Development Of Non-cognitive Skills Research Articles

The Challenges of the Competencies Model of Teacher Training: Examples from Chile

This paper reports on a qualitative evaluation of the conceptual coherence of current programs of teacher training in three Chilean universities. Influenced by the Bologna Accord’s emphasis on development of competencies, the national government recently called for a shift from teaching as transmission of disciplinary-based cognitive knowledge to a transdisciplinary development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills in knowledge production. The paper, based on narrative analysis, is the first assessment of how three universities have responded to the new approach. Intensive interviews with teacher training program directors asked about goals, decision criteria, and methods of assessing impact on teacher trainees. The most selective university is using formal mechanisms to validate trainees’ attainment of specified competencies. In the middle and less selective universities less attention is paid to internal validation and programs rely on informal assessment mechanisms not always consistent with quality assurance requirements. The paper concludes that all three universities are guided more by labor market demands and employability of their graduates than by educational theory or research on teaching practices.

Can We Improve Learning Outcomes of Schoolchildren from the Poorest Families by Investing into Their Non-Cognitive Skills? Causal Analysis Using Propensity Score Matching

The research aims to discover how non-cognitive skills influence students' academic achievement. The particular emphasis was put on how non-cognitive skills influence academic achievement in students from families with low socio-economic status. The study uses the data of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) collected in Russia in 2018. The PISA-2018 provides nationally representative data that contains information from more than 7000 students in the 9th grade in Russia. For data analysis, propensity score matching was used as one of the causal analysis methods used in econometrics. The study results reveal that the development of such non-cognitive skills as growth mindset, self-efficacy, and grit lowers students’ probability to become low achievers. The effect is particularly strong for the students from the poorest families. In conclusion, the authors suggest recommendations for educational policy on the inclusion of socio-emotional learning programs in educational standards of school education.

Philosophy’ Contribution to Human Capital Development of Researchers: Current State and Prospective Agenda

The article presents the results of the study of the role of philosophy in the training of scientific personnel. It is shown that adaptation to the challenges associated with changes in the do Russian education system and global educational trends is one of the main tasks modern Russian philosophy’s facing. The participation of philosophy in the preparation of future scientists has a special place among the problems arising in that connection. The problem originates from the ambiguous relations between philosophy and, first of all, natural sciences. Although in the Soviet system of higher education philosophy was one of the leading educational disciplines, its function with respect to science was to introduce disciplinary scientists to the only true – truly scientific – worldview; in other words, it was ideological and dogmatic in nature. This reinforced the positivism’ view on philosophy that was already formed in the scientific community in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. According to this philosophy is useless or harmful for science. It has been shown that the post-soviet period has required revision of the concept of philosophy as a scientific and university discipline, which has not been fully implemented. The paper outlines the main points that may serve as the foundation for this kind of concept, namely mutual cognitive goals, philosophy's solution of cognitive tasks assumed by the existence of science, development of cognitive skills necessary for scientists, and initiation of knowledge that forms the ground for the development of non-cognitive skills within the framework of the philosophical studies. Finally, it is shown that the professional philosophical community can influence the level of philosophical education of disciplinary scientists and their perception of philosophy as part of the scientific system within the existing basic and postgraduate training courses, even in the absence of an increase in lecture and seminar courses, which is, however, also worth pursuing.

The origins of cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills: The long-term effect of in-utero rainfall shocks in India

Skills are an important predictor of labour, education, and wellbeing outcomes. Understanding the origins of skills formation is important for reducing future inequalities. This paper analyses the effect of shocks in-utero on human capital outcomes in childhood and adolescence in India. Combining historical rainfall data and longitudinal data from Young Lives, we estimate the effect of rainfall shocks in-utero on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development over the first 15 years of life. We find negative effects of rainfall shocks on receptive vocabulary at age 5, and on mathematics and non-cognitive skills at age 15. The negative effects on cognitive skills are driven by boys, while the effect for both cognitive and non-cognitive skills are driven by children of parents with lower education, suggesting that prenatal shocks might exacerbate pre-existing inequalities. Our findings support the implementation of policies aiming at reducing inequalities at very early stages in life.

Track placement and the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills

ABSTRACT We investigate the effect of being in the high track for secondary school students on cognitive and non-cognitive skill outcomes. Dutch students are assigned to tracks at the end of elementary school based on a test score. We use this test score in a fuzzy regression discontinuity design to exploit the discontinuity in the probability to be assigned to the high track. Our results show that track placement influences cognitive outcomes positively, but leaves students with worse non-cognitive skills. Marginal students therefore face a tradeoff if they could choose the high track over the lower track.

The effect of maker and entrepreneurial education on self-efficacy and creativity

Makerspaces and the availability of digital maker tools offer opportunities to create with their hands. Makerspaces and making have increasingly found their ways into institutions of formal and informal education but have yet not been explored in entrepreneurship education. Maker education holds the premise that learners work in a self-regulated and interdisciplinary way and develop a mind-set that enhances their self-organisation and self-efficacy. In the context of a European project, an educational programme, which combined maker and entrepreneurial education for fostering entrepreneurial thinking, skills and attitudes, was developed. This paper aims to understand and evaluate the direct effect of this maker educational programme on the development of non-cognitive (entrepreneurial) skills and attitudes, i.e. in relation to self-efficacy and creativity, as core elements of an “entrepreneurial spirit”. A creativity drawing test as well as a self-efficacy questionnaire were used to evaluate the maker educational programme and to measure individual effects on study participants. The analysis of the results shows a positive effect at the individual level in both creativity and self-efficacy when taking age and gender differences into account. A better understanding of the relationship between age as well as location specific settings and the resulting benefits in creativity and self-efficacy would be a worthwhile follow up research.

The effects of parenting on early adolescents' noncognitive skills: Evidence from a sample of twins in Germany.

Many theories in the social sciences assume that parenting affects child development. Previous research mostly supports the notion that parenting affects the skill development of children in early childhood. There are fewer studies testing whether parenting in early adolescence has such an influence. We estimate the effects of parenting on early adolescents’ noncognitive skills using data from the German Twin Family Panel (TwinLife). Specifically, we look at the effects of parenting styles, parental activities, and extracurricular activities on the academic self-concept, motivation, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and locus of control of 10 to 14 years old children. To control for unobserved heterogeneity and reverse causality, we employ twin fixed-effects models combined with longitudinal information. In addition, MZ twin fixed effects models also control for genetic confounding. Our findings provide no support to the notion that parenting styles, parental activities, and extracurricular activities in early adolescence affect the development of children's noncognitive skills. We conclude that our results, in combination with the majority of evidence from previous research, are in line with a model according to which parenting has larger effects on the skill development of children in early childhood than in early adolescence.

The socioeconomic gradient in child health and noncognitive skills: Evidence from the Czech Republic

We investigate the presence of a socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in children’s health and noncognitive skill development, and its evolution with child age using cohort data from the Czech Republic. We show that family SES are positively associated with better child health. These effects start to emerge at age 3 and are persistent for all subsequent ages. We find a modest strengthening of the gradient as the children grow older. Similarly, at the lowest distribution of average family income, children lag in their noncognitive skills. We find evidence that children enter school with substantial differences in noncognitive skill endowments based on family SES. This correlation persists when controlling for poor health at birth, the roles of specific and chronic health problems, housing conditions, and partner characteristics. Maternal health status explains some of the association between family income and child noncognitive skills. We account for the endogeniety of SES and non-linearities in measures.

Non-cognitive peer effects in secondary education

The peer effects literature has established that peers impact each other in the classroom through academic achievement and cognitive ability, but has not explored many alternative channels. This paper examines how the non-cognitive traits of peers in the classroom impact an individual’s learning outcomes. I estimate a linear-in-means model and alternative models of peer effects with additional peer effects terms accounting for “Big Five” personality traits. Controlling for selection into schools, cognitive and non-cognitive ability, and family background, there is a significant, positive relationship between average peer conscientiousness and individual academic performance of the order of a 0.15 standard deviation increase in math scores and a 0.12 standard deviation increase in language scores. This is the first evidence relating non-cognitive traits to peer effects in secondary school and lends support for programs in schools targeting the development of non-cognitive skills.

The Effect of Physical Play Experiences on Early Childhood Non-Cognitive Skills Development

This study aimed to verify the hypothesis that the acquisition of non-cognitive skills is affected by physical play experiences in early childhood. Research reports from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development state that the development of non-cognitive skills is affected by factors such as the quality of care and play experiences in early childhood. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding this hypothesis. To provide concrete evidence on how non-cognitive skills develop, this cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted. First, a questionnaire survey was conducted with university students and structural equation modeling was used to study the effect physical play experiences in early childhood had on non-cognitive skills in university, as represented by the Big Five personality traits. Second, to examine the perceived benefits of physical play experiences, participants were asked to write freely about their autobiographical memories of physical play experiences in early childhood. The narratives were visualized through co-occurring network analyses with text mining using KH Coder. The results showed a correlation between sufficiently rich physical play experiences in early childhood and the adult personality trait of attachment. Additionally, a correlation between personality traits and the quantity and quality of the subjective benefits of physical play experiences was observed. These findings imply the importance of physical play experiences during early childhood as the determinants of the development of non-cognitive skills.

Month-of-Birth Effects on Skills and Skill Formation

We estimate month-of-birth effects on cognitive and noncognitive skills, as well as factors relevant to skill formation. Our estimates indicate that younger students in a given grade cohort have lower cognitive and noncognitive skills. To shed light on the underlying mechanisms, we also examine children's time use and interpersonal relationships. We find evidence of compensatory investment in cognitive skills by younger children, however, they are also more likely to have poor-quality relationships with their classmates and teachers, which may harm the long-term development of noncognitive skills. Our findings on skill formation have implications for efficiency and equity.

Adverse labour market impacts of childhood and adolescence overweight and obesity in Western societies-A literature review.

Overweight and obesity among children and adolescents are major health issues of today with both somatic and psychosocial consequences in childhood, adolescence and adulthood and potentially adverse effects for adult social life. We conducted a narrative review of the literature about the association of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence with possible adverse impact on labour market in adulthood. By PubMed and Google Scholar searches, we identified 12 original, prospective studies from Western countries and extracted data from these studies. We discuss the possible explanations of the associations and the conceptual and methodological challenges in these studies. Despite inherent difficulties in interpreting results, partly due to differences in outcome definitions, ages at exposure, measurements of overweight and obesity, confounder control and societal differences, the studies indicate adverse labour market impacts on adult wage and employment. Furthermore, penalties seemed present even if the excessive weight was lost before adulthood, and women seemed more affected than men, especially when weight persisted into adulthood. While both health and lower education might contribute to explain the adverse labour market outcomes, also discrimination, stigmatization and the development of cognitive and noncognitive skills seemed to influence the outcomes. Prevention of these adverse labour market impacts likely requires multilevel efforts.

Exploring the role of parental engagement in non-cognitive skill development over the lifecourse

We examine the role that parental engagement with child’s education plays in the lifecourse dynamics of locus of control (LOC), one of the most widely studied non-cognitive skills related to economic decision-making. We focus on parental engagement as previous studies have shown that it is malleable, easy to measure, and often available for fathers, whose inputs are notably understudied in the received literature. We estimate a standard skill production function using rich British cohort data. Parental engagement is measured with information provided at age 10 by the teacher on whether the father or the mother is very interested in the child’s education. We deal with the potential endogeneity in parental engagement by employing an added-value model, using lagged measures of LOC as a proxy for innate endowments and unmeasured inputs. We find that fathers’, but not mothers’, engagement leads to internality, a belief associated with positive lifetime outcomes, in both young adulthood and middle age for female and socioeconomically disadvantaged cohort members. Fathers’ engagement also increases the probability of lifelong internality and fully protects against lifelong externality. Our findings highlight that fathers play a pivotal role in the skill production process over the lifecourse.

Needs and Opportunities for Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research (E/RCR) integration in Course‐based Undergraduate Research Experiences: the ENCOUR Fellowship Program

Course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been shown to enhance students’ development of cognitive and non‐cognitive skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields resulting in the proliferation of CURE offerings in college course catalogues. These courses often constitute the initial research experience for undergraduate students in the biological sciences, thereby establishing students’ perceptions of what it is to be a researcher. Though ensuring the integrity of the scientific enterprise through the ethical and responsible conduct of research (E/RCR) is central to the scientific process, documented efforts to integrate E/RCR education in the context of CUREs is lacking. In an effort to address this information gap, we conducted a mixed methods study to evaluate E/RCR implementation efforts within biological sciences CUREs at the national level. Results from these efforts indicate a general awareness from CURE stakeholders of the importance of E/RCR education in CUREs. The majority (65.15%) of individuals surveyed reported having to resolve E/RCR issues within their CUREs and agree that E/RCR education should be included. Although a great majority (96.96%) of respondents reported addressing at least one E/RCR topic in their CUREs, the responses evidenced a lack of planned and intentional integration of E/RCR education into such learning environments. Prominent issues identified by our study participants as barriers for the effective integration of E/RCR education into their CUREs were a perceived lack of time (92% of respondents), resources (85% of respondents), and appropriate training for instructors. Based on these results, the Ethics Network for Course‐based Opportunities in Undergraduate Research (ENCOUR) has developed a fellowship program that aims to serve as a national professional development model for instructors facilitating E/RCR education in biology CUREs. ENCOUR fellows will participate in a year‐long program designed to enhance their E/RCR knowledge and to guide them through the development and assessment of educational resources for effective integration of E/RCR topics into their CUREs.Support or Funding InformationThis work was supported by the National Science Foundation Awards 1727867 and 1919312

Identifyng the relationships between personality traits and non-cognitive skills

Through this research, it has been studied the relationship between personality traits and non-cognitive skills. The hypotheses of this study are that there is a positive correlation between a high level of extraversion and physical abilities, and there is a positive correlation between a high level of autonomy and musical abilities. The research was conducted through two research tools, the purpose of which was to identify and evaluate personality traits and non-cognitive skills. The group of participants consists of 120 people aged between 18 and 33 years. The study results attest the validity of the assumptions. In both cases, personality traits are a possible predictor of the development of non-cognitive skills, while the latter are a possible modeling factor for the personality.

Attitude towards entrepreneurship: a study among Asnaf Millennials in Malaysia

Purpose This study intended to determine the effect of selected entrepreneurial traits on the attitude of Asnaf Millennials in Malaysia towards entrepreneurship. Design/methodology/approach This is a cross-sectional study that collected the quantitative data via structured interviews from 310 randomly selected Asnaf Millennials from Kelantan, Malaysia. Findings The findings confirmed the positive and statistically significant effect of innovativeness, internal locus of control, need for achievement and proactive personality on the attitude of Asnaf Millennials on entrepreneurship. Originality/value This study focussed on the development of non-cognitive skills for individual characteristics regarding entrepreneurship for the benefit of development practitioners and policymakers. The government and development organisations should focus on developing entrepreneurial traits that are expected to improve the attitude towards entrepreneurship and increase the entrepreneurial activities in Malaysia. This initiative can improve the socio-economic condition of Asnaf Millennials with low income.

Development of non-cognitive skills in first-year engineering education

Abstract This research studies the influence of non-cognitive skills (NCS) like grit and growth mindset on first-year engineering students’ academic performance and whether classroom-setting influences the development of these skills. This study is contextualized in two first year courses that follow different pedagogies: Engineering Exploration (EE) course – the course that follows project based learning (PBL) pedagogy and Mathematics course – that has lecture based pedagogy. The participants are 60 first-year students of two different divisions undergoing the courses. The scores (course project scores and internal test scores) from both the courses served as indicators for this study. The study follows a mixed-methods approach. The surveys (short online grit and 12-item mindset survey) were administered at the start and end of the courses. The deviation in grit and mindset scores obtained through the baseline and endline survey was compared for both the courses. One-One interviews were conducted for 16 students of EE course, to understand what impact the PBL approach has on the aforementioned skills. The results show that both grit and growth mindset are positively correlated to academic scores, and they can be improved by a classroom setting like PBL.

Who is Resilient in a Time of Crisis? The Importance of Financial and Non-Financial Resources

We identify the individual resources that predicted psychological resilience during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using UK data, we compare psychological distress observed before COVID-19 with distress measured in April, May, and June 2020. After matching respondents on key characteristics, we find that the most important predictor of resilience is non-cognitive skills, as measured by self-efficacy. Self-efficacy also reduces the psychological effects of negative earnings shocks. Neither income, wealth, cognitive ability, nor social capital predicted resilience. Our findings hold when comparing differences between household members. These findings support investments in non-cognitive skill development in order to reduce the damage-function from adverse events.

The Origins of Cognitive Skills and Non-Cognitive Skills: The Long-Term Effect of In-Utero Rainfall Shocks in India

Skills are an important predictor of labour, education, and wellbeing outcomes. Understanding the origins of skills formation is important for reducing future inequalities. This paper analyses the effect of shocks in-utero on human capital outcomes in childhood and adolescence in India. Combining historical rainfall data and longitudinal data from Young Lives, we estimate the effect of rainfall shocks in-utero on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development over the first 15 years of life. We find negative effects of rainfall shocks on receptive vocabulary at age 5, and on mathematics and non-cognitive skills at age 15. Also, shocks occurred after the first trimester are more detrimental for skills development. Our findings support the implementation of policies aiming at reducing inequalities at very early stages in life.

It's All in the Stars: The Chinese Zodiac and the Effects of Parental Investments on Offspring's Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Development

The importance of (early) parental investments in children’s cognitive and noncognitive outcomes is a question of deep policy significance. However, because parental investments are arguably endogenous, empirically estimating their importance poses a challenge. This paper exploits a rich and novel dataset, the China Family Panel Studies, and proposes a culture-specific instrumental variable based on the Chinese zodiac, in order to identify the impact of parental investments. By looking at the outcomes of children born just before and just after the cutoff for a “lucky” (or “nonlucky”) zodiac sign, we find that parents' investments have significant effects on their offspring’s development of both cognitive and noncognitive skills.