The importance of the PISA global competencies test
by Editorial Team on February 16, 2018 0 Comments
By Sara Dube
Recently, I read Sean Coughlan's article about how schools in the UK and the USA will not be incorporating the new Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) global competencies test run by the OECD into their curriculum. I would disagree with this decision. The PISA global competencies test, as described by Coughlan, is "designed to assess respect for other cultures, challenge extremism and help identify fake news." If the aim of education is truly to equip children with the skills to take on the 'real world,' then the qualities mentioned in the description of the PISA test could not be more relevant in today's increasingly globalized, 'post-truth' world experiencing an alarming rise in extreme nationalism across several countries.
As a greater number of areas in the job market – such as law, marketing, manufacturing, and many others – must adapt to an international atmosphere, the values of cultural understanding and tolerance are ones that are now more essential than ever in the workplace. The PISA global competencies test, measuring "how well young people [are] prepared to work alongside people from different cultures and with different beliefs," would therefore emphasize the significance of such skills to students from an early age, which I would argue is as important as teaching them the basics of mathematics and language. Most schools place a lot of value on subjects such as English and foreign languages. For example, as a graduate of the IB Diploma Programme, it was compulsory for me to take both an English as well as a foreign language course. It seems to me that it should be no less obvious that educators should ensure students are competent in understanding and appreciating the values of other cultures. For what good will learning a foreign language do if you cannot communicate with the people of its country due to an inability to overcome cultural differences?
My arguments for the importance of this cultural awareness are not just hypothetical. Fast-food chains such as McDonalds and Subway quickly realized that to operate and to flourish in the Indian market, where so many people are vegetarian or do not eat beef due to cultural and religious beliefs, they must open all-vegetarian branches – which they did in many cities across India. This shows how it is essential to recognize and to respect differences in cultures across the world – while globalization has made many things common to people across countries, it also serves to highlight certain cross-cultural differences that must be respected in order to achieve a more peaceful world order. The particular example of the fast-food chains demonstrates how appreciating these differences is useful in succeeding in business.
Mr. Coughlan goes on to recount how Andreas Schleicher, the OECD's education director, emphasized that there has to be a greater awareness of "values" as social media tends to isolate people within their "echo chambers" – since the pages and websites they follow on networks such as Facebook or Twitter serve only to reinforce their own views, with little to no exposure to contradictory perspectives that are so crucial in experiencing the world in all its colours, so to speak. After all, the challenges to one's views that can be found in studying other cultures can only be of benefit: either one is able to rationally respond to the challenges and one's own perspectives are developed and strengthened, or one may find the challenge valid and therefore grow to experience the world from a new point of view. Even better, one may realize that cross-cultural values can coexist within a respectful environment. Much of what is taught in current education systems deals with objectivity – such as the rules of mathematics or the grammar of a foreign language. These are facts that do not change depending on what one's cultural or religious background is. It therefore becomes very easy for students' personal, subjective viewpoints to go unchallenged as they associate with people and frequent social media propagating the same views as their own, outside of school. Tests dealing with international differences are therefore very important in understanding cultural values of different societies and recognizing that just because one is surrounded by people of the same views and ideals does not mean that these opinions are objectively the right ones for everyone in the world to hold.
Besides increasing appreciation of others' values, heightened cultural awareness will also be beneficial for students as it will demonstrate not only the differences in societies across the world but also their similarities. It can, at its best, teach students to understand intercultural differences as well as to realize that despite these differences, we all share a common "human dignity" that, above all, must always be respected. This is something that some forget when they look at a person and the first thing they see is their race, colour, or religion, unable to move past these differences to see the underlying common humanity.
I cannot emphasize how important I think it is for students across the world to take the PISA global competencies test and to increase their cultural awareness. As Mr. Schleicher pointed out, the most successful education systems tend to be those that are the most "open and diverse," such as that of Canada. As someone who has lived in Mumbai, Warsaw, Dubai and Oxford I can attest to the immense value of recognition of, respect for, and exposure to the wealth of diversity in our world – both for personal development as well as for social cohesion and harmony. I certainly hope that schools in the UK and the US will recognize the importance of tests such as this one and incorporate them into their education systems. As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry stressed, "He who is different from me does not impoverish me – he enriches me. Our unity is constituted in something higher than ourselves – in Man…For no man seeks to hear his own echo, or to find his reflection in the glass." We must learn from our differences and take refuge in our common humanity to find our strength and to progress as a truly global society.
Sara is an undergraduate reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford. She is very interested in human rights and plans to pursue a career of law.
Coughlan, S. (2018, January 24). England and US will not take Pisa tests in tolerance. BBC. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
The Lady of None
by Editorial Team on January 17, 2018 0 Comments
By Shahana Nair Joshi
Aung San Suu Kyi— a leader whose name once evoked emotions of hope, inspiration and resilience and who was once a symbol of democracy and championed the need for an equitable power dynamic in the world— now lives under harsh criticism for maintaining a jarring silence over the alleged genocide that is rampantly taking place in her country. Criticism against her has been pouring in from all corners of the world, including from her fellow Nobel laureates. Most recently she was stripped of her "Freedom of Oxford' title granted to her by the Oxford Council and the 'Freedom of Dublin City' award bestowed upon her by the Dublin City Council. While these reactions may seem obvious in the face of what seems like a leader's apathy in the face of a humanitarian crisis, it is important to also understand the context within which the role Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of state, is defined. Read More
The Trouble with Humanitarian Aid
by Editorial Team on November 20, 2017 1 Comment
Humanitarian agencies are an important international response mechanism to conflicts worldwide. The broad purpose of aid organisations is to relieve the suffering of victims, a worthy goal that may in theory sound simple enough but in practice can prove extremely complicated. Many conflicts are driven by years, perhaps decades, of tensions, and understanding the nuances of each situation is key in enabling an effective response. Similarly, disaster zones can give rise to complicated dynamics within the affected community and between locals and aid workers arriving from outside. As a result, humanitarian efforts need to be well-organised and carefully targeted towards the specific crisis, but with a multiplicity of actors this can be difficult to achieve. Read More
by Editorial Team on November 14, 2017 0 Comments
By Matteo Roscio
"Gross Domestic Product measures everything, except that which makes life worthwhile"; this was the concluding sentence of Robert Kennedy's speech at the University of Kansas on March 18th, 1968, a statement embodying debates regarding the dominant use of this index to measure and direct wealth and development globally. Read More
Legal Framework of Children's Rights in India: Reflections from Fieldwork
by Editorial Team on November 2, 2017 0 Comments
Copywright to Vijay Bandari, Flikr
Children are the future of each nation, so it therefore follows that it is essential for each government to protect and to uphold children's rights. Three main areas of children's rights include: food and nutrition, protection from violence and abuse, and education. According to the Indian Constitution and certain Supreme Court orders and Acts of the Parliament, children are entitled to several rights under these categories. While working with the MV Foundation, a child rights organization based in India, I had the opportunity to talk to several girls taken out of child labour and placed into a transitional academics residential camp before entering public school. I found that while several programmes such as ration shops and mid-day meals at school seem to work relatively efficiently, others – on which I will focus in this post, require more government attention. Therefore, it became increasingly apparent that there was a stark difference between the laws in place to protect the rights of children and their actual implementation. Read More
Should Aung San Suu Kyi be stripped of her Nobel Peace Prize?
by Editorial Team on October 27, 2017 0 Comments
Aung San Suu Kyi is known across the world as a devoted pro-democracy fighter and a beacon of perseverant light against autocracy. However, in recent months, global leaders and media have become particularly concerned about her response towards the persecution of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority. The UN has called the situation akin to ethnic cleansing, a claim which has been refuted by Aung San Suu Kyi. Baffled by her silence and refusal to condemn the crimes against the Rohingya, numerous people, including many of her fellow Nobel laureates, have appealed for her to speak for the Rohingya and stand up against the violence targeted towards them. There have even been calls to remove her Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for her decades-long stance against military dictatorship in Myanmar. Read More