International study ranks Hong Kong students among world’s best in global competence

     The Education Bureau (EDB) today (October 22) said that Hong Kong students' performance was among the world's best in terms of cognitive understanding, knowledge and skills in the Global Competence (GC) domain in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018.
 
     PISA is organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and conducted every three years with a view to assessing 15-year-old students' competence in mother-tongue reading, mathematical and scientific literacy. The key findings of PISA 2018 were released on December 3, 2019. Announced today were the results of the GC assessment in the same study, which encompassed a cognitive test and a questionnaire survey with 27 and 66 participating countries/economies respectively.
 
     GC is defined as a multi-dimensional capacity that incorporates the ability to examine local, global and intercultural issues, understand and appreciate different perspectives and viewpoints, interact successfully and respectfully with others, and take action for collective well-being and needs for sustainable development. The GC assessment examined students' knowledge on global and intercultural issues including poverty, economic interdependence, migration, inequality, environmental risks, conflicts, cultural differences and stereotypes.
 
     A spokesman for the EDB said, "In the cognitive test, Hong Kong's 15-year-old students ranked third with a mean score of 542, which is higher than the average score of 474 of all participating countries/economies. It is encouraging to note that Hong Kong students have a good knowledge of global and intercultural issues, which is important for Hong Kong as an international metropolis.
 
     "The questionnaire survey shows that compared with the curriculums of other high-achieving countries/economies, the Hong Kong school curriculum has very extensive coverage on contents of global topics. Hong Kong also benefits from a high percentage of students who could speak two or more languages at home, which is conducive to the development of students' global competence.
 
     "On the other hand, based on the survey findings, more work could be done to improve our students' perspectives in appreciating different cultures and their adaptability to multicultural environments. We will draw reference from the findings of the study and continue to work with relevant stakeholders in the school sector to cultivate in our students an attitude and mindset to appreciate cultural diversity and inclusiveness."
 
     Background information of PISA 2018 and key statistics of the GC assessment results are in the Annex.