Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives
Findings from the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills 2023
Social and Emotional Skills for Better Lives presents results from the OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) 2023. SSES is the largest international effort to collect data on these skills among 10- and 15-year-old students.
The report explores how the following skills differ by socio-demographic groups and how they relate to key life outcomes: task performance skills (persistence, responsibility, self-control and achievement motivation); emotional regulation skills (stress-resistance, emotional control and optimism); engaging with others skills (assertiveness, sociability and energy); open-mindedness skills (curiosity, creativity and tolerance); and collaboration skills (empathy and trust).
The results show that students’ social and emotional skills – or 21st century skills – are linked to better life outcomes, including academic success, greater life satisfaction, healthier behaviours, less test and class anxiety, and more ambitious career plans. The Survey also finds that these skills are inequitably distributed among students by age, gender, and socio-economic background.
SSES 2023 was conducted in Bulgaria, Chile, Peru, Spain, Mexico, Ukraine, Bogotá (Colombia), Delhi (India), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Gunma (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Sobral (Brazil) and Turin (Italy). Results are compared to SSES 2019, which took place before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Educational success and career prospects
This chapter examines the relationships between students’ social and emotional skills and their educational outcomes, as well as their career preparedness and job aspirations. Educational outcomes include students’ academic performance in reading, mathematics, and arts; levels of absenteeism and tardiness; and students’ expectations to complete tertiary education. Career preparedness and job aspirations cover students’ participation in career development activities and their future career plans, including whether they expect to have a managerial or professional career or start their own business.
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