How proficient are adults in solving
problems in digital environments?
Findings from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC)
Ji Eun CHUNGPolicy Analyst Directorate for Education and Skills
• Motivation– Importance of both problem solving and ICT
Problem solving in technology-rich environments
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90Job tasks
Routine tasks
Solving unforesee
n problems
Source: European Working Conditions Survey (2010)
Use of problem solving skills and trends in ICT use
Source: Eurostat, Community Survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Online job search
2013
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70E-government
2008 20132005
Technology use by sectorPercentage of workers reporting frequent usage
Financial services
Education
Public administration and defence
Health
Other services
Wholesale, retail, food and accommodation
Industry
Transport
Construction
Agriculture
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
ICT ICT and machinery Machinery No technology
Source: European Working Conditions Survey (2010)
• Types of tasks:– Working with information from e-mail messages,
websites, and spreadsheets
• Differences with Literacy and Numeracy– France, Italy, Spain did not participate– Not done by many (23%) respondents – Non-participant categories
• No computer experience, fail ICT core, opt out
– Reporting proportions instead of scores– 3 vs. 5 levels of proficiency– Duration of skill development
• PS: New skill developed during last 10-20 years• Lit/Num: 1000s of hours of formal instruction
Problem solving in technology-rich environments
Click
Tasks involved in this item• Click on links on both
the results page and associated web pages;
• Navigate, using the back and forward arrows or the Home icon; and
• Bookmark web pages and view or change those bookmarks.
Level: Harder
Level: Easier
Tasks involved in this item• Select a set of files that
meets specified criteria (genre and size).
• Download onto a portable music player.
• Use an automatic summing functionality in this programme.
No Computer Experience
Failed ICT Core
Opted Out of Computer
Below Level 1
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
8
5
10
12
29
28
6
4
6
6
15
30
29
7
Canada2 OECD average
Overall results (16-65 year-olds)- % at different proficiency levels
%
% of High performing adults (Level 2 or 3), by age
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-65
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
51
49
38
24
12
51
49
42
28
16
Canada
OECD Aver-age
% of adults with no computer experience, by age
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-65
0 5 10 15 20 25
1
2
4
11
22
0
1
2
6
12
Canada
OECD Average
% of high performing adults (Level 2 or 3), by education attainment level
Tertiary
Upper Secondary
Lower than upper Secondary
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
52
31
19
47
32
19
Canada
% of adults with no computer experience, by level of education
Tertiary
Upper Secondary
Lower than upper Secondary
0 5 10 15 20 25
1
7
21
1
4
16
Canada
OECD Average
• Age and literacy proficiency have the strongest relationships to proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments.
• Educational attainment and frequent email use are strongly related to proficiency.
• Gender is weakly related to proficiency and immigrant and language background do not have a significant relationship with proficiency in technology-rich environments.
Factors related to high performance in problem solving using digital devises
Age:Young minus Old
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
28
Adjusted-OECD
Adjusted-OECD
% point
Younger adults are more proficient at Levels 2 or 3
Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
Literacy (or Numeracy) (Lv4/5-Lv2)
62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
69 Adjusted-OECD
% point
Adults with high literacy are more proficient at Levels 2 or 3
Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
Gender (Men-Women)
Email Use (More than once a month use-less than once a month)
Educ Attainment (Tertiary-lower than upper secondary)
0 1020304050607080
7
15
13
OECD Aver...
% point
Other factors related to problem solving skills
Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
Spreadsheet
Word Processor
Internet: Conduct Transactions
Internet: Understand Issues
0 20 40 60 80100
23
45
59
74
80
21
43
57
70
73
Percentage using at least monthly
OECD averageCanada
ICT use in everyday life
%
Spreadsheet
Word Processor
Internet: Conduct Transactions
Internet: Understand Issues
0 20 40 60
42
50
25
56
60
35
44
20
50
57
Percentage using at least monthly
OECD averageCanada
ICT use at work
%
Japan
Australia, Canada, US
OECD Average, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, Poland, UK
Austria, Czech Rep, Denmark, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Netherlands,
Slovak Rep, Sweden
Korea
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
16.3
6.4
4.8
3.3
1.7
Lack of computer skills has affected job
Adequacy of computer skills
%
Problem solving and labour force participation (OECD Average)
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
14
-30
6
-15
Unadjusted differences Adjusted¹ differences % point
Highest minus the lowest level of proficiency
No ICT experience minus the
lowest level of proficiency
1.Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
3
-17
Adjusted¹ differences % point
Highest minus the lowest level of proficiency
n.s
Problem solving and labour force participation (Canada)
No ICT experience minus the lowest level of proficiency
1.Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
-30%
-20%
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
26%
-18%
51%
n.s-6%
9%
Unadjusted differences Adjusted¹ differences
Highest minus the lowest level of proficiency
No ICT experience minus the lowest level of profi-
ciency
Problem solving and ICT use and wages (OECD Average)
No ICT experience minus the lowest level of proficiency
1.Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
Problem solving and ICT use and wages (Canada)
No ICT experience minus the lowest level of proficiency
1.Adjustment differences take socio-demographic characteristics, literacy and numeracy proficiency, email use at home and reading/writing/numeracy use at home into account.
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
18%
-10%
21%
n.s n.s
13%
Socio-demographic control Adjusted¹ differences
Highest minus the lowest level of proficiency
Highest minus the lowest level of profi-
ciency
No ICT experience minus the lowest level of
proficiency
• Two-thirds of adults use e-mail and the Internet in their everyday lives, at least once a month on average. Almost half of the workforce uses e-mail daily at work and almost half use word-processing programmes at least once a month.
• Despite the widespread use of ICT, some 8% of adults have no experience with computers (the proportions range from less than 3% in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden to around 15% or larger in Italy, Korea, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Spain).
• To encourage widespread use of such “e-government” services, governments can provide assistance to adults with low proficiency in problem solving in technology-rich environments, and ensure that websites intended for the general public are user-friendly.
Summary
• Adults who are older, have less education, have parents with less education, are immigrants with a foreign-language background, or have poor literacy or numeracy skills are all more likely to perform poorly in problem solving in technology-rich environments.
• These adults are also less likely to have computer experience. These adults are likely to find it increasingly difficult to develop the skills needed to participate fully in technology-rich societies. Governments, business and education providers can all help adults to develop proficiency in solving problems in technology-rich environments.
Summary
• Adults with the highest levels of problem solving proficiency in digital environments have greater chances of having work than those who are proficient at the lowest level.
• Adults who do not have any experience with digital devices have definite disadvantages in terms of employment and wages.
Summary
Find Out More About PIAAC at:
www.oecd.org/site/piaac All international publications
The complete micro-level database and associated documentation
Data tools
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