‘It is a popular misunderstanding that school kills creativity, or that creativity is more important than knowledge’

What exactly does this research entail?

“This is the little brother of the well-known PISA study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). While the PISA study mainly assesses cognitive skills, such as arithmetic, reading and problem-solving skills, this study looks at social and emotional skills. It assesses qualities such as creativity, tolerance, curiosity and ambition in both ten and fifteen year olds. And this by questioning the young people themselves, as well as their teachers and parents.”

Those skills appear to have diminished. How did that happen?

“That is correct, although we must immediately point out that the research was only carried out in Finland and Colombia in 2019 and 2023. This shows that tolerance, creativity and curiosity in particular have decreased, but also trust and responsibility. It is striking that we see this decrease in two completely different places. Putting your finger on the cause is less easy. The corona pandemic may play a role in this.”

The PISA study already showed that the cognitive skills of young people are deteriorating. To what extent are they related to social and emotional skills?

“It is a popular misconception that school kills creativity, or that creativity is more important than knowledge. Creativity is making new connections between what you know. That doesn’t work as well if you know less. Creativity therefore requires knowledge. For other properties, such as tolerance, the link with cognition is less clear, but in some cases it is certainly there.”

Can you learn these skills at school, and should we pay more attention to them?

“Better social and emotional skills can benefit not only well-being, but also educational performance and later professional success. Although I think that works both ways.

“We call them skills, but in fact they are partly innate personality traits. You can stimulate and further develop them. In the Netherlands, for example, schools pay more attention to citizenship. But it can also be done by paying more attention to matters such as creativity, collaboration and living together during regular subjects and daily school activities.”

The research shows that girls are more ambitious, but score lower on mental well-being.

“We also see in other research that girls more often continue their studies, and that boys more often drop out or leave school prematurely. On the other hand, girls are less resistant to stress and often feel less good about themselves.”

There has been growing concern recently about the impact of social media on the mental well-being of young people. Justifiably?

“Some studies do find a statistical connection, but this usually appears to explain only a small part of the difference in well-being. There are also many other factors that can weigh on young people, such as successive wars and economic problems. In addition, we know that young people who feel less good about themselves often spend more time on social media. It is therefore not always easy to distinguish cause and effect.

“Which does not alter the fact that young people who do not feel well via social media can end up in a negative spiral. But although I personally believe that we should be more careful with social media use by young people, I see insufficient evidence for the strong statements about a causal relationship with mental well-being.”