The level of functional literacy and students' educational and non-educational characteristics

• In Event: Educational inequalities, student outcomes and societal impact. Insights from international large-scale assessments in education

Proposal

The level of functional literacy is related to well-being, not only for individuals but also for the state as a whole. It is shown that the large percentage of people with high literacy rates correlate with economic growth (Coulombe et al., 2004; Hanushek & Kimko, 2000; World Bank, 2018). At the individual level, it is proved that people who have not reached the minimal literacy threshold have a lower level of well-being, an increased risk of unemployment and criminalization (Cree, Kay, Steward, 2012). Low functional literacy is related to minimal wage growth with increasing length of service, low economic activity, reduced productivity in the workplace, a sense of subjective distress and reduced life expectancy (Denny, Harmon, Redmond, 2000).
PISA is aimed to measure the functional knowledge and skills of fifteen-year-old students through mathematical, science and reading literacy (OECD, 2013). In this study, we use mathematical literacy. Mathematical literacy is defined as a person’s ability to formulate, practice and interpret mathematical knowledge in various contexts, as well as make informed judgments and make constructive and deliberate decisions.
The goal of our study was to describe how functional literacy level relates to educational and non-educational students' characteristics using longitudinal data. For this purpose, we used a unique data of Trajectories in Education and Careers study in Russia (TrEC – http://trec.hse.ru ). As part of it, in 2012 PISA test was conducted on the TIMSS 2011 sample in Russia. Then each year, participants took part in surveys and answered questions about their trajectories, plans, leisure time and other activities.
For the analysis, we divided the participants based on their proficiency levels in the PISA math test into three groups: low, medium and high levels of functional literacy. The group with low literacy level included those students who did not reach the second proficiency level on the PISA test; students with the average literacy reached the second, third and fourth levels, and the group with the highest literacy reached the fifth and sixth proficiency levels. Next, we compared these groups of students by different indicators. We used longitudinal weights from each way in order to generalize results.
The analysis provides several trends. Firstly, students with different literacy levels vary in their socio-demographic characteristics. Students with high literacy tended to live in large communities and generally have a higher level of cultural capital. However, from a financial point of view, results are not so straightforward: the discrepancies in the level of material well-being, although significant, were extremely small. Although children from low-income families dominated among students with low literacy level, those who have reached a high level had various family incomes.
Second, the differences exist in the academic performance and academic self-assessment as well. Students with higher levels of literacy not only got good marks on exams but also more accurately predicted their academic achievements. At the same time, students with a low functional literacy level showed results that were unexpected not only for themselves but also for their teachers. Teachers generally tended to underestimate the potential of such students and expect lower educational outcomes, but actual achievements were not so heterogeneous. However, some students, despite low functional literacy, nevertheless showed high results of the Russian Unified State Exam at the end of a school.
Thirdly, low literacy students' educational trajectories rarely matched with their expectations. Most of these students entered vocational education organizations after graduating from grade 9, despite the fact that they had higher expectations and intended to get a higher education. A small proportion of those who was succeeded in enrolling at universities chose non-selective organizations. In contrast, students with medium and high literacy levels more often continued their education at the 10-11 grade of school, which corresponds to their expectations, and then more often went to selective universities.
Finally, the respondents' free time and life plans also differed depending on the level of their functional literacy. Students with low literacy levels were less likely to be involved in extra-curricular activities during school, spent less time doing their homework, and spent their leisure time a little differently. In particular, they were less interested in physical activity and sports, which is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
Currently, educational policy in Russia pays more and more attention to the development of literacy in school instead of transmitting knowledge. However, until now there have been no studies examining the importance of literacy in Russia. Our preliminary results contribute to the discussion about the role of functional literacy in academic and daily life. In the future, we will analyze the educational and life trajectories of students with different levels of functional literacy controlling their level of knowledge, measured using TIMSS.

Authors

• Anastasiya Kapuza, Higher School of Economics

• Anastasia Getman, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia

• Tatiana Chirkina, National Research University Higher School of Economics