Pisa study reveals lack of creativity in schools

A major study found that secondary school students in England feel less able to express ideas at school or take part in creative activities than their peers in many other countries.

The results of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Creative Thinking assessment were published on today (18 June). 

The assessment measured how 15-year-olds in the participating countries were able to generate solutions for problems in everyday contexts. 

The data came from research carried out in 2022.

In the study, student are less likely to say that their teachers value creativity.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) of English students taking part in the Pisa study agreed that they were given the chance to express their ideas at school.

This was below the OECD's average of 69.3 per cent.

However, English pupils reported similar levels of participation in art and science clubs, compared with the OECD average, and were slightly above the average in students’ reports of access to drama at least once a week.

Singapore ranked top in the study for creative thinking.

The main Pisa results for maths, science and reading were released in December. England is ranked 11th for maths and 13th for both reading and science.