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Aktuelles -
PISA
January 20, 2026
New international study on the global competence behaviour of students
What influences young people's behavior when dealing with global challenges?
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© OECD (2018). PISA 2018 Global Competence Framework, S. 11.
Global challenges such as poverty and climate protection affect people worldwide. In order to tackle these problems internationally, global competence is needed – that is, the ability to understand and contextualize global issues and act responsibly. How well young people are prepared for global crises is also determined by their school education. In a recent study, education researchers used PISA 2018 data to examine the factors that influence the global competence behaviour of young people.
The study investigates the role of scientific knowledge, personal attitudes, and values of students in their behaviour when dealing with global challenges. To this end, researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Ludwig-Maximilians Universität (LMU), and RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau evaluated PISA 2018 data of around 300,000 students from 52 participating countries.
Global competence in PISA 2018
In the 2018 PISA survey, global competence was assessed as an innovative domain. Students were asked about their self-assessed knowledge and personal attitudes toward global issues. Another aspect was the corresponding behaviour of the 15-year-olds, for example, through environmentally conscious decisions in everyday life or respectful treatment of people from different backgrounds (see also OECD illustration in the image). Together with scientific literacy, this domain formed the data basis for the current study.
Attitudes and personal views are key
A surprising finding: scientific knowledge does not appear to be a key factor influencing the global competence of young people in the study. Rather, the study suggests that student's global competence depends largely on their attitudes and views on issues such as environmental protection and poverty. Teaching based primarily on factual knowledge is therefore not enough to prepare young people well for the challenges of a global world.
The results suggest that education should not only focus on imparting knowledge, but also address holistic aspects such as young people's attitudes and mindsets toward global challenges in school.