PROGRAMME FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENT 2000 - SCOTLAND ANALYSIS
Belonging at School
6. Eighty five per cent of 15 year olds in Scotland felt like they belonged at school. However, 27 per cent did not want to go to school, and 56 per cent often felt bored there. Figures for the rest of the UK were almost identical, with both similar to the OECD average. Students who felt lonely or out of place at school or students who felt bored tended to score worse on the reading literacy tests.
Table 21a Percentage and performance on the PISA reading literacy scale of students by responses to questions on engagement with school, Scotland
Proportion of 15 year olds who agree or disagree with the following statements: | Scotland | Scotland |
Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly | Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly |
| I feel like an outsider | 93% | 7% | 530 | 504 |
| I make friends easily | 8% | 92% | 530 | 527 |
| I feel like I belong | 15% | 85% | 520 | 529 |
| I feel awkward and out of place | 91% | 9% | 531 | 493 |
| Other students seem to like me | 5% | 95% | 526 | 528 |
| I feel lonely | 95% | 5% | 529 | 515 |
| I do not want to go | 73% | 27% | 532 | 517 |
| I often feel bored | 44% | 56% | 538 | 520 |
Table 21b Percentage and performance on the PISA reading literacy scale of students by responses to questions on engagement with school, UK
Mean reading scores of 15 year olds who agree or disagree with the following statements: | UK | UK |
Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly | Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly |
| I feel like an outsider | 93% | 7% | 529 | 493 |
| I make friends easily | 8% | 92% | 527 | 526 |
| I feel like I belong | 16% | 84% | 508 | 530 |
| I feel awkward and out of place | 91% | 9% | 531 | 481 |
| Other students seem to like me | 6% | 94% | 500 | 528 |
| I feel lonely | 94% | 6% | 526 | 522 |
| I do not want to go | 72% | 28% | 532 | 510 |
| I often feel bored | 45% | 55% | 532 | 521 |
Table 21c Percentage and performance on the PISA reading literacy scale of students by responses to questions on engagement with school, OECD
Mean reading scores of 15 year olds who agree or disagree with the following statements: | OECD | OECD |
Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly | Disagree or disagree strongly | Agree or agree strongly |
| I feel like an outsider | 91% | 9% | 504 | 476 |
| I make friends easily | 14% | 86% | 495 | 502 |
| I feel like I belong | 22% | 78% | 488 | 505 |
| I feel awkward and out of place | 85% | 15% | 506 | 475 |
| Other students seem to like me | 19% | 81% | 480 | 507 |
| I feel lonely | 89% | 11% | 504 | 477 |
| I do not want to go | 69% | 31% | 503 | 498 |
| I often feel bored | 50% | 50% | 499 | 504 |
7. Fifteen year olds in Scotland generally engage well with school, compared to most other countries. Fewer students felt lonely at school in Scotland than in any other country, and the vast majority felt that they belonged. However, the number of students stating that they did not wish to go to school was only just below the OECD average, and the number who stated that they often felt bored exceeded the average.
Table 22. Percentage of students by responses to questions on engagement with school, by country
| Percentage of students who agree or strongly agree with the statement that "My school is a place where… |
I feel like an outsider (or left out of things)" | I make friends easily" | I feel like I belong" | I feel awkward and out of place" | other students seem to like me" | I feel lonely" | I do not want to go" | I often feel bored" |
OECD countries |
Australia | 9 | 89 | 85 | 11 | 92 | 8 | 34 | 60 |
Austria | 7 | 86 | 85 | 18 | 72 | 10 | 29 | 49 |
Belgium | 10 | 86 | 53 | 19 | 87 | 7 | 42 | 46 |
Canada | 9 | 89 | 81 | 12 | 93 | 9 | 37 | 58 |
Czech Republic | 11 | 86 | 73 | 9 | 84 | 9 | 29 | 47 |
Denmark | 6 | 85 | 84 | 10 | 75 | 10 | 19 | 41 |
Finland | 6 | 84 | 86 | 11 | 84 | 8 | 26 | 60 |
France | 8 | 87 | 44 | 16 | 86 | 7 | 37 | 32 |
Germany | 6 | 81 | 82 | 15 | 67 | 8 | 25 | 49 |
Greece | 10 | 88 | 83 | 13 | 85 | 10 | 22 | 66 |
Hungary | 10 | 87 | 89 | 9 | 85 | 9 | 38 | 29 |
Iceland | 10 | 81 | 85 | 11 | 86 | 10 | 23 | 30 |
Ireland | 7 | 89 | 83 | 9 | 93 | 8 | 34 | 67 |
Italy | 7 | 90 | 73 | 9 | 88 | 16 | 38 | 54 |
Japan | 6 | 70 | 76 | 22 | 62 | 9 | 25 | 32 |
Korea | 15 | 83 | 68 | 15 | 42 | 10 | 30 | 46 |
Luxembourg | 9 | 84 | 72 | 19 | 68 | 11 | 30 | 50 |
Mexico | 10 | 84 | 88 | 11 | 76 | 12 | 9 | 28 |
New Zealand | 9 | 90 | 83 | 12 | 91 | 9 | 34 | 60 |
Norway | 6 | 85 | 79 | 10 | 86 | 8 | 23 | 58 |
Poland | 10 | 78 | 63 | 14 | 53 | 12 | 28 | 38 |
Portugal | 8 | 91 | 83 | 19 | 90 | 8 | 13 | 24 |
SCOTLAND | 7 | 92 | 86 | 8 | 95 | 5 | 26 | 56 |
Spain | 5 | 90 | 52 | 12 | 89 | 7 | 30 | 66 |
Sweden | 6 | 87 | 78 | 7 | 88 | 9 | 20 | 58 |
Switzerland | 7 | 85 | 76 | 14 | 74 | 8 | 28 | 38 |
United Kingdom | 7 | 91 | 83 | 9 | 93 | 6 | 28 | 54 |
United States | 11 | 81 | 78 | 14 | 83 | 12 | 35 | 61 |
OECD total | 9 | 82 | 75 | 14 | 77 | 10 | 29 | 48 |
Country mean | 8 | 85 | 77 | 13 | 80 | 9 | 28 | 48 |
Non-OECD countries |
Brazil | 5 | 89 | 86 | 10 | 88 | 8 | 20 | 30 |
Latvia | 9 | 79 | 86 | 15 | 63 | 14 | 18 | 31 |
Liechtenstein | 9 | 83 | 83 | 17 | 69 | 9 | 31 | 47 |
Russian Federation | 6 | 82 | 86 | 13 | 50 | 10 | 17 | 27 |
Chart 10. Percentage of students who agree with the statement that they feel lonely at school
Chart 11. Percentage of students who agree with the statement that they often feel bored at school
