Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015: highlights from Scotland's results: collaborative problem solving

4. Student Questionnaire Responses

Students’ views on collaborative behaviour

37. Scottish students were significantly more likely than the OECD average to “agree” or “strongly agree” to the statements that “I enjoy seeing my classmates be successful” (89.6 per cent vs. 87.8 per cent), “I take into account what others are interested in” (90.2 per cent vs. 86.4 per cent), “I prefer working as part of a team than working alone” (71.4 per cent vs. 66.9 per cent) and “I find that teamwork raises my own efficiency” (71.6 per cent vs. 69.7 per cent).

38. Scotland scored similar to the OECD average on the overall “Index of Valuing Relationships”, however, within Scotland, there was a difference between the top and bottom quartiles by social background (measured by ESCS) with more advantaged students more likely to value relationships. In contrast however, students from less advantaged backgrounds were more likely to value teamwork than their more advantaged peers.

39. Girls scored higher than boys on valuing relationships overall, and were more likely than boys to say “I am good listener” (91.5 per cent vs. 84.3 per cent), “I enjoy seeing my classmates be successful” (92.9 per cent vs. 86.2 per cent), “I take into account what others are interested in” (92.9 per cent vs. 87.6 per cent) and “I enjoy considering different perspectives” (89.8 per cent vs. 84.4 per cent).

40. Boys were more likely than girls to value teamwork overall, being more likely to say “I prefer working as part of a team than working alone” (74.0 per cent vs. 69.8 per cent), “I find that teams make better decisions than individuals” (75.4 per cent vs. 71.5 per cent), and “I enjoy co-operating with peers” (89.0 per cent vs. 86.6 per cent).

41. Further questionnaire data was published in the Scottish Government’s previous PISA report, as well the OECD volumes.