Overview and Insight from the China Research Report on the Global Youth Survey of Social and Emotional Skills by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - research insights

Oct 15, 2026

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Social and emotional skills underpin students’ study, daily life, and future work in the 21st century. In 2018, the OECD launched the first round of social and emotional skills tests for 10- and 15-year-olds worldwide, with global data collection concluding after three years and publication of the Social and Emotional Ability Assessment International Report at the end of 2019. As a participating city, Suzhou completed the first round, releasing related reports; this article summarizes OECD and China research and highlights data-based insights.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Overview and background

OECD SSES research aims and gap in assessment

Launch and results of the first assessment round

Cities, participating countries, and the 2021 global report

Conceptual basis

Definition of social and emotional competence and value

Overview and Insight from the China Research Report on the Global Youth Survey of Social and Emotional Skills by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Fengping Zhao 1 , Weijie Meng2 , Fangmei Li3 , Longjun Zhou4 1. Shandong Changle No.2 Middle School, Changle 262400, China 2. Nanjing Yutong Experimental School, Nanjing 211100, China 3. Nanjing Dianji Institute of Psychological Education, Nanjing 210000, China 4. Jiangsu Second Normal University, Nanjing 211200, China | Abstract. Social and emotional skills are important for students in 21st century study, life, and future work. In 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) officially launched the first round of social and emotional skills tests for 10-year-old and 15-year-old students worldwide. After 3 years of research, the first round of global data collection ended and at the end of 2019 the OECD published the Social and Emotional Ability Assessment International Report. As one of the participating cities, Suzhou, China, successfully completed the first round of testing and released a series of reports. This article summarizes the research work of the OECD and China on social and emotional capabilities of students and discusses a few insights from the data.
Best Evidence in Chinese Education 2021; 9(1):1169-1195.
Doi: [10.15354/bece.21.re055](10.15354/bece.21.re055). | | --- | | How to Cite: Zhao, F., Meng, W., Li, F., & Zhou, L. (2021). Overview and insight from the China research report on the global youth survey of social and emotional skills by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Best Evidence in Chinese Education, 9(1):1169-1195. | Keywords: Student Social and Emotional Abilities, Educational Evaluation, OECD, China, Education About the Author: Fengping Zhao, Shandong Changle No.2 Middle School, Changle 262400, China. E-mail: [zhaofengping5138@163.com](zhaofengping5138@163.com) Weijie Meng, Principal of Nanjing Yutong Experimental School, 22 Jiangjun Avenue, Jiangning District, Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: [13608955415@126.com](13608955415@126.com) Fangmei Li, Nanjing Dianji Institute of Psychological Education, Nanjing210000, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: [1037576462@qq.com](1037576462@qq.com) Correspondence to: Longjun Zhou, Jiangsu Second Normal University, Nanjing 211200, Jiangsu, China. E-mail: [294437034@qq.com](294437034@qq.com) Conflict of Interests: None. © 2021 Insights Publisher. All rights reserved. Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Crea tive Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by](http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by)nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed by the Insights Publisher. S OCIAL and emotional abilities are widely regarded by researchers as core elements of human growth and development. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proposed that education in the 21st century must break the constraints of a singular emphasis on academic, scientific and technological ability. Rapid world changes and increasing maturity of the application of automation technology, make the development of social emotional abilities crucial (UNESCO, 2019) . The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also emphasizes that, in modern life, children’s success is inseparable from a complete set of cognitive, social and emotional skills, such as achieving goals and interacting with others. The ability to cooperate effectively and manage emotions is essential to meet the challenges of the 21st century (OECD, 2015) . Therefore, it has become the consensus of educators worldwide to regard social and emotional abilities as an important component of student training. OECD

FAQs

What is the main focus of the OECD global youth survey described in the document?

It focuses on assessing students’ social and emotional skills alongside cognitive abilities, using the OECD’s Social and Emotional Skills research to provide evidence for education improvement.

When was the first round of social and emotional skills assessment launched and completed?

It was officially launched in 2018, and the first round of the official assessment was completed by the end of 2019.

What kind of information does the OECD global assessment report provide?

It offers an overview of social and emotional abilities in ten participating cities and reports factors that affect those abilities, supporting educational decision-making and practice.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Bulrr