The educational landscape in Europe faces a range of challenges, and this symposium proposal highlights affective issues in education such as students’ expectations, confidence, well-being, and student-reported instructional quality. The overall aim is to investigate how these factors vary across students and their relationship with student achievement. Four contributions from international scholars use data from the international assessments PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) to address these issues. We highlight the European perspective and draw on specific examples from more than 20 European and even more countries outside Europe.

While the majority of studies conducted with ILSA data focus on student achievement, there is also an affective component of school adjustment that should not be ignored. The first two papers take a comparative perspective focusing on student math confidence. Using the TIMSS 2019 data for 8th graders across 39 countries, the first contribution provides a cross-national analysis of math-specific affective aspects like confidence, enjoyment, and value in math education, focusing on gaps in gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and immigrant status. The second paper, focusing on the Nordic countries, provides another related student perspective on math confidence. This study, using TIMSS 2019 data for fourth graders, examines how students perceive the quality of their instruction and its relation to their mathematics confidence and achievement. It shows that clear and effective teaching are associated with students’ confidence in math.

The other two papers provide specific examples from North Macedonia and Slovenia. The contribution from Slovenia focuses on both cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes by exploring the role of students’ wellbeing in academic motivation and achievement. The PISA 2022 results showed that Slovenian students feel less well-being compared to their peers in other OECD countries, which corresponds with lower literacy skills. The research highlights the importance of positive relationships between teachers and students, emotional support, and a sense of belonging at school for academic success. These findings suggest that improving students’ overall well-being could greatly enhance their motivation and achievement in school. In North Macedonia, the PISA 2018 and 2022 results show many students struggling to reach basic levels in essential subjects. This problem is exacerbated by cuts in education funding, both in terms of GDP and government spending. The youth job market is particularly troubling, with high unemployment rates. This reflects a gap between what the education system teaches and what employers need. Despite these challenges, students in North Macedonia have high hopes for their education and careers, but there is a clear gap between these aspirations and their actual school performance. This contribution sheds light on the factors that can explain this misalignment between student achievement and career expectations.

The session consolidates research on a theme that often receives too little attention. Collectively, these studies show the complex relationship between education policies, student well-being, academic performance, and job market outcomes. In summary, tackling educational challenges requires a comprehensive approach that looks at both cognitive and non-cognitive factors. These factors are essential for preparing students to meet their goals and contribute positively to society. The session investigates these issues both comparatively and in relation to specific countries to provide lessons learned from the international assessments. It is divided into six parts: four presentations, a discussion by a renowned expert, and an open discussion.

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