The First Assessment of Adult Competencies in Russia

Abstract

This paper opens a series of publications based on the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data. Among the many tasks PIAAC is aimed on the identification and measurement of differences between citizens and countries in the area of key competencies, evaluation of the impact of skills on individual economic and social achievement, the effectiveness of various national educational and training systems in providing necessary skills as well as the creation of the conditions for lifelong learning. PIAAC draws the first “profile” and pathbreaking results of Russian adults’ key competencies on literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environment. The central part of the paper is dedicated to a general analysis of the role of competencies and competence-based approach, a description of the research method, sampling and tools used (including test samples) in the PIAAC, and particularly in Russian Federation. Finally, the paper deals with the first results of the adult competencies research in  Russian Federation. The results on identified key competencies are presented in accordance with various age groups, and include gender and qualification level differences.  IAAC is a long-term research project. Russia participated in the programme in 2009–2013. Over 5000 adults aged between 16 and 25 from 25 regions and 94 localities participated in the programme in Russia. The total sample included 3800 respondents; it is representative for the whole country except Moscow and Moscow Oblast. The average points Russia obtained in reading and mathematical literacy are comparable to those obtained in OECD countries. Nearly half of working-age adults in Russia either don’t have any computer experience or are incompetent users. As compared to OECD citizens, computer skills of Russian adults are more often restricted to doing only simple tasks (like logging in and out of their email boxes). As the level of education grows, so does the level of competencies of adult population in Russia. Similarly, competencies seem to accumulate with ageing, until the peak age of 45–49 years is reached. The discussion of the first PIAAC results and brief statement of research questions for future studies are presented.