Representatives of the Slovenian Institute for Adult Education (SIAE) and two external collaborators attended an international working meeting with high expectations. The meeting brought together delegates from eight countries participating in the second cycle of the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills between 2025 and 2029. In mid-2024, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia appointed the SIAE as the institution responsible for conducting the survey in Slovenia. We officially joined the survey in September 2025. The meeting was organised by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) from Princeton, USA. The lead partner of the international PIAAC consortium operates under the auspices of the OECD. The meeting was hosted by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) in Hamburg. The IEA plays a very prominent role in the international consortium, overseeing sampling procedures, fieldwork implementation and database preparation. It also participates in other major international surveys, such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. In addition to delegates from the participating countries (Slovenia, Greece, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Australia and Uruguay), representatives from the OECD and partner organisations of the international consortium also attended. They led the various parts of the training. This working meeting was the first held in person since the project began in June this year, and it was intended to train national teams in activities related to translating and adapting survey instruments, sampling and preparing the pilot survey.
The training focused on adapting and translating the PIAAC instruments. It included practical workshops on translation and sampling, along with sessions covering methodological updates and data management tools. The timetable for each phase leading up to the fieldwork, as well as key technical aspects of the survey, was presented in more detail. Over the four-day programme, partners from the international consortium provided an in-depth overview of the core tasks for the upcoming stages of the survey. We also had the chance to consult individually with expert teams which addressed our specific questions. During the meeting, an OECD representative shared information about the upcoming PIAAC scientific conference in Madrid, where numerous researchers will present their latest analyses and findings.
At the SIAE, we are currently working on adapting and translating the instruments and finalising the sampling plan. According to the international schedule, the pilot survey will take place in early 2027, followed by the main survey in 2028. The first data release is expected in December 2029.
Estera Možina, MSc (ester.mozina@acs.si), SIAE