Dubai Private Schools Excel in Financial Literacy and Creative Thinking Globally

The Sophisticated Performance in Financial Competency and Creative Problem Solving of Dubai’s Private School Students, Rankings by The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Regarding financial literacy, Dubai’s schools performed second in their first attempt, while in creative thinking, they secured the sixth position.

PISA is conducted every three years and focuses on testing students’ performance as they demonstrate real-life use of reading, mathematics and science competencies in solving various problems. In 2022, Dubai extended its involvement to have more featuring the assessments in financial literacy and creative thinking.

CFTDA, on the other hand, evaluates the amount of knowledge students possess in matters pertaining to finances within different spheres of student’s life. They recorded 522 points in this domain for Dubai’s private schools which were above the OECD average of 498 points for the global community. A large number of students, 4,478 students to be precise, said they were financially literate, 82% but only 79% said they had personal saving targets.

Creativity index is used to assess the students’ inventive approach to think of original and effective solutions to problems. Students of private schools registered 36 hence above the global average of the OECD 33.
Scientists believe that 84% of 7,474 students that responded showed they had developed one or more kinds of creative thinking skills, above the OECD baseline. Also, 74% of the students surveyed are self-assured of their ability to come up with unique concepts for school projects.

Speaking on the results, Her Excellency Aisha Miran, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority was equally as positive as the results themselves, and saw the assessments as proof of Dubai’s value as a hub for quality education that prepares children for a future that is increasingly uncertain and constantly evolving. She also expressed her gratitude to the school leaders, teachers, parents, and the students who managed to achieve these impressive scores.

The study was described by Fatma Belrehif, Chief Executive Officer for Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau, as a useful tool pointing out, at the same time that schools with good scores in creative thinking performance also attained impressive results in mathematics, reading, and science. “These results are helpful for educational policymakers to establish strategies of providing future skills for learners,” she added.

In the same report, PISA 2022 further showed that Dubai private schools perform even better than the OECD countries in mathematics where they were ranked ninth globally and were above the average, in reading where they were ranked 13th, and were above the average in science where they were ranked 14th.