HONG KONG – The level of creative thinking among 15-year-old Hong Kong students is on par with international standards, according to a global study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The cognitive test for creative thinking under the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 showed that students in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region achieved a mean score of 32 or comparable to the international average of 33.
Girls performed much better than boys in visual expression and were considerably more successful in social problem-solving tasks. Boys reported higher levels of creative self-efficacy
"The results of this study once again demonstrated Hong Kong's remarkable performance in terms of education equity, ranking first among countries or economies with high academic achievements,” a spokesman for the Education Bureau said in a statement.
“This indicates that family background and socio-economic status have minimal bearing on Hong Kong students’ performance in creative thinking, and highlights that the Hong Kong education system provides all students with high-quality and equal education opportunities,” he added.
French and Dutch students also had a mean score of 32 while German students scored 33.
Girls scored over 2 points higher than boys in the HKSAR in creative thinking after accounting for reading performance, according to the study.
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Girls also performed much better than boys in visual expression and were considerably more successful in social problem-solving tasks. Boys reported higher levels of creative self-efficacy.
The study, which covered 64 countries and economies, defined creative thinking as the competence to engage productively in the generation, evaluation and improvement of ideas that can result in original and effective solutions, advances in knowledge and impactful expressions of imagination.
The study assessed students’ performance in creative thinking through four types of cognitive test contents: Written expression, visual expression, social problem solving and scientific problem solving.
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"The EDB will draw reference from the findings of this study to further nurture students’ creative thinking and other generic skills, laying a solid foundation for their whole person development and lifelong learning," the spokesman said.