Survey on Social

and Emotional
Skills (SSES):
Sintra
(Portugal)
 The OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills
Research shows that both cognitive, and social and emotional skills improve life outcomes at a societal and an individual
level. Considerable information exists on the development of cognitive skills but is lacking for social and emotional skills.
The OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) was established to fill this important information gap.

The SSES aims to:

• Provide participating cities with information on their students’ social and emotional skills.

• 
Identify factors in students’ home, school and peer environments that promote or hinder the development of social
and emotional skills.

• Explore how broader policy, cultural and socio-economic contexts influence these skills.

• 
Demonstrate that valid, reliable, comparable information on social and emotional skills can be produced across diverse
populations and settings.

What are social and emotional skills?

Social and emotional skills are individual abilities, attributes and characteristics that are important for academic
success, employability, active citizenship and well-being. They encompass behavioural dispositions, internal states,
approaches to tasks, and management and control of behaviour and feelings. Beliefs about the self and the world
that characterise an individual’s relationships to others are also components of social and emotional skills.

Educators and policy makers are increasingly seeking to complement the focus on academic abilities such as
mathematics, reading, or scientific literacy with attention to social and emotional capabilities in order to boost
students’ prospects as full participants in society and active citizens. Enhancing specific social and emotional skills
boosts students’ ability to develop their cognitive skills. But the benefits of developing children’s social-emotional skills
go beyond cognitive development and academic outcomes. They also improve mental health and other important
life outcomes. Inconspicuous yet significantly impactful, social and emotional skills help shape individuals’ behaviours
and lifestyles, which, in turn, shape their socio-economic outcomes. Together, social, emotional and cognitive skills
constitute a comprehensive toolbox, essential to students’ success at school and beyond.

The OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) focuses on 17 social and emotional skills ranging from curiosity
and creativity through to emotional control (see Figure 1). These skills have been selected according to three main
criteria. First, previous research shows that they are associated with individuals’ educational attainment, labour market
outcomes, health and well-being. Second, they can be improved through interventions and policy measures during
the years a student spends in school. Third, they are suitable for comparability across countries and age cohorts.

2
Figure 1. Description of the skills included in the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills

DOMAINS SKILLS DESCRIPTION

OPEN-MINDEDNESS CURIOSITY Interest in ideas and love of learning, understanding and

(Openness to intellectual exploration; an inquisitive mind-set.
experience)
TOLERANCE Is open to different points of view, values diversity, is appreciative
of foreign people and cultures.

CREATIVITY Generating novel ways to do or think about things through

exploring, learning from failure, insight and vision.

TASK RESPONSIBILITY Able to honour commitments, and be punctual and reliable.

PERFORMANCE
SELF-CONTROL Able to avoid distractions and sudden impulses and focus
(Conscientiousness)
attention on the current task in order to achieve personal goals.

PERSISTENCE Persevering in tasks and activities until they get done.

ENGAGING WITH SOCIABILITY Able to approach others, both friends and strangers, initiating
OTHERS and maintaining social connections.
(Extraversion)
ASSERTIVENESS Able to confidently voice opinions, needs, and feelings, and exert
social influence.

ENERGY Approaching daily life with energy, excitement and spontaneity.

EMOTION STRESS RESISTANCE Effectiveness in modulating anxiety and able to calmly solve
REGULATION problems (is relaxed, handles stress well).
(Emotional stability)
OPTIMISM Positive and optimistic expectations for self and life in general.

EMOTIONAL Effective strategies for regulating temper, anger and irritation in

CONTROL the face of frustrations.

COLLABORATION EMPATHY Understanding and caring for others and their well-being that
(Agreeableness) leads to valuing and investing in close relationships.

TRUST Assuming that others generally have good intentions and

forgiving those who have done wrong.

CO-OPERATION Living in harmony with others and valuing interconnectedness

among all people.

ADDITIONAL ACHIEVEMENT Setting high standards for oneself and working hard to meet
INDICES MOTIVATION them.

SELF-EFFICACY The strength of individuals’ beliefs in their ability to execute tasks

and achieve goals.

Source: Assessment Framework of the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (Kankaraš and Suarez-Alvarez, 2019[1])

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 3
 HIGHLIGHTS FOR SINTRA (PORTUGAL)
Sintra (Portugal)

Intellectual Curiosity,
and Persistence

Sintra (Portugal) Sintra (Portugal)

Intellectual curiosity and persistence are the social and emotional

skills most strongly related to students’ school performance across
theIntellectual
10 participating
Curiosity, cities. In Sintra, students who Curiosity,
Intellectual are more trusting
and Persistence also tend to have higher grades.and Persistence

In Sintra, and on average across all participating cities, 15-year-o

al curiosity and persistence Intellectual curiosity
are the social and persistence are the social and emotional
and emotional In Sintr
exhibit higher skills in the domains of emotional regulation (stress r
skills mostperformance
strongly related to students’ school performance across
strongly related to students’ school across optimism and emotional control) and engaging with othersgo on
(asser
the 10 participating
icipating cities. In Sintra, students who are morecities. In Sintra, students who are more trusting
trusting cu
energy). Likewise, 15-year-old girls exhibit higher levels of respon
also tend to have higher grades. also tend to have higher grades. empathy, co-operation, tolerance and achievement motivati e

In Sintra, andcities,
In Sintra, and on average across all participating on average acrossboys
15-year-old all participating cities, 1
exhibit higher skills in the domains of
exhibit higher skills in the domains of emotional regulation (stress resistance, emotional regulation
optimism and emotional control) and optimism
engagingand emotional
with control) and engaging with othe
others (assertiveness,
energy).
energy). Likewise, 15-year-old girls exhibit
empathy, co-operation, tolerance and
Likewise,
higher
empathy,
levels
achievement
37%
15-year-old girls exhibit higher levels o
of responsibility,
co-operation, tolerance and achievement
motivation.

In Sintra, participation rates of 13%

schools and students10-year-olds
in SSES 15-year-olds
In Sintra, as in most participating cities, socio-economically advantaged
did not meet technical standards.
In Sintra, some 37% of 10-year-old students and
students exhibit higher levels of almost all social and emotional skills Caution must bestudents
13% of 15-year-old taken in experienced bullying at least a
measured by the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES). few times a month
interpreting or more. Students’ exposure to bullying
findings.
37% 37%
is negatively related to almost all social and emotional skills.

13% 13%
10-year-olds 15-year-olds
10-year-olds 15-year-olds

In Sintra, as in most participating cities, socio-economically advantaged In Sintra, some 37% of 10-year-old students and
most participating cities, socio-economically
students advantaged
exhibit higher In Sintra, skills
levels of almost all social and emotional some 37% of 10-year-old students
13% of and students experienced bullying
15-year-old In all pa
at
bit higher levels of almost all social and emotional skills 13% of 15-year-old
measured by the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES). students experienced bullying at least a after-schoo
few times a month or more. Students’ exposure to bu
the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES). few times a month or more. Students’ exposure related
is negatively to bullying
to almost all social and emotiona
is negatively related to almost all social and emotional skills.

4
 In Sintra, 60% of 15-year-olds reported that they expected to •
go on and complete a tertiary degree. Highly intellectually
curious students tend to have higher educational perfo
expectations in Sintra and all participating cities. who

•
to
curio
Sintra (Portugal)

•
ntra, and on average across all participating cities, 15-year-old boys exhib
higher skills in the domains of emotional regulation (stress resistance, resi
mism and emotional control) and engaging with others (assertiveness, othe
rgy). Likewise, 15-year-old girls exhibit higher levels of responsibility,
empathy, co-operation, tolerance and achievement motivation. Sintra – highlights
In Sintra, 60% of 15-year-olds reported that they expected to • Intellectual curiosity and persistence are the social and
go on and complete a tertiary degree. Highly intellectually emotional skills most strongly related to students’ school•
curious students tend to have higher educational performance across the 10 participating cities. In Sintra, students
stud
expectations in Sintra and all participating cities. who are more trusting also tend to have higher grades. (graphic) m

• In Sintra, 60% of 15-year-olds reported that they expected

to go on and complete a tertiary degree. Highly intellectually
•
curious students tend to have higher educational expectations15-yin
Sintra and all participating cities. (graphic) m
emotional In Sintra, 60% of 15-year-olds reported that they e
nce across
ear-old
re boys
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assertiveness, others (assertiveness, energy). Likewise, girls exhibit higher levels
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tivation. achievement motivation. (graphic) •

13% • In all participating cities, socio-economically advantaged

SSES

10-year-olds 15-year-olds students exhibit higher levels of every social and emotional skill
measured by the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills
(SSES). (graphic)
In Sintra,
In Sintra, some 37% and on students
of 10-year-old average across
and all participating cities, 15-year-old boys cities, students who participate in
In all participating
13% of 15-year-old students experienced
exhibit higher skills inbullying at leastofaemotional regulation
the domains after-school art activities reported higher levels of creativity,
(stress resistance,
• In Sintra, some 37% of 10-year-old students and 13% of
ew times a month or optimism
more. Students’ exposurecontrol)
and emotional to bullying particularly among 15-year-olds.
and engaging with others (assertiveness,
15-year-old students experienced bullying at least a few times a
s negatively related to almost allLikewise,
energy). social and emotional girls
15-year-old skills.exhibit higher levels of responsibility,
month or more. Students’ exposure to bullying is negatively
empathy, co-operation, tolerance and achievement motivation.
related to almost all social and emotional skills. (graphic)

• In all participating cities, students who participate in

after-school art activities reported higher levels of creativity,
particularly among 15-year-olds. (graphic)

• In Sintra, participation rates of schools and students in

SSES did not meet technical standards. Caution must be taken in
interpreting the findings.
Find more about the findings of the
Survey on Social and Emotional
st a
37%
In all participating cities, students who participate in
after-school art activities reported higher levels of creativity,
Skills in the international report:
ing particularly among 15-year-olds. OECD (2021), Beyond Academic
kills. Learning. First Results from the Survey
on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
13% Publishing, Paris,
10-year-olds 15-year-olds https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en

dvantaged In Sintra, some 37% of 10-year-old students and In all participating cities, students who participate
onal skills 13% of 15-year-old students experienced bullying at least a after-school art activities reported higher levels of crea
s (SSES). few times a month or more. Students’ exposure to bullying particularly among 15-year-olds.
is negatively related to almost all social and emotional skills.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 5
 The context of social and emotional learning in Sintra (Portugal)

Sintra (Portugal) is one of the 10 cities that took part in the OECD Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES) in
2019 (see Box 1 for demographic information about the city of Sintra). Sintra is a town and municipality in the Lisbon
Metropolitan Area, capital city of Portugal. With fewer than 400 000 inhabitants, Sintra (Portugal) is the least populous
city participating in SSES, behind Helsinki (Finland) and Ottawa (Canada), both with fewer than 1 million inhabitants.
In comparison to the rest of Portugal, Sintra (Portugal) has a lower rate of unemployment (4.1% versus 6.5% for the
whole of Portugal) combined with a lower share of tertiary-educated people. Education is one of the key areas of
investment for Portugal, with an estimated 7% of GDP spent on education (as of 2017), which is above the OECD
average (5%).

A wealth of data has been accumulated on the knowledge and cognitive skills that students possess in Portugal and
how they compare around the world, thanks to OECD surveys such as the Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA). PISA shows that 15-year-old students in Portugal have a similar level of cognitive skills to the OECD
average in reading, mathematics and science (OECD, 2019[2]). PISA also shows that socio-economically advantaged
students outperform disadvantaged students but socio-economic differences in performance in Portugal are larger
than across OECD countries. In Portugal, as well as on average in the OECD, girls significantly outperform boys in
reading while boys outperform girls in mathematics, although to a lesser extent. In Portugal, girls and boys perform
similarly in science (OECD, 2019[3]). In Portugal, in 2020, 37% of 25- to 34-year-olds are tertiary-educated, which is
below the OECD average (45%) (OECD, 2020[4]).

Box 1. Key information about Sintra (Portugal)

City: Sintra
Location: Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal
Population (2018): 388 434 inhabitants
Average age (2018): 41
Percentage of first- and second-generation immigrants (2011): 9%
Share of people holding at least a bachelor’s degree (2011): 14%
Average unemployment level among adults aged 25-65 (2011): 4.1%
Sources: Statistics Portugal, https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpgid=ine_main&xpid=INE.

However, little is known about students’ social and emotional skills and how these relate to their key outcomes
despite the attention paid to these skills in Portugal as well as in the city of Sintra (Portugal). Sintra’s participation
in SSES in 2019 helps fill this important information gap. Sintra has a strong focus on social and emotional skills
as these are embedded in a cross-cutting manner in all school subjects throughout compulsory education.
Since 2015, the Ministry of Education has adopted a set of actions that constitute the framework for the construction
of a curriculum for the 21st century. Aligned with this principle, the national curriculum for primary and secondary
education has recently improved. Three major documents provide guidance on strengthening legislated autonomy
and flexibility granted to the schools: (1) Students’ Profile at the End of Compulsory Education (2017); (2) National
Education Strategy for Citizenship (2017); and (3) Essential Learning (2019).

“Students’ Profile at the End of Compulsory Education” describes the profile schools should help students to have
developed by the time they reach the end of their schooling. It also lays out necessary actions for teachers and the
commitment schools and, ideally, families and parents should make to help students reach this goal. The document
sets out an educational vision, and principles, values and competence areas that will enable students to thrive and
contribute to a culture and country that is humanistic, scientific and artistic. Transversality is key to the student profile
and is based on the assumption that each curriculum area contributes to the development of all competence areas.
Because of this, competence areas are not strictly separated into specific components and curriculum domains.

6
In addition to the “Students’ Profile at the End of Compulsory Education” and “Essential Learning” (which addresses
curriculum overload), several complementary initiatives were launched, including: the National Programme for
Promoting School Success, which aims to lower school retention; the Legal Framework for Inclusion – Law of Inclusive
Education; and the National Education Strategy for Citizenship, which re-introduces citizenship education into the
curriculum and focuses on themes such as democratic institutions, environment, sustainability, human rights and
health (OECD, 2018[5]). Following these education reforms and the Students’ Profile, students are expected to have
developed most of the social and emotional skills examined in SSES (see Figure 1) as part of the national education
goals of both primary and secondary education. Moreover, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation endorses and finances
several projects for promoting social and emotional competencies, namely for students in the municipality of Sintra.
Based on a theoretical framework developed by the OECD, Gulbenkian Knowledge Academies (Academias Gulbenkian
do Conhecimento). Ubuntu, Sintra Grows Healthy – Health at the Table curriculum (Saúde à Mesa) and Forest School
(Escola da Floresta) (see Box 2) are just a handful of the 100 academies designed and supported by the Foundation.

In addition to these national educational goals and actions, the city of Sintra hosts quite a few local projects in
primary and secondary schools that promote social and emotional learning. These include school theatre exhibitions
and school orchestras. Pupils in primary schools can also take part in projects related to environmental education,
health education and individuals’ resilience while students in secondary education can participate in the Ubuntu
Academy and the Sintra Youth Volunteering Programme. Box 2 describes these projects and how they contribute to
the development of students’ social and emotional skills.

Sintra’s main reasons for investing in students’ social and emotional skills are to reduce absenteeism and truancy,
and youth crime and violence. Sintra aims to increase student participation and engagement in school; completion
rates in primary and secondary education; and youth employment and economic well-being while decreasing social
inequality within schools. The city also aims to improve the academic outcomes, social and emotional well-being and
health of students. Additionally, Sintra sees important benefits in improving the general quality of teacher educational
programmes and the professional learning outcomes of school staff.

Box 2. S
 ocial and emotional skills embedded in Sintra’s local education
projects
Sintra has a portfolio of local education projects that promote students’ social and emotional learning, and are
linked to national education reforms.

Schools projects for primary and secondary students

• Theatre Show for Sintra’s schools: The main aims of the school theatre exhibition are to promote social and
emotional skills among students and educators through dramatic expression. It encourages collaborative
learning, project work methodologies, and the holistic development of the learner. This project works on
co-operation, creativity, emotional control, tolerance, trust and stress resistance.

•  chool Orchestras Project: This project is aimed at students in primary and secondary public schools in the
S
municipality of Sintra. It is based on the principle of the human right to education and cultural participation
– that culture and art are essential components of a global and harmonious education for children and
young people. An orchestra was created in each school with the help of school music teachers and technical
and artistic coordination by an association. Orchestras consist of string, wind and percussion sections.
Throughout the year, students have five hours of music a week, covering solfège, orchestra, ensemble,
instrument, and musical training. This project supports the holistic development of learners through culture
and art. It also seeks to boost students’ sociability and social inclusion by strengthening bonds between
the school and the community. Students develop skills such as co-operation, collaborative learning,
responsibility, achievement motivation, self-efficacy and persistence.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 7
 Projects in primary schools

•  intra Grows Healthy: An initiative of the municipality of Sintra, this participatory, community-based project
S
promotes healthy lifestyles in school (6-10 years). When a school takes part in Sintra Grows Healthy,
it implements the “Health at the Table” curriculum, consisting of weekly sessions on food education taught
by the class teacher. The sessions are mostly practical. The school also implements and monitors a school
food policy that is discussed and accepted by the whole school community. Aside from food, sports like
bicycling are encouraged. The project involves students, school staff and families. Students develop social
and emotional skills such as self-efficacy, problem solving, communication and critical thinking.

• scola da Floresta Bloom: This innovative learning project focuses on the discovery of nature and
E
environmental conservation by connecting children and their families to nature through regular outdoor
recreational and educational activities. It helps students develop their adaptability, self-regulation,
communication, creative thinking, resilience, and problem solving. This learning is holistic and child-centred,
based on hands-on experiences in a woodland or forest context. Two centres in Sintra receive schools
or classes but the programme can also be implemented in natural spaces near the participating schools.
It consists of 16 outdoor sessions. The project illustrates how environmental education fosters environmental
awareness and ocean literacy skills.

•  ESCUR project: RESCUR is a resilience curriculum for early education and primary schools in Europe.
R
Over 2012-2015, it was coordinated by the University of Malta (Malta), with the participation of the University
of Zagreb (Croatia), University of Crete (Greece), University of Pavia (Italy), University of Lisbon (Portugal)
and Orebro University (Sweden). The project focused on resilience training for children 4- to 12-years-old
in Europe. The curriculum was developed based on current social, economic and technological needs and
challenges, and seeks to develop the skills necessary to overcome these challenges, and achieve academic
success and social and emotional well-being. In the first year, partner institutions developed the curriculum
framework and wrote the draft curriculum, consisting of six themes. In the second year, the curriculum was
tested in several schools in each partner country. In the third year, the curriculum was edited and finalised.
Three teacher manuals (pre-school, primary and secondary), a teacher’s guide and a guide for parents
were published (print and electronic versions) and translated into Croatian, English, Greek, Italian, Maltese,
Portuguese and Swedish.

Projects for students in secondary education and beyond

• The Ubuntu Academy in Sintra is a training programme for students aged 12 to 18, developed from
the servant leadership model and inspired by figures such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and
Malala. Ubuntu is an African philosophy that translates into the expression “I am because you are”.
It values interdependence and solidarity, and develops and promotes the personal, social, and civic skills
that transform participants into agents of community change for greater fairness and solidarity.

• Sintra Youth Volunteering Programme: This programme is designed for 15- to 25-year-old individuals
residing in Sintra. It promotes active citizenship skills by involving individuals in various community
activities in areas including education, culture, sports and entertainment. The skills developed through this
programme include creativity, co-operation, responsibility, fairness, trust, leadership, empathy, balance and
problem solving.

Sources:
https://mostradeteatro.home.blog/
https://cm-sintra.pt/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=631&catid=10,17,182&id=6537&view=article
https://cm-sintra.pt/atualidade/ambiente/sintra-investe-em-projeto-de-educacao-ambiental
http://crescesaudavel.sintra.pt
http://aventurasocial.com/verartigo.php?article_id=268
https://www.academialideresubuntu.org/pt/
https://cm-sintra.pt/images/01-CMS2018/noticias/pdfs/Normas-de-Participao-VSJ-2019_final.pdf

8
While this overview provides some context to examine findings from the SSES for the city of Sintra (Portugal), no
conclusion can be drawn from SSES as to how elements of this context influence social and emotional learning in Sintra.

Social and emotional skills matter for academic success

Students’ school achievement is one of the main drivers of success in life. It is linked to later educational attainment
but also to important life outcomes like employment, earnings, health and well-being. However, having the same
academic performance in school does not always lead to the same life outcomes. One potential reason why some
students are more likely to succeed than others is that they have developed specific social and emotional skills, which
intervene in the equation.

In all participating cities but Ottawa (Canada), SSES collected information on students’ school grades in three subjects:
reading, mathematics and the arts along with the results of a short cognitive ability test administered to participating
students. SSES data show that students’ social and emotional skills are significant predictors of school grades (Figure
2 and Figure 3). The strengths of the associations between certain social and emotional skills and school grades
are relatively weak but consistent across age cohorts and subjects and they remain after accounting for gender
and socio-economic differences across students. In particular, being intellectually curious and persistent are the
social and emotional skills most strongly related to school grades for both 10- and 15-year-olds in all three subjects.
To a lesser extent, students who are more assertive and responsible also tend to have better school grades. These
findings stress the importance of not only pursuing objectives in the face of difficulties but also to have an intellectual
curiosity about a diverse set of topics and to love learning new things.

Fifteen-year-olds who reported being more stress-resistant (relaxed) and sociable have, on average, lower school
grades (Figure 2). This does not mean that calmness in face of adversity (a benefit of being stress-resistant) and
seeking support from peers are harmful to school achievement. Instead, this finding might be related to the fact that
older students who typically have more autonomy than younger students may prioritise their social interactions at the
expense of school work. Students who assess themselves as more stress-resistant might also be those who feel more
remote from school and school demands. In fact, among the younger cohort, which is typically more supervised by
parents and teachers, these relationships are not observed (Figure 3). In other words, younger students may have a
less demanding school environment and are surrounded by adults who help them contain and channel their energy
and desire to interact socially in ways that do not harm their school performance.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 9
 Figure 2. Relationship between social and emotional skills, and school performance of
Figure 2. Average
15-year-old relationship between social and emotional skills, and school performance
students
of 15-year-old students
Coefficients of (standardised) grades in reading, mathematics and the arts on (standardised) scores on social and
Coefficients of (standardised) grades in reading, mathematics and the arts on (standardised) scores on social
emotional skills scales (international average)
and emotional skills scales (international average)

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00

-0.05

-0.10
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Empathy

Trust

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy
Co-operation
Emotional control

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Reading Mathematics Arts

Note:Data
Note: Datafor
for Sintra (Portugal) did
Sintra (Portugal) didnot
notreach
reach student
student response
response raterate standards
standards andnot
and are areincluded
not included in international
in international averages. averages. The regressions
The regressions are are
city-specific
site-specificand
andcontrol
controlfor
for gender,
gender, socio-economic status,and
socio-economic status, andscores
scoresinin the
the cognitive
cognitive ability
ability test,test,
withwith
the the exception
exception of Houston
of Houston (United(United States), where
States),
where
the the cognitive
cognitive ability
ability test wastest
notwas not administered.
administered. OttawaOttawa (Canada)
(Canada) is excluded
is excluded fromfrom the analysis
the analysis of school
of school grades
grades as as students’
students’ gradeswere
grades werenot
notavailable.
available.
Coloured Coloured
bars barssignificant
represent represent significant
differencesdifferences
in at least in at cities,
five least five
barscities,
thatbars that outlined
are only are only outlined
represent represent significant
significant differences
differences in fewerinthan
fewerfive cities.
than five cities.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figure 2.1.
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Figure 2.1.

10
Figure 3. Relationship between social and emotional skills, and school performance of
Figure 3. Average
10-year-old relationship between social and emotional skills, and school performance
students
of 10-year-old students
Coefficients of (standardised) grades in reading, mathematics and the arts on (standardised) scores on social and
Coefficients of (standardised) grades in reading, mathematics and the arts on (standardised) scores on social
emotional skills scales (international average)
and emotional skills scales (international average)

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00

-0.05

-0.10
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Empathy

Trust

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy
Co-operation
Emotional control

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Reading Mathematics Arts

Note: Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards and are not included in international averages. The regressions
Note: Data for Sintra
are site-specific (Portugal)
and control did notsocio-economic
for gender, reach studentstatus,
response rate standards
and scores and are
in the cognitive nottest,
ability included in exception
with the international averages.
of Houston The regressions are
(United
city-specific andthe
States), where control for gender,
cognitive socio-economic
ability test status, and
was not administered. scores
Ottawa in the is
(Canada) cognitive
excludedability
from thetest,analysis
with the
of exception of Houston
school grades (United
as students’ States), where
grades
the cognitive
were ability test
not available. was not
Coloured barsadministered. Ottawadifferences
represent significant (Canada) is in excluded from
at least five thebars
cities, analysis of school
that are gradesrepresent
only outlined as students’ grades were not available.
significant
differences
Coloured barsin represent
fewer thansignificant
five cities. differences in at least five cities, bars that are only outlined represent significant differences in fewer than five cities.
Source: Adaptedfrom
Source:Adapted from OECD
OECD (2021),
(2021),Beyond
Beyond Academic
AcademicLearning.
Learning.FirstFirstResults
Resultsfrom
fromthetheSurvey
Surveyon onSocial
Socialand
andEmotional
EmotionalSkills, OECD
Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Figure 2.2.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figure 2.2.

Figure 4 provides an overview of the social and emotional skills that are most strongly related with students’ grades
in all three subjects for the city of Sintra (Portugal). Being responsible, persistent and trusting are the social and
emotional skills most positively related to school grades for 15-year-olds in the three subjects in SSES analysis: reading,
mathematics and the arts. These findings emphasise the importance of dedication in pursuing predetermined goals.
Students who reported being more trusting are those who feel that they can rely on their peers for support and
confide in them. This appears conducive to higher school performance. Students who are more curious also tend
to have higher grades in reading and mathematics. This suggests that students who love learning new things are
better equipped to face difficulties and are more likely to reach their goals. SSES findings also show that 15-year-olds
in Sintra who reported being more stress-resistant, sociable, energetic and creative tend to have lower school grades
in reading and mathematics.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 11
 Figure
Figure 4.
4. Skills most strongly
Skills most stronglyassociated
associated with
with students’
students’ performance
performance in Sintra
in Sintra (Portugal)
(Portugal)
Coefficients
Coefficients of
of (standardised) grades in
(standardised) grades inreading,
reading,mathematics
mathematicsand
andarts
theon
arts on (standardised)
(standardised) scores scores onand
on social social and
emotionalskills
emotional skills scales
scales (international
(international average)
average)

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

-0.1

-0.2

-0.3
Co-operation
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Empathy

Trust

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy
Emotional control

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Reading Mathematics Arts

Note: Coefficients from regressions of 15-year-olds’ (standardised) grades in reading, mathematics and the arts on (standardised) scores on social
Coefficients
and emotional
Note: from
skills regressions
scales. of 15-year-olds’
Each regression (standardised)
controls for grades in reading,
gender, socio-economic mathematics
status, and and
scores in the the artsability
cognitive on (standardised) scores and
test. Only significant on social and
lasso-selected
emotional skillsrelationships
scales. Eachare reported.controls for gender, socio-economic status, and scores in the cognitive ability test. Only significant and lasso-
regression
Adapted fromare
Source:relationships
selected OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing,
reported.
Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Tables A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4, A2.5 and A2.6.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Tables A2.1, A2.2, A2.3, A2.4, A2.5 and A2.6.

Social and emotional skills matter for future educational and occupational
outcomes

Adolescence is a period when young people start to prepare for adult life. Teenagers have to make important
decisions relevant to their future lives such as what field of study or type of education they will pursue and what job
they will have. But young people often have a distorted perception of their cognitive, social and emotional strengths,
which is influenced by their immediate environment more than by objective information; and they may lack sufficient
knowledge about the breadth of educational opportunities and careers open to them. Importantly, past research
has argued and shown that social and emotional skills are an integral component of individuals’ employability, i.e.
individuals’ capability of getting and keeping fulfilling work (Pool and Sewell, 2007[6]).

Education systems can play a crucial role in channelling these skills into the labour market, and helping young people
develop a fair assessment of themselves and of their future educational opportunities. In doing so, they can ensure
that students’ skills, interests and aptitudes find a suitable match in the economy (Musset and Kurekova, 2018[7]).

12
 In Sintra (Portugal), 60% of 15-year-olds reported that they expected to go on and complete a tertiary degree – the
smallest proportion observed across the participating cities, slightly below that of Ottawa (Canada, 65%) and Houston
(United States, 68%) but much lower than the maximum share observed for the city of Suzhou (China) at 91%. While
this share is low in comparison to that of other cities participating in SSES, it is higher than the current share of
tertiary-educated individuals in Sintra (14%, see Box 1) and among people aged 25 to 34 in Portugal as a whole (37%)
(OECD, 2020[4]).

Across all SSES-participating cities with available data, the proportion of students who hold high expectations for
further education is related to how they portrayed their own social and emotional skills. Among students of similar
socio-economic background, differences in education expectations are often related to differences in social and
emotional skills. In particular, in Sintra (Portugal) and in all participating cities, highly intellectually curious students
tend to have higher educational expectations. Higher levels of assertiveness and tolerance are also associated with
expectations of completing higher education, in most cities including Sintra (Figure 5). More particular to Sintra is
the fact that students who reported higher levels of responsibility are also more likely to expect completing a tertiary
degree. At the same time, stress resistance is negatively related to educational expectations in Sintra and a few other
cities (Figure 6). All these findings hold while accounting for other skill differences and for differences in gender and
socio-economic status.

Why is curiosity strongly and consistently related to expectations for completing tertiary education? This likely
reflects the fact that students with a great deal of curiosity and love of learning tend to have positive dispositions
not only towards learning, in general, but also towards formal tertiary-education institutions; these students see
tertiary institutions such as universities as places where their desire for knowledge can be satisfied. This indicates the
importance of cultivating the affective dimensions that support academic performance – and not only behavioural
tendencies such as persistence and self-control – in order to prepare students for lifelong learning.

Figure 5. How curiosity, assertiveness and tolerance relate to expectations of completing tertiary
Figure 5. How curiosity, assertiveness and tolerance relate to expectations of completing
education
tertiary education
Percentage-point change in the likelihood that a 15-year-old student expects to complete a tertiary degree
Percentage-point change in the likelihood that a 15-year-old student expects to complete a tertiary degree

12

10

0
Bogotá Daegu Houston Istanbul Manizales Moscow Ottawa Sintra Suzhou
(Colombia) (Korea) (United States) (Turkey) (Colombia) (Russia) (Canada) (Portugal) (China)

Curiosity Assertiveness Tolerance

Note: The figure shows the percentage-point change in the likelihood that a 15-year-old student expects to complete a tertiary degree that is associated with
Note: The figure shows the percentage-point change in the likelihood that a 15-year-old student expects to complete a tertiary degree that is associated
a 100-point increase in the corresponding skill score (the standard deviation of the score distribution of each skill was set to 100 for the combined dataset
with a 100-point increase in the corresponding skill score. Only significant and lasso-selected relationships are reported. All models include controls for
withsocio-economic
equally weighted cityand
status data). OnlyData
gender. significant and lasso-selected
for Helsinki relationships
(Finland) are not available. are reported. All models include controls for socio-economic status and
gender. Data
Source: for Helsinki
Adapted (Finland)
from OECD are Beyond
(2021), not available.
Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Table Academic
A2.7. Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A2.7.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 13
 Figure
Figure6.6.Skills
Skillsmost
moststrongly
strongly associated
associated with expectationsof
with expectations ofcompleting
completingtertiary
tertiaryeducation
education
ininSintra
Sintra(Portugal)
(Portugal)
Percentage-point
Percentage-pointchange
changeininthe
thelikelihood
likelihoodthat
thataa15-year-old
15-year-oldstudent
studentexpects
expectstotocomplete
completeaatertiary
tertiarydegree
degree

10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Emotional control

Empathy

Trust

Co-operation

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Note:
Note:The figure
The figureshows
showsthethepercentage-point
percentage-point change
change inin
the likelihood
the likelihoodthat aa
that 15-year-old
15-year-old student
studentexpects
expectstotocomplete
completea atertiary
tertiarydegree
degreethat
thatisisassociated
with a 100-point
associated with increase
a 100-pointin the corresponding
increase skill score (the
in the corresponding standard
skill deviation
score. Only of theand
significant score distributionrelationships
lasso-selected of each skill was set to 100The
are reported. for the combined
dataset with equally
international weighted
reference city data). average
is the arithmetic Only significant and lasso-selected
of the coefficients across therelationships are reported.
cities with significant The international
and lasso-selected referenceonly.
relationships is the
All arithmetic
average
modelsof the coefficients
include controls for across the cities with
socio-economic significant
status and lasso-selected
and gender. relationships
Data for Helsinki (Finland) areonly.
notAll models include controls for socio-economic status
available.
Source:
and Adapted
gender. Data forfrom OECD (Finland)
Helsinki (2021), Beyond available. Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
are notAcademic
Publishing,
Source: Paris,
Adapted https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en.
from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. Table A2.7.First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A2.7.

Similar to educational expectations, students’ occupational expectations are related to specific patterns of social
and emotional skills. First, the relations between social and emotional skills, and occupational expectations are
much stronger among 15-year-olds than 10-year-olds. This might signal the interdependence of these two factors –
students might develop job preferences adapted to their own cognitive, and social and emotional skills at the same
time as they improve their skills to meet the requirements of their personal job aspirations.

Looking at 15-year-olds’ job expectations, certain patterns of social and emotional skills emerge that are associated
with aspirations to work in certain occupational groups. A few exemplar cases illustrate this. For example, in Sintra
(Portugal), as well as in all other participating cities, 15-year-old students who reported aspiring to become health
professionals (i.e. medical doctors, nursing and midwifery professionals) are also more curious than peers aspiring
to other occupations (Figure 7). In Sintra and nearly all other cities, these students also represent themselves as less
creative than other students. More specific to Sintra is the fact that students aspiring to become health professionals
report higher levels of responsibility and, to a lesser extent, co-operation and empathy. This combination of social
and emotional skills is not surprising given that health occupations require curiosity for sciences and interpersonal
skills to cater to patients’ needs.

14
 Figure7.7.Skills
Figure Skillsmost
moststrongly
stronglyassociated
associated with expectations
expectationsof
ofworking
workingas
ashealth
healthprofessionals
professionalsin
inSintra
Sintra(Portugal)
(Portugal)
Percentage-point
Percentage-point changeininthe
change thelikelihood
likelihoodthat
thata a15-year-old
15-year-oldstudent
studentexpects
expectstotobecome
becomeaahealth
healthprofessional
professional

10
8

6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
Optimism

Emotional control

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness
Tolerance
Persistence

Co-operation

Energy
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Note: The figure shows the percentage-point change in the likelihood that a 15-year-old student expects to become a health professional that is
associated
Note: with
The figure a 100-point
shows increase in thechange
the percentage-point corresponding skill score.
in the likelihood Only
that significant student
a 15-year-old and lasso-selected relationships
expects to become areprofessional
a health reported. The international
that is associated
reference
with is theincrease
a 100-point arithmetic average
in the of the coefficients
corresponding across
skill score (the the cities with
standard significant
deviation of theand lasso-selected
score distributionrelationships
of each skill only. All to
was set models include
100 for controls
the combined
for socio-economic status and gender.
dataset with equally weighted city data). Only significant and lasso-selected relationships are reported. The international reference is the arithmetic
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
average of the coefficients across the cities with significant and lasso-selected relationships only. All models include controls for socio-economic status
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table A2.8.
and gender.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A2.8.

In all cities including Sintra (Portugal), students expecting to work in a creative occupation also represent themselves
as more creative (Figure 8). Creative occupations include, for example, artists, musicians, actors but also marketing
directors, professionals and associate professionals, architects, journalists, public relations officers, and software
professionals. In Sintra, students expecting a creative occupation tend to be feel less responsible and optmistic
compared to the rest of the students.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 15
 Figure
Figure8.8.Skills
Skillsmost
moststrongly
stronglyassociated
associated with expectations
expectationsof
ofworking
workingininaacreative
creativeoccupation In
Sintra (Portugal)
occupation in Sintra (Portugal)
Percentage-pointchange
Percentage-point changeininthe
thelikelihood
likelihoodthat
thata a15-year-old
15-year-oldstudent
studentexpects
expectstotowork
workininaacreative
creativeoccupation
occupation

10
8
6
4
2
0
-2
-4
-6
Optimism

Emotional control

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Co-operation

Curiosity

Sociability
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Note:
Note: TheThe figure
figure shows
shows thethe percentage-point
percentage-point change
change in in
thethe likelihood
likelihood that
that a 15-year-old
a 15-year-old student
student expects
expects toto work
work inin
aa creative
creative occupation
occupation thatis isassociated
that
associated
with withincrease
a 100-point a 100-point increase
in the in the corresponding
corresponding skill score (the skillstandard
score. Only significant
deviation and
of the lasso-selected
score relationships
distribution of each skillare
wasreported. Thefor
set to 100 international
the combined
reference is the arithmetic average of the coefficients across the cities with significant and lasso-selected relationships only. All models include controls
dataset with equally weighted city data). Only significant and lasso-selected relationships are reported. The international reference is the arithmetic average
for socio-economic status and gender.
of the coefficients across the cities with significant and lasso-selected relationships only. All models include controls for socio-economic status and gender.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table Academic
A4.20. Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A4.20.

Social and emotional skills matter for well-being

Well-being is an important measure of quality of life alongside other social and economic dimensions (OECD, 2013[8]).
Adolescence is a period of rapid physical growth and brain development, increasing demands and expectations
regarding school performance, changing relationships with parents and peers as well as increasing autonomy
as students start to make their own decisions and develop behaviours that can influence their current and future
well-being (Inchley et al., 2020[9]; Patton, 2016[10]). Education policies increasingly address student well-being as part
of a whole-child perspective to education. This has led to increased emphasis on social and emotional skills alongside
cognitive skills as drivers of future well-being.

The three aspects of students’ psychological well-being measured in the SSES (life satisfaction, current psychological
well-being and test anxiety) are strongly related to skills in the domain of emotional regulation: stress resistance,
optimism and emotional control. All three aspects of students’ psychological well-being are also only weakly related
to skills in the domains of task performance and engaging with others.

16
Life satisfaction

Students’ life satisfaction is an evaluation that students make of their perceived quality of life according to their
chosen criteria. This can be determined in part by the student’s current mood and memory, and by the immediate
context. In Sintra (Portugal) and in all other participating cities, 15-year-old students who are more optimistic also
reported higher levels of life satisfaction (Figure 9). This also holds true for 10-year-old students. Students who
are optimistic have a positive attitude and favourable outlook towards life. At the same time, students who have a
more privileged life might be more optimistic. Most importantly, higher levels of optimism are inversely related to
depressive disorders. Optimism confers resilience and coping skills in dealing with stressful events, and is related
to factors such as socio-economic status and social integration, which generally have protective effects for both
psychological and physical well-being (Carver, Scheier and Segerstrom, 2010[11]).

Figure 9. Skills most strongly associated with students’ life satisfaction

Figure
Change9.in Skills most strongly
15-years-olds’ associated
life satisfaction withwith
associated students’
changeslife satisfaction
in social and emotional skills
Change in 15-years-olds’ life satisfaction associated with changes in social and emotional skills

2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0

-1.5
-2.0
Optimism

Emotional control

Co-operation

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Thefigure
Note:The
Note: figureshows
showscoefficients
coefficientsfromfroma aregression
regressionofofstudents’
students’life
lifesatisfaction
satisfactiononon(standardised)
(standardised)scores
scoresononsocial
socialand
andemotional
emotionalskill
skillscales.
scales.Only
Only significant
significant and lasso-selected
and lasso-selected relationships
relationships are reported.
are reported. The international
The international reference
reference is the arithmetic
is the arithmetic averageaverage of the coefficients
of the coefficients across theacross
citiesthe
with
cities withand
significant significant and lasso-selected
lasso-selected relationships
relationships only. only.
All models All models
include controlsinclude controls for socio-economic
for socio-economic status and gender.
status and gender.
Source: Adaptedfrom
Source:Adapted fromOECD
OECD(2021),
(2021),Beyond
Beyond Academic
Academic Learning.
Learning. FirstFirst Results
Results fromfrom the Survey
the Survey on Social
on Social and Emotional
and Emotional OECD
Skills, Publishing,
Skills, OECD Paris,
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table A3.18.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A3.18.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 17
 Current psychological well-being

Students’ current psychological well-being is an evaluation of students’ feelings and experiences during the two
weeks prior to the survey. In Sintra (Portugal) and in all other participating cities, being optimistic is strongly related
to one’s current psychological well-being (Figure 10). This holds true for both cohorts of students. Other social and
emotional skills that matter for both 10- and 15-year-old students’ current psychological well-being in Sintra are
students’ persistence, trust of others, sociability and their level of energy. Students who are more optimistic generally
respond differently to challenging situations than students who are less optimistic. Optimists are more likely to
experience less distress than pessimists when dealing with difficulties in their lives (Scheier, Carver and Bridges,
2004[12]). This is not necessarily because optimists have unrealistic expectations (though that may sometimes be
the case) but because they have more coping strategies to deal with challenging situations. Thinking that things will
only get worse – even if true – may disengage someone from confronting a situation while thinking that things can
improve – even if false – may motivate them to get the best out of a given situation.

Figure
Figure10.
10.Skills
Skillsmost
most strongly associatedwith
strongly associated withstudents’
students’ current
current psychological
psychological well-being
well-being in in
Sintra (Portugal)
Sintra (Portugal)
Change
Changeinin15-year-olds’
15-year-olds’current
currentpsychological
psychological well-being
well-being associated with changes
associated with changesininsocial
socialand
andemotional
emotionalskills
skills

6
5
4
3
2
1
0

-1
-2
Optimism

Emotional control

Co-operation

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Note: The
Note: figure
The figureshows
showscoefficients
coefficientsfrom
from regressions of students’
regressions of students’current
currentpsychological
psychologicalwell-being
well-beingonon (standardised)
(standardised) scores
scores on social
on social andand emotional skill
scales. Only significant
emotional skill scales. and
Only lasso-selected
significant andrelationships
lasso-selectedare reported. The
relationships international
are reported. reference is the
The international arithmetic
reference is theaverage of average
arithmetic the coefficients
of across the
cities
the with significant
coefficients and
across lasso-selected
the relationships
cities with significant only. All models
and lasso-selected include controls
relationships for
only. All socio-economic
models statusfor
include controls and gender.
socio-economic status
and gender.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
Table A3.19.
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table A3.19.

18
Test Anxiety

Test anxiety can be described as “the set of phenomenological, physiological, and behavioural responses that
accompany concern about possible negative consequences or failure in an evaluative situation” (Zeidner, 2007[13]).
It typically arises in educational settings where students believe their abilities are stretched or exceeded by the
demands of the test situation. In Sintra (Portugal), and in all participating cities with available data, students who
indicated higher stress resistance reported a lower level of test anxiety (Figure 11). This holds true for students aged
10 and 15 while accounting for students’ grades in both mathematics and reading, which are typically correlated with
a lower level of test anxiety.

Figure 11. Skills most strongly associated with test anxiety in Sintra (Portugal)
Figure
Change11. Skills most test
in 15-year-olds’ strongly
anxietyassociated withchanges
associated with test anxiety
in socialinand
Sintra (Portugal)
emotional skills
Change in 15-year-olds’ test anxiety associated with changes in social and emotional skills
6

-2

-4

-6
Optimism

Emotional control

Co-operation

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness
Tolerance
Persistence

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Energy

Sintra (Portugal) International Reference

Note:
Note: The
The figure
figure shows
shows coefficients
coefficients fromfrom a regression
a regression of students’
of students’ test anxiety
test anxiety on (standardised)
on (standardised) scoresscores on and
on social social and emotional
emotional skillOnly
skill scales. scales. Only
significant
significant
and and lasso-selected
lasso-selected relationships
relationships are are international
reported. The reported. Thereference
international
is the reference
arithmeticisaverage
the arithmetic average ofacross
of the coefficients the coefficients across
the cities with the
significant and
cities with significant
lasso-selected andonly.
relationships lasso-selected
All models relationships only.
include controls forAll models include
socio-economic controls
status for socio-economic status and gender.
and gender.
Source: Adaptedfrom
Source:Adapted fromOECD
OECD(2021),
(2021),Beyond
Beyond Academic
Academic Learning.
Learning. FirstFirst Results
Results fromfrom the Survey
the Survey on Social
on Social and Emotional
and Emotional OECD
Skills, Publishing,
Skills, OECD Paris,
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table A3.20.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A3.20.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 19
 Students’ social and emotional skills are related to students’
background characteristics…
SSES data and past research show that students’ social and emotional skills are important for students’ academic
success, employment outcomes and well-being as well as for the prosperity of societies in general. The United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 4.7 advocates:

“ensuring that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development,
including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles,
human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and
appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development”.

In this context, social and emotional skills such as co-operation, empathy and tolerance are key for citizens and
societies to achieve these goals and secure the basis for functioning democracies. However, students with different
background characteristics tend to possess different combinations of social and emotional skills.

In Sintra (Portugal) as on average across participating cities, boys exhibit higher skills in the domains of emotional
regulation (stress resistance, optimism and emotional control) and engaging with others (assertiveness, energy).
Likewise, girls exhibit higher levels of responsibility, empathy and co-operation, tolerance and achievement motivation.
Overall, gender differences in favour of girls in students’ social and emotional skills seem slightly more pronounced in
Sintra than on average across the participating cities. In addition, both in Sintra and on average across cities, gender
differences in students’ social and emotional skills seem to increase with age as they tend to be more pronounced
among 15-year-olds than 10-year-olds (Figure 12).

20
 Figure 12. Gender differences in social and emotional skills
Standardised gender differences in skill scores (15-year-old girls – 15-year-old boys)
Figure 12. Gender differences in social and emotional skills
Figure 12. Gender
Standardised differences
gender differences inscores
in skill social and emotional
(15-year-old skills boys)
girls – 15-year-old
Standardised
1.00 gender differences in skill scores (15-year-old girls – 15-year-old boys)
0.80
1.00 Girls report higher...
0.60
0.80
0.40 Girls report higher...
0.60
0.20
0.40
0.00
0.20
-0.20
0.00
-0.40
-0.20
-0.60
-0.40
-0.80
-0.60 Boys report higher...
-1.00
-0.80
Optimism

controlcontrol

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
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motivation
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resistance

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EnergyEnergy
Boys report higher...
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Optimism

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

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Sociability
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motivation
Empathy
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Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
Tolerance
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Emotional
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Achievement
Emotional

Achievement
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Other outcomes

Task performance Emotional regulation

International Collaboration
average Open-Mindedness
Sintra (Portugal) Engaging with others Other outcomes

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Standardised gender differences in skill scores (10-year-old girls – 10-year-old boys)

Standardised
1.00 gender differences in skill scores (10-year-old girls – 10-year-old boys)

0.80
1.00 Girls report higher...
0.60
0.80
0.40 Girls report higher...
0.60
0.20
0.40
0.00
0.20
-0.20
0.00
-0.40
-0.20
-0.60
-0.40
-0.80
-0.60 Boys report higher...
-1.00
-0.80
Optimism

controlcontrol

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Co-operation

motivation
Empathy

Trust Trust
resistance

Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
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EnergyEnergy

Boys report higher...

-1.00
Optimism

Creativity
Responsibility

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Sociability
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motivation
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resistance

Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
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Achievement
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Achievement

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Other outcomes

Task performance Emotional regulation

International Collaboration
average Open-Mindedness
Sintra (Portugal) Engaging with others Other outcomes

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Data for
Note:Data
Note: for Sintra
Sintra(Portugal) did did
(Portugal) not reach student
not reach response
student rate standards
response and are notand
rate standards included in international
are not included inaverages. The figures
international report The figures report
averages.
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are coloured,
coloured, non-significant differences are outlined.
Note: Data for differences
non-significant Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards and are not included in international averages. The figures report
Source: Adapted from OECDare outlined.
(2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are
Source: Adapted
Publishing, Paris,from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Learning.
Tables Firstand
A1.4, A1.5. Results
Figure from
1.3. the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
coloured, non-significant differences are outlined.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en,
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Tables A1.4, A1.5.
Academic and Figure
Learning. First 1.3.
Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Tables A1.4, A1.5. and Figure 1.3.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 21
 On average across participating cities, socio-economically advantaged students exhibit higher levels on every social
and emotional skill measured by SSES. The difference in skills between students with low or high socio-economic
status is especially pronounced in skills related to the domain of open-mindedness such as tolerance, curiosity,
and creativity, as well as empathy, assertiveness and self-efficacy. In Sintra (Portugal), socio-economic differences
are also important for two of the skills related to task performance (responsibility and persistence), irrespective of
student age (10 or 15). In Sintra, the differences in skills between students with low or high socio-economic status
are smallest, and even non significant, in stress resistance. In Sintra and on average across cities, socio-economic
differences in students’ social and emotional skills tend to decrease between the ages of 10 and 15 (Figure 13).

In Sintra (Portugal), students with a migrant background exhibit lower levels of skills in the domains of task performance
(responsibility and persistence) and collaboration (empathy, trust and co-operation) compared to students without
a migrant background, irrespective of students’ age (Table A1.12 and A1.13). This is partly because students with a
migrant background tend to be students from socio-economically disadvantaged families.

22
 Figure 13. Differences in social and emotional skills by socio-economic status
Figure 13. Differences in social and emotional skills by socio-economic status
Standardised differences in skill scores (high socio-economic status – low socio-economic status) among 15-year-olds
Standardised differences in skill scores (high socio-economic status – low socio-economic status) among 15-year-olds

0.50
Socio-economically advantaged students report higher...
0.40

0.30

0.20

0.10

0.00

-0.10
Socio-economically disadvantaged students report higher...
-0.20
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Emotional control

Empathy

Trust

Co-operation

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy

Self-efficacy

Achievement motivation
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Other outcomes

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Standardised differences in skill scores (high socio-economic status – low socio-economic status) among 10-year-olds

0.60
Socio-economically advantaged students report higher...
0.50

0.40

0.30

0.20

-0.10

0.00

-0.10
Socio-economically disadvantaged students report higher...
-0.20
Responsibility

Persistence

Self-control

Stress resistance

Optimism

Emotional control

Empathy

Trust

Co-operation

Tolerance

Curiosity

Creativity

Sociability

Assertiveness

Energy

Self-efficacy

Achievement motivation

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Other outcomes

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Note: Data
Note: Datafor
forSintra
Sintra(Portugal) didnot
(Portugal) did notreach
reachstudent
student response
response rate
rate standards
standards and and areincluded
are not not included in international
in international averages.averages. Socio-economically advantaged
Socio-economically
advantaged
students students
are those aretop
in the those in the of
quarter topthe
quarter of the site-specific
city-specific distribution distribution of the
of the index index of socio-economic
of socio-economic status. status. Socio-economically
Socio-economically disadvantaged students are in the
disadvantaged students are in the bottom quarter of the site-specific distribution of the index of socio-economic status. The figures report
bottom quarter of the city-specific distribution of the index of socio-economic status. The figures report standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are
have been divided
coloured, by the (city-specific)
non-significant differences arestandard
outlined. deviation. Significant differences are coloured, non-significant differences are outlined.
Source:Adapted
Source: fromOECD
Adapted from OECD(2021),
(2021), Beyond
Beyond Academic
Academic Learning.
Learning. First Results
First Results from the from the on
Survey Survey
SocialonandSocial and Emotional
Emotional Skills, OECD Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figures 1.8. and Figures
1.9. 1.8. and 1.9.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 23
 … But students’ social and emotional skills are malleable...
Inequalities in social and emotional skills among students are not set in stone. SSES data as well as previous research
support the notion that social and emotional skills are characteristics and abilities that are malleable and change with
biological and psychological maturation, environmental influences, individual effort and important life events (Specht
et al., 2014[14]; Kankaraš and Suarez-Alvarez, 2019[1]; OECD, 2015[15]; Roberts, Walton and Viechtbauer, 2006[16]).

In Sintra (Portugal) and on average across participating cities, 15-year-olds exhibited lower levels than 10-year-olds
for most of the social and emotional skills. The differences are particularly pronounced when it comes to optimism,
trust, energy and sociability. Sintra stands out in that more skills are reportedly higher (or as high) among 15-year-olds
than (or as) 10-year-olds compared to the international average. These skills are tolerance, assertiveness, empathy,
emotional control, stress resistance and collaboration. Overall, age-related differences in favour of younger students
tend to be smaller in Sintra than on average across the participating cities (Figure 14). On the one hand, this might
be because teachers and schools are usually more effective at developing these skills. Instruction in citizenship
and citizen rights may enhance tolerant attitudes among students. School assignments like oral presentations and
written essays may encourage students to develop more assertiveness. On the other hand, the longer one spends
in school with its fixed learning environments the more students’ abilities to build and practice self-regulation skills,
interpersonal skills and creativity and curiosity may become inhibited.

The dip in students’ social and emotional skills as students age is not uniform for all types of students. In particular,
the decline is more acute for socio-economically advantaged students, or in other words, less pronounced for
socio-economically disadvantaged students.

Figure 14. Age differences in social and emotional skills

Figure 14.(15-year-olds
Differences Age differences in social
– 10-year-olds) andand
in social emotional skills
emotional skills
Differences (15-year-olds – 10-year-olds) in social and emotional skills

1.00

0.80

0.60
15-year-old students report higher...

0.40

0.20

0.00

-0.20
-0.40
-0.60

-0.80
10-year-old students report higher...
-1.00
Optimism

Emotional control

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability
Co-operation

Achievement motivation
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Other outcomes

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Data for
Note: Data
Note: forSintra (Portugal)
Sintra did did
(Portugal) not reach student
not reach response
student rate standards
response and are notand
rate standards included in international
are not included inaverages. The figure
international reportsThe figure reports
averages.
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are
standardised differences, whereby the raw scale points have been divided by the (city-specific) standard deviation. Significant differences are coloured,
coloured, non-significant differences are outlined.
non-significant
Source: Adapteddifferences
from OECDare outlined.
(2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
Source: Adapted
Publishing, from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic
Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Learning.
Figure 1.3. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figure 1.3.

24
Important age-related differences are also observed in other key outcomes examined in SSES. SSES data show that
10-year-old students enjoy higher levels of psychological well-being than 15-year-olds. Life satisfaction and current
psychological well-being dip as students get older while test anxiety increases from childhood to adolescence.
Figure 15 shows, for example, that the share of students who reported being very satisfied with their life in Sintra
(Portugal) goes from 65% among 10-year-olds down to 27% among 15-year-olds. This pattern is generally more
pronounced among girls than boys.
Figure 15. Students’ life satisfaction, by age cohort and city
Percentage of students, by level of life satisfaction
Figure15.
Figure 15.Students’
Students’ life
lifesatisfaction,
satisfaction,byby
age cohort
age and
cohort citycity
and
Percentageofofstudents,
Percentage students, by
by level
level of
of life
life satisfaction
satisfaction
Average life satisfaction

Manizales (Colombia) 8.7

Average life satisfaction
Bogotá (Colombia) 8.6
Manizales (Colombia) 8.7
Helsinki (Finland) 8.6
Bogotá (Colombia) 8.6
Sintra (Portugal) 8.5
Helsinki (Finland) 8.6
Moscow (Russia) 8.3
10-year-olds

Sintra (Portugal) 8.5

International Average 8.2
Moscow (Russia) 8.3
10-year-olds

Istanbul (Turkey) 8.1

International Average 8.2
Suzhou (China) 8.2
Istanbul (Turkey) 8.1
Daegu (Korea) 8.1
Suzhou (China) 8.2
Houston (United States) 7.6
Daegu (Korea) 8.1
Ottawa (Canada) 7.9
Houston (United States) 7.6
Ottawa (Canada) 7.9
Manizales (Colombia) 7.9
Bogotá (Colombia) 7.6
Manizales (Colombia) 7.9
Helsinki (Finland) 7.6
Bogotá (Colombia) 7.6
Moscow (Russia) 7.4
Helsinki (Finland) 7.6
Houston (United States) 7.0
15-year-olds

Moscow (Russia) 7.4

International Average 7.2
Houston (United States) 7.0
15-year-olds

Sintra (Portugal) 7.2

International Average 7.2
Daegu (Korea) 7.0
Sintra (Portugal) 7.2
Ottawa (Canada) 6.8
Daegu (Korea) 7.0
Suzhou (China) 7.0
Ottawa (Canada) 6.8
Istanbul (Turkey) 6.3
Suzhou (China) 7.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%
Istanbul (Turkey) 6.3

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100%

Very satisfied (9-10) Satisfied (7-8) Moderately satisfied (5-6) Not satisfied (0-4)

Very satisfied (9-10) Satisfied (7-8) Moderately satisfied (5-6) Not satisfied (0-4)
Note:
Note: Citiesare
Cities areranked
rankedinindescending
descending order
order of
of the
the percentage
percentageofofstudents
studentswho
whoreported being
reported very
being satisfied
very withwith
satisfied their life. life.
their
Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards.
Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards.
Source: Adapted
Note: Cities from OECD
are ranked (2021), Beyond
in descending Academic
order of Learning.
the percentage First Results
of students from thebeing
who reported Survey onsatisfied
very Social and their life. Skills, OECD
withEmotional
Source: Adapted
Publishing, from
Paris, OECD (2021), Beyond Academic
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Learning.
3.1. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student responseFigure
rate standards.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figure 3.1.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Figure 3.1.

Students’ educational and occupational expectations also change as they get older. In particular, older students
embrace more diverse occupational expectations than their younger peers. On average across cities, 48% of
10-year-olds expect to work in one of the 10 most frequently reported occupations for their age cohort. This goes
down to 37% for 15-year-old students. In addition, the relation between students’ social and emotional skills, and their
occupational expectations is much stronger for 15-year-olds than 10-year-olds. This suggests reciprocal influence
between students’ social and emotional skills, and their occupational aspirations.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 25
 … And students’ social and emotional skills can be influenced
by the school environment
The malleability of social and emotional skills enables them to be modified or developed for the better. Schools can
play a particularly important role in providing learning environments where skills can be developed, enhanced and
reinforced through practice and daily experiences. There are a number of studies that look at the effect of different
school-based interventions to enhance students’ social and emotional learning (Durlak et al., 2011[17]; Park et al.,
2008[18]; Sklad et al., 2012[19]; Smithers et al., 2018[20]). A meta-analysis by Durlak et al. (2011[17]) shows that social
and emotional learning programmes had significant positive effects on targeted social and emotional skills, and
attitudes about self, others and school. They increased pro-social behaviour, reduced behavioural problems and
improved school performance. A more recent meta-analysis of quality research studies (comprising randomised
experimental, quasi-experimental intervention studies and observational studies, controlling for relevant confounding
factors) by Smithers et al. (2018[20]) found that interventions aiming to improve social and emotional skills had
more obvious positive effects on academic achievement outcomes than on psychological, cognitive, language and
health outcomes. These findings suggest that people are not born with a fixed set of social and emotional skills.
Instead, there is considerable potential in developing these skills throughout people’s lives (Helson et al., 2002[21];
Srivastava et al., 2003[22]). Studies linking data on teachers and students show that teachers have an impact on
students’ social and emotional skills. Teachers’ interactions with students, classroom organisation, and emphasis
on critical thinking in specific subjects were found to support students’ development in areas beyond their core
academic skills (Blazar and Kraft, 2017[23]).

SSES data shed light on teachers’ and schools’ roles in shaping students’ social and emotional skills. A first illustration
of this is that students with a greater sense of school belonging and better relations with teachers reported higher
social and emotional skills. This holds true for Sintra (Portugal) and for all other participating cities. Fitting in
at school is most strongly related to higher co-operation, optimism and sociability. At the same time, students
who reported having positive relations with their teachers also view themselves as more optimistic, curious and
achievement-focused. These findings suggest that schools that are able to provide a positive disciplinary climate,
offer support from teachers and engage with parents in building a positive school culture can help students develop
their social and emotional skills. Indeed, all these factors are positively associated with students’ sense of belonging
at school by other research studies (Allen et al., 2018[24]; Crouch, Keys and McMahon, 2014[25]; Dotterer, McHale and
Crouter, 2007[26]; Ma, 2003[27]; OECD, 2017[28]; Shochet, Smyth and Homel, 2007[29]).

Secondly, school climate and anti-bullying policies can be instrumental to students’ positive social and emotional
development. Bullying at school can affect any schoolchild in any country (Nansel et al., 2004[30]). This violent behaviour
can have severe long-term physical, social and emotional consequences for students. Teachers, parents, policy makers
and the media are increasingly drawing attention to bullying and trying to find ways to tackle it (Phillips, 2007[31]).
A Korean study established that being bullied in middle school causes the onset of symptoms of psychopathologic
behaviours to resurface later (Kim, Leventhal and Koh, 2006[32]). Yet, research suggests that a supportive and caring
school environment is linked to less bullying and, conversely, students’ willingness to seek help (Låftman, Östberg
and Modin, 2017[33]; Ma, 2002[34]; Olweus, 2012[35]). In schools where students perceive greater fairness; feel they fit
in at school; work in a more disciplined, structured and cooperative environment; and have understanding teachers,
students are less likely to engage in risky and violent behaviour (Gottfredson et al., 2005[36]; Kuperminc, Leadbeater
and Blatt, 2001[37]).

SSES data show that students’ exposure to bullying is negatively related to almost all social and emotional skills.
In Sintra (Portugal), as well as on average across participating cities, 10-year-old and 15-year-old students’ exposure
to bullying is most strongly related to lower skills in the domains of emotional regulation. Students who reported
greater exposure to bullying tended to report lower levels of optimism, emotional control, stress resistance, and trust
in other people (Figure 16). These findings are particularly worrying as, in Sintra, 37% of 10-year-old students and
13% of 15-year-old students have experienced bullying at least a few times a month or more during the 12 months
prior to the 2019 survey.

26
Figure 16. Relations between students’ exposure to bullying, and social and emotional skills
Figure 16.
Change Relations between
in 15-year-olds’ social andstudents’
emotionalexposure to bullying,
skills related and social
to a one-standard and emotional
deviation increase inskills
exposure
to bullying
Change in 15-year-olds’ social and emotional skills related to a one-standard deviation increase in exposure to bullying

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5
Optimism

Emotional control

Co-operation

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability

Achievement motivation
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy
Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Compound skills

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Change in 10-year-olds’ social and emotional skills related to a one-standard deviation increase in exposure to bullying

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5
Optimism

Emotional control

Co-operation

Creativity
Responsibility

Self-control

Curiosity

Sociability

Achievement motivation
Empathy

Trust
Stress resistance

Assertiveness

Self-efficacy
Tolerance
Persistence

Energy

Task performance Emotional regulation Collaboration Open-Mindedness Engaging with others Compound skills

International average Sintra (Portugal)

Note: Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards and are not included in the international average. Control
variables
Note: Datainclude gender,
for Sintra socio-economic
(Portugal) did notstatus
reachand immigration
student background.
response Significant
rate standards differences
and are are coloured,
not included non-significant
in the international differences
average. are variables include
Control
outlined.
gender, socio-economic status and immigration background. Significant differences are coloured, non-significant differences are outlined.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Table A5.17.
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Table A5.17.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 27
 A third area where schools could make a difference in the holistic development of their students is in organising
informal activities. Extracurricular activities at school do not only have an academic focus, they usually aim to achieve
a broader set of goals such as physical exercise and health; developing creativity and practice or appreciation of the
arts; and encouraging volunteering and involvement with the community. Participation in extracurricular activities
can also help students develop social and emotional skills (Farb and Matjasko, 2012[38]).

SSES data show that, in Sintra (Portugal) as well as in all participating cities, students who participate in after-school
art activities reported higher levels of creativity, particularly among 15-year-olds (Figure 17). This holds true even
after accounting for differences in socio-economic status and gender among students. In Sintra, 45% of 10-year-old
students participate in extracurricular art activities outside of school (e.g. playing a musical instrument, dancing,
drawing, etc.) – a share that drops down to 32% among 15-year-old students. The pattern of declining participation
in art activities as students age combined with wider differences in creativity levels suggests that students who think
of themselves as not creative are more likely to discontinue their participation in art activities during adolescence.
Conversely, it is possible that sustained participation in art activities helps students build confidence in their creativity.
While the nature of SSES data does not allow us to identify the direction of causality, the data suggest a strong
association between art activities at age 15 and creativity.

Figure 17. How participation in art activities relates to creativity

Figure 17. How participation in art activities relates to creativity
Mean scale differences after accounting for socio-economic status and gender
Mean scale differences after accounting for socio-economic status and gender

Creativity
Mean scale difference
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50

Students participating in extracurricular

activities rated themselves higher than others

International Average

Bogotá (Colombia)

Daegu (Korea)

Helsinki (Finland)

Houston (United States)

Istanbul (Turkey)

Manizales (Colombia)

Moscow (Russia)

Ottawa (Canada)

Sintra (Portugal)

Suzhou (China)

10-year-olds 15-year-olds

Note: Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards and are not included in international averages.
Note: Data for Sintra (Portugal) did not reach student response rate standards and are not included in international averages.
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris,
Source: Adapted from OECD (2021), Beyond Academic Learning. First Results from the Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, OECD
https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en, Figure 4.9.
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/92a11084-en. Figure 4.9.

28
Box 3. K
 ey features of the OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills
(SSES)
Target populations and samples

The SSES took a single snapshot of two cohorts of primary and secondary school students, at ages 10 and
15. A sample of around 3,000 students was drawn for each of the two age groups in each participating city.
The sample design consisted of creating an initial random sample of schools, followed by a random selection
of students within sampled schools.

Ten cities participated in the first round of SSES in 2019: Bogotá (Colombia), Daegu (Korea), Helsinki (Finland),
Houston (United States), Istanbul (Turkey), Manizales (Colombia), Moscow (the Russian Federation), Ottawa
(Canada), Sintra (Portugal) and Suzhou (China).

In Sintra (Portugal), all public and private schools enrolling 10-year-old and 15-year-old students were selected
to participate in SSES. Yet, the participation rates of schools and students in the survey were low and caution
must be taken in interpreting the findings.

Survey instruments

SSES assessed students’ social and emotional skills directly but also obtained information from their parents,
teachers and school principals.

SSES’s assessment instruments are self- (student) and others’ (parents and teachers) reports on assessed
students’ typical behaviours, thoughts and feelings. Questions/items are in the form of simple statements such
as “I like learning new things” (item assessing students’ curiosity) and “I stay calm even in tense situations”
(item assessing stress resistance). A 5-point Likert-type agree/disagree response scale was used with answers
ranging from 1 – completely disagree to 5 – completely agree. All of the 15 assessment scales used positively
and negatively worded items.

These methods are used the most frequently in social and emotional skills assessments. They provide a simple
and efficient way to collect information from a large number of respondents, are cost-efficient, simple to
administer and tend to produce consistent results.

SSES also collected information on students’ and their parents’ background characteristics as well as family,
school, and community learning contexts through four contextual questionnaires developed for: students,
parents, teachers and school principals.

SSES data of all participating cities were complemented with information on students’ school grades (except in
Ottawa [Canada]) and students’ scores via a short cognitive test (except in Houston [United States] and Ottawa
[Canada]).

Administration mode

The students filled out the questionnaires online through desktop or laptop devices. A trained study administrator
delivered the survey with school staff present. Parents, teachers and school principals also filled out questionnaires
online but in some participating cities, parents could choose a paper and pencil option in case of necessity or
personal preference. All instruments were provided using a centrally managed online platform.

SURVEY ON SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SSES): SINTRA (PORTUGAL) | @ OECD 2021 29
 Acknowledgements
This city note was prepared by Noémie Le Donné and Eva Feron, with the valuable contribution of Ivona Feldmarova.
Its development was guided by Andreas Schleicher, Dirk Van Damme and Marta Encinas-Martin. The authors thank
Maria João Martins, Maria Fátima Grilo, Pedro Cunha, Pedro Abrantes, Nuno Rodrigues and Joaquim Santos for their
valuable contributions. The report was edited by Clara Young. The OECD thanks the Porticus foundation for the financial
support provided for this report.

The publication was designed by DHA Communications.

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