Science Education for
Innovation-Driven Societies
Francesco Avvisati
OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI)
Paris, Educating for Innovation-Driven Societies, 26 April 2012
Outline
Education
and
training
Skills
Innovation
• How does science
education contribute to
individual skills for
innovation?
• Do education systems
foster all skills for
innovation?
• Are certain science
pedagogies more effective
in that respect?
• How can technology and
informal learning help?
HOW DOES SCIENCE
EDUCATION CONTRIBUTE TO
INDIVIDUAL SKILLS FOR
INNOVATION?
Innovation intensity by field of study
• Traditional views emphasise role of STEM graduates,
innovation intensity: any type
but...
other
humanities
law
40
health
50
knowledge or methods
business
60
social sciences
70
education
80
arts
technology or tools
agriculture
90
architecture
product or service
engineering
& computing
sciences
& maths
100
30
20
10
0
4
Non-disciplinary skills and innovation
• Critical skills according to tertiary educated workers
1
come up with new ideas/solutions
willingness to question ideas
present ideas to audience
alertness to opportunities
coordinate activities
analytical thinking
acquire new knowledge
mobilize capacities of others
make your meaning clear
master of your own field
write reports or documents
work productively with others
write/speak a foreign language
use time efficiently
use computers and internet
perform under pressure
negociate
knowledge of other fields
assert your authority
2
4
3.1
2.9
2.8
2.6
4.1
Odds ratio (innovative
vs non-innovative
graduates); based on
Reflex and Hegesco
5
Science education and Innovation Skills
• need to consider learning outcomes that
go beyond mastery of content knowledge
and of procedural knowledge:
– Skills in thinking and creativity, positive
habits of mind (curiosity, perseverance,...)
and social skills;
• Science, as a subject, offers excellent
opportunities for developing these...
• ... but how far are they really fostered in
today’s schools?
DO EDUCATION SYSTEMS
FOSTER ALL SKILLS FOR
INNOVATION?
Do countries foster simultaneously subject-based and
behavioural skills? Not necessarily
Example: Science scores and interest in science
Interest in Science Topics
640
620
HIGH SCORE
HIGH INTEREST
LOW SCORE
HIGH INTEREST
MEX
IDN
600
BRA
CHL
580
PRT
560
540
TUR
520
500
480
460
440
LOW SCORE
LOW INTEREST
380
400
420
440
GRC
ESP
RUS
HKG
ITA
MAC
FRA
SVK
DEU
HUN
ISR
LUX AUT SVN JPN
POL BEL CHE EST
CZE
KOR
USA IRL
CAN
NOR
GBRAUS
ISL
NZL
DNK
FIN
SWE
NLD
460
Source: OECD, based on PISA 2006
480
500
520
540
560
HIGH SCORE
LOW INTEREST
580
600
Science Score
620
Robustness
partial correlation coefficents between science interest and
science score
(1)
partial correlation
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
-0.74 -0.71 -0.66 -0.69 -0.74 -0.56
controls:
GDP p/c
X
Luxembourg
X
X
X
X
Self-concept (mean)
X
X
Self-efficacy (mean)
Culture (Hofstede 4dim)
X
X
N
X
34
34
33
34
X
32
31
0
-0.5
-1
0.5
Source: OECD, based on PISA 2006
HKG
IDN
MAC
BRA
RUS
0.3
IDN
MAC
HKG
MEX
HUN
PRT
USA
EST
TUR
SVK
CZE
ITA
ESP
ISR
GRC
LUX
AUT
DEU
BEL
NZL
NLD
GBR
IRL
CHE
FRA
AUS
CAN
KOR
SVN
DNK
JPN
SWE
FIN
NOR
ISL
0.6
BRA
RUS
1
GBR
SVN
GRC
CAN
DEU
FIN
IRL
AUS
CHE
LUX
FRA
DNK
SWE
NOR
ISL
JPN
KOR
-0.3
CHL
POL
1E-15
CHL
USA
PRT
ISR
ITA
POL
BEL
NZL
MEX
TUR
NLD
SVK
ESP
CZE
HUN
AUT
EST
The Test-Score/Interest Paradox
within-school correlation of individual interest and scores
-0.6
between-school correlation of average interest and scores
ARE SOME PEDAGOGIES
MORE EFFECTIVE IN
FOSTERING ALL SETS OF
SKILLS FOR INNOVATION?
A within-country analysis
Teaching indicators in PISA 2006 based on 4 clusters of activities:
• Interaction
– Collaboration and
participatory
exchanges
• Application
– Drawing connections
between school
science and the
outside world
• Hands-on
– Guided activities
around lab
experiments
• Investigation
– Autonomous student
inquiries
Pedagogies for innovation skills
Science score
Interest in Science Topics
0.3
0.3
0.25
0.25
0.2
0.2
0.15
0.15
0.1
0.1
0.05
4
0
-1
8
-2
-0.15
3
0.05
1
0
-2
-0.05
-0.1
20
-0.05
-10
-0.1
-0.15
-2
-1
6
-1
Effective Science Pedagogies
• The current teacher has more impact on interest
than on scores;
• Structured inquiry (“hands-on”) dominates
unstructured inquiry for scores
• Interest and curiosity are nurtured with
“applications”: i.e. when the teacher…
– …explains how a school science idea can be applied to a
number of different phenomena
– …uses science to help students understand the world
outside school
– …explains the relevance of science concepts to our lives
– … uses technological applications to show how school
science is relevant to society
Leverage technology, harness informal learning opportunities,...
INNOVATING SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Francesco.Avvisati@oecd.org
THANK YOU
www.oecd.org/edu/innovation