Adult Education and Full-time Professionals' Problem Solving Skills

Abstract

Sponsored by OECD, PIAAC represents the first attempt to assess adult problem solving in technology-rich environments (PS-TRE) on an international scale that is comparable cross-culturally and cross-nationally. The objectives of this study are to study (1) the distributions of PS-TRE proficiency scores across 14 selected countries and (2) within each country, the associations between PS-TRE proficiency scores and the different formats of adult education and training (AET) participation. Using data on full-time professionals (at least 25 years old) from these countries, propensity score weighting was applied to estimate the associations between the different formats of AET participation and their PS-TRE proficiency scores. To place these estimates in context, parallel analyses were conducted – one with the sample of full-time associates in the 14 selected countries and the other with full-time professionals’ Literacy and Numeracy proficiency scores as measured by PIAAC. The results showed that after controlling for socio-demographic background, occupational categories, use of key information-processing skills (both at home and at work), as well as use of generic workplace skills, no consistent pattern was found across the 14 selected countries. At the individual country level, scattered significant relationships were identified. For example, in Denmark, both formats of AET participation (vs. None) are significantly and positively associated with full-time professionals’ PS-TRE proficiency scores and their probability of scoring in the top quartile of the PS-TRE distribution (p < .01). While in the United States, Formal AET (vs. None) is significantly and positively associated with full-time associates’ PS-TRE proficiency scores and their probability of scoring in the top quartile of the PS-TRE distribution (p < .01). The variations in relationships between the different formats of AET participation and working adults’ skills proficiency across domains and samples indicate the necessity of conducting qualitative research on AET programs in individual countries. Furthermore, to provide recommendations tailored to the specific needs of each country, a fine-grained classification of AET programs based on the OECD guideline was suggested.