Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC

 

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Education and Culture are financing PIAAC, the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. Some 25 countries are participating in the study, initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. The study will assess the various basic skills needed by the adult population in different walks of life, as well as their application to work and everyday living. Data collection for the study will commence in Finland at the beginning of September 2011 and will be completed in spring 2012. The initial results of the study will be made public in 2013.

 

Building a knowledge base for education and employment policies

 

The PIAAC study will survey adult literacy and numeracy skills, and problem solving skills in technology-rich environments. At the same time, new information will be obtained on education amongst Finns, their activities as citizens and in working life, and the way in which these factors affect their social and economic well-being.

Based on the results, adult skills and competencies can be developed in various ways. The results of the study can be utilised by, for example, Finnish educators, decision-makers and researchers. The results will constitute a knowledge base for the planning of future educational and employment policies.

The international aspects of PIAAC make the study particularly interesting. Information accrued in Finland can be compared to corresponding information from other countries, thus arriving at an even more comprehensive view of national development needs.

Research participation is the key

For the results of the study to be internationally commensurable, a sufficient number of interviews i.e. involving 5,000 Finnish-speakers and 300 Swedish-speakers, must be conducted. The participation of each person selected for the study is of the utmost importance, as he or she represents hundreds of other Finns and cannot be replaced.

The study will be conducted through face-to-face interviews. All answers will be handled confidentially and it will not be possible to identify individual respondents from the results.

 

The study will obtain information from

• residents of Finland from the age group 16–65
  
• people who are employed, unemployed, retired, stay-at-home, and students;
  
• and people with various educational backgrounds.

 

Implementation of the study is being steered by the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and the Finnish National Board of Education. The study will be implemented through the co-operation of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä, and Statistics Finland.

 

Further information is available from:

Antero Malin, Professor, Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä, tel. +358 (0)50 411 6551

Petri Haltia, Counsellor of Education, Ministry of Education and Culture,

tel. +358 (0)9 1607 7457

Varpu Weijola, Chief Counsellor, Ministry of Employment and the Economy,

tel. +358 (0)10 60 48029

Reijo Laukkanen, Counsellor of Education, Finnish National Board of Education,

tel. +358 (0)40 348 7943

Marko Ylitalo, Researcher, Statistics Finland, tel. +358 (0)9 1734 3560 (data collection)