International student comparison - Pisa evaluation: German pupils have average creativity
The best young creative minds are reportedly situated in Singapore, South Korea, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand according to a study, German teenagers perform average in creative thinking. This conclusion was drawn from the latest Pisa study, published by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) responsible for Pisa.
According to the study, German youth can think creatively just as well as their peers in the OECD countries, placing them roughly on par with their counterparts in Spain, France, the Netherlands, or Israel.
Comic Dialog and Bee Awareness
In the Pisa study, 15-16-year-olds are tested in reading, mathematics, and science every three years. The results of the latest study were presented in December. The tests, including the one mentioned here, were conducted in 2022. German students had the weakest performance in these tests, which is the poorest Germany has ever recorded in the context of Pisa. In addition to the standard test, this time they also assessed how creatively students of this age can think.
Participants were asked to come up with three distinct ideas in five minutes that could strengthen bee awareness. In other tasks, they were asked to creatively fill in speech balloons in a given comic or change a poster with a worldview perspective to fit the theme "Life in Space." Approximately 5,900 German students reportedly completed the creative thinking test.
Creative Thinking is Linked to Math, Reading, and Science
The focus was on whether the youth could come up with an original idea, develop foreign ideas, and generate multiple ideas for the same question, explained Doris Lewalter, the education researcher and head of the German PISA study at TU Munich.
"It's about solving social and scientific problems and expressing yourself both in writing and visually." The evaluation showed that the ability to think creatively is significantly related to the core competencies in mathematics, reading, and science, according to a statement from the university.
Girls Outperform Boys Everywhere
The study concludes that a similar pattern emerges in creative thinking, as in the general Pisa test: The top performers are the East Asian countries, and the bottom performers are the countries in Latin America. Surprisingly, however, high creative performances were observed in youth from Australia and New Zealand, who did not rank high in mathematics tests among the OECD countries. In all OECD countries, the study attests to higher competencies in creative thinking among girls than boys. This effect is more pronounced in Germany than in the average of other OECD countries.
The study also reveals, as with the Pisa results in mathematics, reading, and science, significant disparities "to the detriment of socially disadvantaged students and students with a migration background," as stated in a press release from the Federal Ministry of Education and the Conference of Ministers of Culture and Education.
- The PISA study, published by the OECD, reveals that South Korean and Canadian young minds are considered the best in creative thinking alongside those from Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Despite German teenagers averagely performing in creative thinking as per the latest PISA study, they are found to be as creative as their counterparts in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Israel, and other OECD countries.
- In the PISA study, participants aged 15-16 were tested on their creative thinking skills, with 5,900 German students reportedly completing the creative thinking test.
- The PISA study assessed the creative thinking of students by asking them to come up with ideas to strengthen bee awareness and fill in speech balloons creatively in comics.
- The ability to think creatively is significantly related to the core competencies in mathematics, reading, and science, according to the German PISA study conducted by Doris Lewalter at TU Munich.
- Surprisingly, high creative performances were observed in youth from Australia and New Zealand, who did not rank high in mathematics tests among the OECD countries, as per the PISA study.
- The PISA study shows that girls outperform boys in creative thinking worldwide, with Germany displaying a more pronounced effect in this regard compared to the average of other OECD countries.
- The PISA study also highlights significant disparities in creative thinking skills among socially disadvantaged students and students with a migration background, as stated in a press release from the Federal Ministry of Education and the Conference of Ministers of Culture and Education.
- The Netherlands, France, and Israel, being part of the OECD, are among the countries where German teenagers can think creatively just as well as their counterparts, as per the conclusion drawn from the latest Pisa study.
