14 December 2017
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has defined global competence as “the capacity to examine global and inter-cultural issues, to take multiple perspectives, to engage in open, appropriate and effective interactions with people from different cultures and to act for collective well-being and sustainable development”.
In future years, OECD will be looking to assess students on these abilities, via the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) test.
Students will read about a case study and be evaluated on their ability to understand the case and suggest solutions. They will also be gauged on their ability to interact and work together with people from diverse backgrounds.
OECD hopes to assess the ability of students to address global developments, and also provide data that will help schools and teachers prepare young people for global citizenship.
In an earlier interview with The Straits Times on Pisa’s move to test global competence, Dr Andreas Schleicher, OECD’s director for education and skills, said it was important to nurture the capacity of students “to look at the world through different lenses and perspectives, appreciate different ways of thinking and different cultures”.
He also said that the Pisa test aims to look carefully at the evolution of skills demanded in the workplace and by societies.