insights into five key areas of student socio-emotional development: progressivity (curiosity, acceptance, creativity), responsibility (self-control, tenacity, motivation), connectedness (sociality, assertiveness, vigour), collaboration (empathy, trust) and self-control (resistance to stress, optimism, emotional control) that have a direct relationship to the academic and life success of youth.  In view of the low educational results detected by PISA and the national external assessment, socio-emotional education offers a possible solution and approach that can reverse the negative trend in Bulgaria. 

"This study invites us to look at children and their needs holistically and recognize that quality education should be comprehensive and develop them not only academically. The introduction of educational policies for the development of socio-emotional skills can be an effective strategy for improving the academic performance and professional realization of our students", said Yoana Marinova, Executive Director of the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation, when presenting the survey data for Bulgaria. 

Prof. Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, said that socio-emotional skills involve courage, empathy, opportunity and a way to deal with our emotions, live with others, and communicate. These skills make people human in the world of artificial intelligence and are a way to be creative, to be motivated and to support our economy.  

Socio-emotional skills can be developed. The results of the study are alarming, and it turns out that 15-year-old students are less curious and less creative than 10-year-olds. Education is doing very well in bridging the gender gap because boys and girls do almost equally well in math and science, but in social and emotional skills there is a huge difference between the sexes, Schleicher added. 

He said that great efforts have been made in Bulgaria to overcome the differences between the sexes and in social terms in teaching mathematics and science. Socio-emotional skills make a huge difference, and they are not taught in school, but they need to create an environment and skills for them.    

Caretaker Deputy Education Minister Natalia Miteva said that it is extremely important that policies, investments and programmes "build" on very detailed and specific data for children and students. She noted that the programmes and methods of teaching are changing, and stressed that this may be the key factor for the success of education systems globally and in Bulgaria. 

Bulgarian 15-year-old students compared to their peers around the world 

The aim of the study is to provide insight into how socio-emotional skills are conducive to the increase of achievement and successful realization of young people. Unlike PISA, the focus of the study is not to compare the educational achievements of students from different countries, but nevertheless, by analyzing its results against other countries, Bulgaria can prioritize areas for improvement. 

Socio-emotional skills and academic success  

In Bulgaria, 71% of 15-year-olds expect to complete higher education, and 45% expect to have a management position or career by the time they reach the age of 30. Both expectations are below the survey average relative to other countries (84% and 57% respectively). In Bulgaria, high grades in mathematics, Bulgarian language and literature, and fine arts, and music are directly related to socio-emotional skills for progressiveness, responsibility, cooperation and self-control, the study shows. 

Social inequalities and socio-emotional skills  

The most prominent are social inequalities among 15-year-old students, which in Bulgaria are most pronounced compared to other countries. As with academic achievement, the socio-economic and cultural status of students also have a relatively large impact on the development of their socio-emotional skills. "If we want to advance as a society, we must overcome these inequalities by paying attention to schools with low academic achievements, increase the chances of these children and in the same process support their teachers," said Yoana Marinova. 

Commitment to the educational process 

In Bulgaria, 65% of 15-year-old students were late for school at least once in the last two weeks before the survey, which is above the average for their peers in other countries (48%). In Bulgaria, 45% of students missed classes, compared to an average of 29% of total survey student respondents. The results of the study show that students with higher levels of socio-emotional skills are less late and absent from school. Simultaneously, the percentage of students expressing concerns about tests or school assignments and homework is between 5% and 10% lower than in other countries, which is to some extent explained by lower engagement in the learning process. 

However, the sample of students in specialized high schools in Bulgaria shows that their anxiety levels are higher. This has an impact on their well-being and social interactions. Factors, such as strong academic pressure and competition, in vocational high schools can exacerbate anxiety symptoms. 

Student engagement depends on providing a supportive school environment that gives them a sense of belonging, builds bonds between parents, teachers and the community in which children live. When the relationship between school and community is broken, we see low results. There is a direct link between engaging parents and involving them in educational processes and students' academic success. The involvement of parents and the community in educational processes is a "trademark" of a successful school," said Yoana Marinova. 

Bad habits 

15-year-old students in Bulgaria are more likely to exhibit unhealthy behavior and bad habits than their peers from other countries in terms of cigarette smoking, drinking alcohol and errant eating habits. In Bulgaria, 40% of 15-year-old students report that they have smoked cigarettes or tried alcohol at least once in their lives, which is above the average in the survey (17%). In Bulgaria, 47% of 15-year-olds do not have breakfast on most days, compared to 37% on average for other countries. "The most common causes of unhealthy behavior and bad habits are the lack of motivation and vision for future realization, combined with low self-esteem and lack of emotional control," said Yoana Marinova. In contrast to the harmful habits reported by Bulgarian 15-year-old students, 33.7% of them indicate that they perform at least 20 minutes of intense physical activity daily. Average for the participating countries is 26.6%. 

In addition to the few areas that show significant differences, Bulgaria keeps up with the average scores of all participating countries and there are even encouraging data. For example, 43% of Bulgarian 15-year-old students are satisfied with their lives, compared to an average of 31% for participating countries. The relationship between socio-emotional skills and the academic and professional success of young people is more pronounced in Bulgaria than other countries, which makes it a reliable intervention. The study shows that socio-emotional skills are key to well-being and are an integral part of an effective education system. The integration of the study findings into educational policies is key to the realization of Bulgarian young people's potential in order to encourage the development of socio-emotional skills in all of them. 

The opening of the forum was also attended by Vice President Iliana Iotova, and caretaker Education Minister Galin Tsokov.