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OVERVIEW
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Figure O.23 The types of skills needed in a modern economy
Cognitive
Literacy, numeracy, and
higher-order cognitive skills
(for example, reasoning
and creative thinking)
Raw problem-solving ability
versus knowledge to
solve problems
Verbal ability, numeracy,
problem solving, memory,
and mental speed
Social and behavioral
Socioemotional skills and
personality traits
Openness to experience,
conscientiousness,
extraversion, agreeability,
and emotional stability
Self-regulation, grit, mind-set,
decision making, and
interpersonal skills
Technical
Manual dexterity and the use
of methods, materials, tools,
and instruments
Technical skills developed through
postsecondary schooling or
training or acquired on the job
Skills related to specific
occupations (for example,
engineer, economist, IT specialist)
Source: WDR 2016 team, adapted from Pierre, Sanchez Puerta, and Valerio 2014.
Note: IT = information technology.
however. But technology can help here as well, as
Rio de Janeiro’s Educopedia platform shows (box
O.11). Using technology to closely guide teaching
is a second-best option that can improve learning
outcomes at modest cost where teacher training is
unlikely to improve quickly. This is the model used
by the for-profit Bridge Academy in Kenya and elsewhere,
where scripted instruction and automated
administrative tasks help provide education at low
cost. Although yet to be evaluated rigorously, such
approaches hold promise to improve education.
Rethink curricula and teaching methods
Today’s education systems need to prepare students
for a career and not only a job. Modern labor markets
require creativity, teamwork, problem solving, and critical
thinking in ever-changing environments—skills
that traditional education systems do not teach
and that are hardest to measure. Many countries
are rethinking their approach. Singapore is moving
from a fairly rigid “efficiency driven” model that
tried to get the best results from inputs (teachers
and finance) to an “ability driven” model that emphasizes
project work and fewer assessments in place of
frequent testing. Colombia’s Escuela Nueva model,
now serving 5 million students in 16 countries, also
focuses on group learning and problem solving. These
approaches change the relationship between teacher
and student. No longer simply sources of information,
teachers now must instruct students in how to find
information and apply it in a new and unexpected
context. This requires changes in teacher training.
There are many examples of how digital technologies
can assist teachers and students—by allowing group
Box O.11 Mobilizing technology in teaching in Rio’s Educopedia
Rio de Janeiro’s education department developed the
Educopedia online platform of lessons and other resources
in 2010 to improve public school teaching. The system
focuses as much on providing materials for the teacher to
improve lessons as on giving students access to learning
resources. The system uses multimedia resources including
videos, interactive quizzes, and digital libraries. It now
serves almost 700,000 students. It has yet to be formally
evaluated, but together with other reforms it likely contributed
to a more than 20-percent increase in the Basic
Education Development Index in middle schools between
2009 and 2012. And 80 percent of Rio’s students agreed
that Educopedia helps their learning efforts.
Source: Bruns and Luque 2014.