Dubai schools shine globally in financial literacy, creative thinking skills

Dubai’s private schools continue to shine in international rankings, placing second in financial literacy and sixth in creative thinking.

That's according to a study conducted as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Held every three years, PISA evaluates 15-year-old students’ abilities to apply real-life skills in reading, mathematics and science to practical situations. Dubai participated in the additional financial literacy and creative thinking domains for the first time in 2022.

According to OECD, financial literacy measures how well students know and understand financial concepts and risks, and their skills, motivation, and confidence to make good decisions in different financial situations.

Creative thinking measures students’ ability to come up with, evaluate and improve ideas that can result in original and effective solutions, advances in knowledge and impactful expressions of creativity.

Dubai private schools ranked second out of 20 participating countries and regions for financial literacy, scoring 522 points, compared to the OECD global average of 498 points.

Eighty-two per cent of the 4,478 participating students from Dubai said they know how to manage their money, and 79 per cent said they had savings goals for things they want to buy or do.

Dubai schools also ranked sixth out of 64 participating countries and regions for creative thinking, scoring 36 points compared to the OECD average of 33 points.

Eighty-four per cent of 7,474 participating students from Dubai performed at the OECD baseline level or above in creative thinking skills.

Seventy-four per cent of students indicated in their responses that they are confident of coming up with creative ideas for school projects.

#Dubai private schools among top performers globally in imparting financial literacy and creative thinking skills https://t.co/8avYwVNWec

• Study held as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment places Dubai private schools second in financial literacy and… pic.twitter.com/ZZEAFt7SZo

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"We are grateful to all the school leaders who play an important role in motivating and inspiring teachers and students to improve their performance, to teachers who encourage students to develop their abilities and discover their potential, to parents who support and encourage their children to achieve their goals, and to students whose hard work and resilience brought about this remarkable result," said Aisha Miran, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

Fatma Belrehif, CEO of the Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau, added: "The results of the study show that schools that excel in creative thinking also achieve high scores in mathematics, reading, and science. This highlights the importance of developing our students’ capabilities across all fields to prepare them for the future."

According to the PISA 2022 results announced in December 2023, Dubai private schools ranked ninth globally in mathematics with a mean score of 497, exceeding the OECD average by 25 points.

Dubai schools also ranked 13th globally in reading with a mean score of 498, and 14th in science, with a mean score of 503 points.

More information and key data about Dubai schools’ performance on the PISA 2022 creative thinking and financial literacy study is available here.