How are adult skills acquired? Three comparative essays based on PIAAC

142 Pages·2016·1.2 MB·English

How are adult skills acquired? Three comparative
essays based on PIAAC

Rosario Ivano Scandurra

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PhD in Sociology
How are adult skills acquired?
Three comparative essays based
on PIAAC
Rosario Ivano Scandurra

PhD in Sociology
Thesis title:
How are adult skills acquired?
Three comparative essays based
on PIAAC
PhD student:
Rosario Ivano Scandurra
Advisors:
Elisabet Almeda Samaranch
Jorge Calero Martínez
Date:
July 2016

PhD in Sociology
Thesis title:
How are adult skills acquired? Three comparative essays based on PIAAC
PhD student:
Rosario Ivano Scandurra
Advisors:
Elisabet Almeda Samaranch and Jorge Calero Martínez
Date September 2016
Recommended Citation: Scandurra, R., 2016. How are adult skills acquired? Three comparative
essays based on PIAAC. PhD thesis. Universitat de Barcelona.
Acknowledgements
The last four years have been a very enriching experience and this has been possible thanks to the
many people I worked with in my field of education and research.
First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to my advisor Jorge Calero, who has
always kindly dedicated his time to discussing and challenging my work with rigour and has
meticulously read and commented on countless revisions of this manuscript. It would be fair to
say that Jorge’s edits and suggestions are the reasons why a portion of this thesis has been
considered for publication in a few international journals. The completion of this thesis would
have not been possible without his guidance and support. I hope to one day be as good an
advisor to my students as Jorge has been to me.
Additionally, I would like to thank Elisabet Almeda for her guidance during these years and
the research group Copolis, which organized various seminars where I discussed parts of my
research. I am also grateful to Marius Dominguez for the opportunity he gave me to be a
teacher’s assistant in the research design seminars. I appreciate the financial support from the FI-
DGR 2013 of the Generalitat de Catalunya that funded the research in this dissertation and of
the research project Familias monoparentales del nuevo siglo. Retos y dilemas en tiempos de cambio
(CSO2011-29889).
I am also very grateful to Rafael Castelló and Fabian Gouret who have provided me with
useful feedback and suggestions regarding my work at its early stages. I would also like to say
thank you to Jordi Roca and Eva Saez for their effective support with the administrative issues
related to the doctorate program.
In the second year of the elaboration of this thesis, I visited the Robert Owen Centre for
Educational Change at the University of Glasgow. For the hospitality I received at the University
of Glasgow, I must especially thank Oscar Valiente, for his suggestions regarding my
dissertation. The ideas that emerged during that time were crucial in the development of my
thesis. In my third year, I visited the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
(BIGSSS) under the VII Framework Programme Ingrid project. For the support and kindness I
received in Bremen, I would like to thank Florian Hertel and Olaf Groh-Samberg.
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I am also indebted to different researchers with whom I have interacted during the PhD
programme. Particularly I would like to acknowledge Alvaro Choi, Joan Guardia Alessia
Matano, Jochen Mayerl, Ivan Mejía, Elisenda Renteria, Melanie Revilla, Peter Wagner, Adrian
Zancajo, and Matias Zarlenga, who at different stage of my research provided me with
comments and helped enrich my ideas. I would also like to thank Mario Novelli and Alan Smith
for the things I learned during the seminars to which I was invited.
I would like to express my gratitude to some of the teachers, whom I have encountered
during my time as a student. This list would be extremely long, but I would like to single out
two of them: Maria Bisbano and Cosimo Cucinotta.
Very importantly, in my personal life, I want to say thank you to my friends for always being
supportive during this time, especially Giuseppe, Lorena, Marco, Gianfranco, and Nela.
Further, I would like to thank Little Louie, who contributed to change the music I like to listen
and dance to.
Finally, I am deeply thankful to my parents and grandparents who have not only showered
me with their love and care but have also provided me with the good values and work ethic
which have allowed me to achieve all that I have. Last but certainly not least, I will always be
grateful to Anna, whose infinite support and love have been fundamental in the almost ten years
we have lived together. Thank you.

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Content
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ i
List of abbreviations (in alphabetical order) ............................................................... vi
Chapter 1. Introduction ...................................................................................... 1
1.1. Globalization and technology shifts .................................................... 1
1.2. Education, but not just education ...................................................... 4
1.3. In search of an analytical and complex approach ..................................... 6
1.4. Conceptualization of skills ............................................................... 8
1.5. The process of commensuration of skills ............................................. 10
1.6. A brief history of adult skills surveys .................................................. 12
1.7. What does PIAAC measure? ........................................................... 15
1.8. Presentation of the papers .............................................................. 17
References .................................................................................................. 19
Chapter 2. A comparative analysis of skills formation.................................................. 23
2.1. Introduction ............................................................................... 23
2.2. Correlates of literacy .................................................................... 26
2.2.1. Education attainment .................................................................... 27
2.2.2. Home background ....................................................................... 27
2.2.3. Age and gender ........................................................................... 28
2.2.4. Position in the labour market .......................................................... 28
2.2.5. Formal training in the workplace ...................................................... 29
2.2.6. Skills use at work ......................................................................... 29
2.3. Data and methods ........................................................................ 29
2.4. Results ..................................................................................... 34
2.5. Discussion ................................................................................. 39
2.6. Conclusion ................................................................................ 41
References .................................................................................................. 42
Chapter 3. An integral model of adult skills in OECD countries ..................................... 47
3.1. Introduction ............................................................................... 47
3.2. Conceptualization and measurement of skills........................................ 49
3.3. Factors influencing the acquisition of skills and a hypothetical model ........... 51
3.3.1. Education .................................................................................. 52
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