Aune Valk: Estonian professionals do not cooperate enough
According to the most recent PIAAC survey, Estonian professionals do not collaborate enough, which often impedes the creation of synergies.
Aune Valk, vice-rector of academic affairs at the University of Tartu and national project manager for the last PIAAC survey, writes that either a lack of teamwork skills or an unduly individualistic work environment in Estonia is to blame.
Alongside nature and song festivals, digital infrastructure and, in the last five years, start-ups, education is an important part of Estonia's identity, international reputation and self-image. However, our pride in an outstanding education does not date back that far.
While we have always valued Estonians' traditionally high literacy rates, at the turn of the millennium our satisfaction with education levels was below the European average.
According to the European Social Survey, the state of education in Estonia was rated 5.4 out of 10 in 2006, with the average score across the 21 countries being 5.6.
Since then, Estonia has seen the fastest increase in educational satisfaction among all countries. In 2018, we had a satisfaction score of 6.7 on the same scale, with the average score among participating countries being 5.8, which had remained relatively stable over the previous 12 years.
There is a clear correlation between satisfaction with education and the results of the PISA survey among 15-year-olds. People in higher-performing countries are more satisfied with their own educational system, and vice versa. The Balkans and Cyprus have low satisfaction and low scores. In the Nordic countries, with the exception of Sweden, Switzerland and Estonia, satisfaction with education is high and results are fairly good.
PISA could be discussed in depth, especially given the recent publication of "Lessons from Estonia's Education Success Story" by Peeter Mehisto and Maie Kitsing. However, along with the success story come pitfalls, just as there is the need to tackle pollution of our beaches and woods while admiring the beauty of nature.
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https://news.err.ee/1608796975/aune-valk-estonian-professionals-do-not-…
