Non-cognitive Development Research Articles

Parental socioeconomic status and adolescent development in Indonesia

ABSTRACT We examine the impact of parental socioeconomic status on adolescent cognitive and non-cognitive development using data on adolescents from the 2014–15 Indonesian Family Life Survey. The analysis is relatively new for a developing country, by including non-cognitive skills and by looking at adolescents rather than young children. Parental education has a greater cognitive skills effect than parental income and job status, especially for fathers. For non-cognitive skills, parental job status is important but only for mothers. Education policy could therefore focus especially on high school completion and higher education enrolment, while employment policy could improve women’s job flexibility.

More than preferences: exploring Chinese middle-class parents’ happiness promises in school choice

Parents’ happiness orientation has garnered early attention in school choice studies but has not been cautiously examined. Drawing on Aristotle’s framework of Eudaimonia and Hedonia, along with Ahmed’s concept of the happiness promise, this study transcends a perspec­tive of preference and examines how parents understand and pursue happiness in school choice. Based on interviews with 32 Shanghai middle-class parents, this study indicates five happiness objects: bachelor’s degree, expertise, non-cognitive development, good physical and mental health, and hobby. These happiness objects shape parents’ school choice preferences. In pursuing happiness objects, parents follow the philosophies of ‘no sweet without sweat’ and ‘prioritize sweet with due consideration to sweat’ and employ an authoritative approach when making choices. This study challenges the cultural stereotype that Chinese parents are solely academic-oriented and authoritarian in school choice. Instead, parents integrate happiness and academics and strive to balance children’s future fulfilment and present enjoyment.

Parenting style and the non-cognitive development of high school student: evidence from rural China.

Understanding the relationship between parenting style and the non-cognitive development of high school students is crucial, particularly in rural China. Non-cognitive abilities, including traits such as emotional regulation, resilience, and interpersonal skills, play a significant role in students' overall development and future success. This study aims to investigate how different parenting styles impact non-cognitive abilities among high school students in rural China. This study surveyed 6,549 high school students and their primary caregivers in rural China. The students had an average age of 17.61 years, with 48% being male, and 62% of Han ethnicity. Primary caregivers self-reported their parenting styles, while the students' non-cognitive abilities were assessed using the Big Five Inventory-Short (BFI-S). The relationship between parenting style and non-cognitive development was analyzed using two distinct methods: two dimensions (authoritative and authoritarian) and four categories of parenting styles. The study revealed that an authoritative parenting style had a positive impact on the non-cognitive abilities of students. Conversely, a negative association was observed between the authoritarian parenting style and the students' non-cognitive development. This association was more pronounced in the non-cognitive developmental scores of girls compared to boys. Additionally, parents from wealthier families or those with higher levels of education were more likely to adopt an authoritative parenting style rather than an authoritarian one. The results of this study highlight the significant influence of parenting styles on the non-cognitive development of high school students in rural China. Authoritative parenting, characterized by warmth and structure, appears to foster better non-cognitive outcomes, while authoritarian parenting, marked by strictness and less warmth, is associated with poorer non-cognitive development. The gender differences observed suggest that girls may be more sensitive to variations in parenting style. Furthermore, the socioeconomic and educational background of parents plays a crucial role in determining the parenting style adopted. These findings underscore the importance of developing and implementing parenting training interventions in rural China, aimed at promoting authoritative parenting practices to enhance the non-cognitive development of students.

The Impact of Urban-rural Parental Migration on Children's Academic Performance in China

The academic performance of migrant children in China has been a subject of growing concern. With a significant number of parents migrating for work, these children often face unique challenges in their educational journey. While some studies have shown a positive impact of parental income on academic outcomes, it remains uncertain whether this effect outweighs the consequences of reduced parental time and neglect of educational investment. This research aims to investigate the various factors contributing to the divergent academic performances of migrant children in the context of parental migration. This article reviews the literature on parental migration and highlights the complex interplay of factors shaping the academic trajectories of migrant children. While parental income can positively influence academic performance, its efficacy is contingent on mitigating the effects of reduced parental time and educational neglect on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive development. Furthermore, the external environment significantly impacts the mental health of these children, necessitating enhanced support systems for their psychological needs. In conclusion, this study's findings emphasize the significance of creating focused interventions and assistance programs to meet the particular difficulties experienced by migrating children in China.

Effects of Siblings on Cognitive and Sociobehavioral Development: Ongoing Debates and New Theoretical Insights

Despite social scientists’ long-standing interest in the influences of siblings, previous research has not settled the debates on how relevant sibship size is to child development and whether growing up with more siblings could be beneficial. Using 30 years of longitudinal data and fixed-effects models, this study offers the most comprehensive evidence on how sibship size is tied to cognitive and sociobehavioral development. We also advance the literature by systematically comparing the consequences of gaining a sibling for children with varying ordinal positions. Contrary to prior studies using selective data from limited observation spans, we find that children experience net decreases in cognitive test scores as their family size grows. At the same time, our analysis shows that sibling additions are only important to first- and second-born children’s—not later-born children’s—cognitive development. Even for the first- and second-born, the marginal effect of adding a sibling lessens with each addition. Our results thus demonstrate the time-dependent nature of family resource-dilution processes. For sociobehavioral development, the evidence indicates that having an older sibling is beneficial, but gaining a younger sibling increases behavioral problems for some (e.g., first-born children). Because more children from large families have older siblings, children from larger families exhibit less problematic behavior, on average. By uncovering the complex relationship between siblings and noncognitive development, this study also generally contributes to the sociology of family and inequality.

Applying variable- and person-centered approaches in the study of higher education learning outcomes

ABSTRACT Many believe that higher education contributes to students’ joint cognitive and non-cognitive development. However, relevant empirical evidence of that is scarce. Employing a sample of 348 college students, the present study explored the relationships among a range of outcomes using both a variable- and a person-centered approach. We found that a sense of purpose, strength of principles, and moral agency were positively associated. However, cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes were only weakly correlated. We also found that most students had either high or low scores in all of the measured outcomes, but some had non-uniform profiles. These results suggest that colleges should not assume that cognitive and non-cognitive developments are strongly related. College students likely need differentiated instruction and support, depending on their individual backgrounds, interests, and levels of the target constructs.

The impact of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in adolescents

BackgroundSince China adopted a policy to eliminate rural learning centers, boarding has become an important feature of the current rural student community. However, there is a lack of consensus on the impact of boarding schools on students' cognitive and non-cognitive development. This study investigates the effect of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of junior high school students in rural northwest China.MethodsUsing a sample of 5,660 seventh-grade students from 160 rural junior high schools across 19 counties, we identify a causal relationship between boarding and student abilities with the instrumental variables (IV) approach.ResultsThe results suggest that boarding positively influences memory and attention, while it has no significant effect on other cognitive abilities such as reasoning, transcription speed, and accuracy. Furthermore, we find no significant association between boarding and the development of non-cognitive skills.ConclusionsGiven the widespread prevalence of boarding schools in rural regions, our study highlights the growing importance of improving school management to promote the development of students’ cognitive abilities and integrating the development of non-cognitive or social-emotional abilities into students’ daily routines.

Effects of After-School Programs on Student Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Abilities: A Meta-Analysis Based on 37 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Studies

The after-school program is a crucial initiative for implementing the Double Reduction policy; however, prior research has not provided conclusive evidence on whether extended school hours contribute to students’ cognitive and non-cognitive development or on which types of after-school services are more beneficial for student development. This study analyzed 37 after-school programs from 18 publications using meta-analytic techniques, and the results indicated that participation in after-school programs had positive effects on student cognitive and non-cognitive development despite the small effect size (d = 0.327, p = 0.000). The decomposition of the effects of after-school programs revealed that they had modestly positive effects on academic achievement (d = 0.369) and social-emotional competence (d = 0.220). In addition, the analysis of moderating variables revealed that socioeconomic status, educational phase, number of after-school service days per week, sample size, and testing instrument all influenced the after-school program effects. This study concludes, based on the results of the meta-analysis, that there should be a balanced consideration of the development of student cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in planning after-school service, a substantial variety of activities in after-school programs, a flexible adoption of diverse after-school programs, and a reasonable participation frequency in after-school service.

Parental marriage and the non-cognitive abilities of infants and toddlers: Survey findings from China Family Panel Studies

Early childhood is a critical period for developing children’s abilities. Non-cognitive abilities are comparable to or even stronger than cognitive abilities in predicting many socioeconomic outcomes. Usually, most scholars take personality as the core indicator of non-cognitive abilities. While temperament is also an important component of children’s non-cognitive abilities, it was often ignored in previous studies. Based on the panel data from the 2018 and 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study investigates the effects of parental marital satisfaction on the non-cognitive development of children aged one to three; meanwhile, the heterogeneous effects and mechanisms were also examined. The results show that young children exhibit more negative emotions when their parents reported dissatisfaction with their marriages. Parental depression was an important mechanism of parental marital satisfaction affecting children’s non-cognitive development, while the frequency of parent-child interaction was not. The effects of marital dissatisfaction on non-cognitive abilities were heterogeneous across child age and gender, as well as parental genders and education levels. The findings shed some light on the early interventions and offer important reference values for public policies aimed at improving family welfare and children’s non-cognitive development.

Perspectives of teachers at music schools toward children's extra-musical abilities promoted by music lessons.

Musical activities foster children's social ability. However, the question remains whether professional music teachers consider musical training to have an influence on extra-musical abilities or only on the acquisition of musical skills. We conducted an online survey to collect open-ended responses regarding this question from over 2,000 music teachers in one of the biggest extracurricular fee-charging music school groups in Japan. Teachers' free descriptions were classified into non-cognitive skills, and frequently occurring words were extracted through text mining. The results showed that, although the primary goal of music teachers who provide fee-charging lessons may be to teach musical skills to their students, they were aware of the effects of music lessons on children's non-cognitive development. Our study's main findings include: (1) despite free-descriptions, 92% of teachers reported that children acquired extra-musical abilities, and 98% of these responses were categorized as non-cognitive skills, (2) the most common responses within non-cognitive skills were "collaboration," "task performance," and "engaging with others", and (3) there was a significant positive correlation between teaching experience and frequency of mentioning non-cognitive skills. Views on extra-musical abilities, which experienced music teachers especially had, may improve less-experienced teachers' perspectives on teaching as well as their social roles and occupational awareness.

Parental aspirations for children’s early childhood education enrolment in Bangladesh

Early childhood education (ECE) contributes to all young children’s cognitive and non-cognitive development. Most developed countries invest in early childhood education to boost human capital development. In countries such as Bangladesh which are impoverished and underdeveloped, the government has not provided enough access, enrollment, and quality early childhood education. Consequently, parents motivate early childhood education, whose financial circumstances alter to enroll children in school. This study examines the parental aspiration that encourages and motivates them to enroll their children in ECE schools. FGDs and KIIs were conducted with the individual respondents using a qualitative case study method. The findings indicate that parental aspirations, anxieties, and socio-economic conditions significantly affect children’s enrollment in ECE schools. The probability that a child will be enrolled in an ECE school is heavily influenced by the socio-economic position of parents, social recognition, quality of service, and the school’s reputation. This study argued that parental aspiration for children’s enrollment and non-enrollment in ECE impede social justice in education for all children. Finally, all the stakeholders should take innovative policy initiatives to ensure institutional justice and equal enrollment opportunities for children aged 3-5.

The Relative Influence of Subjective and Objective Socioeconomic Status on the Noncognitive Development of First-Year College Students

The study examines the associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and noncognitive development in first year college students, distinguishing between objective (or absolute) and subjective (or relative) measures of SES. The analyses draw from longitudinal data capturing college students (N = 2,488) at the start of the first year of college and again towards the end of the same academic year, across 25 public four-year colleges and universities within a single state higher education system. Results highlight the importance of subjective status, over and above objective status, and suggest strategies that may inform college and university support.

A Systematic Review of the Impact of Physical Activity on Cognitive and Noncognitive Development in Chinese University Students

A large volume of empirical evidence and literature reviews on physical activity have concentrated on primary and secondary education. Thus, the primary aim of this systematic review is to synthesize empirical evidence regarding the potential impact of physical activity on academic and nonacademic performance among Chinese university students. A search and analysis of studies was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines by using an electronic database search (PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus), and 150 studies were obtained. Subsequently, after producing rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria, which were used to consider quality, methodology, language, geographical location, year of publication, etc., a total of 11 quantitative research articles, based on Chinese higher education institutions, were chosen for synthesis. The comprehensive analysis of the studies affirmed that physical activity dramatically benefits university students by fostering their nonacademic skills, such as social relatedness, life satisfaction, and mental health, in addition to boosting their academic achievement in terms of graduation, GPA, academic motivation, and engagement. However, the aim of this systematic review was to provide implications for future scholars to explicitly study university students’ educational level, discipline, sex, and type of physical activity.

School feeding and children’s noncognitive skills: Evidence from the Nutrition Improvement Program in rural China

ABSTRACT The health and education consequences of school feeding programs have been well established, however, evidence regarding such programs’ spillover effects on children’s noncognitive skills remains scarce. Using the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study examines the association between the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP), which provides free school meals to eligible rural students, and children’s Big Five noncognitive skills. The results show that the school feeding program significantly improves children’s noncognitive outcomes, especially among students who are girls, left behind by parents, non-only-child, have a local hukou, live in low-income households, and have low levels of positive personality traits. Our main findings are robust to a battery of specifications and validity tests. In addition, we further explore the possible mechanisms and find that child health, cognitive skills, peer relationship, family economic status, and parenting behaviours are the potential channels through which participating in the school feeding program positively affects children’s noncognitive development. Our findings suggest that school feeding should not only be treated as a nutrition or education scheme, but also as a transfer program that fosters children’s development beyond health and academic outcomes.

Sınavsız Üniversiteye Giriş: Lise Başarı Puanı ve Sınıf içi Başarı Sırasına Dayalı Rastgele Seçim Yöntemi

Today, in order for a student to enter a university, he/she must go through many admission stages. The exam hollowed out the education and expelled the non-cognitive and human values that were not measured by the exam. Exams that completely swallowed the students' 6-18 age period caused disaster in the education system, contrary to their purpose of existence. It has already been observed that standardized exams do not predict university success. The high school Grade Point Average (GPA) is much more related to a student's academic achievement in the university. However, the inconsistency of high school GPAs between schools restricts their direct use of it at the university entrance. Our suggestion is to make random selection based on high school GPA. A lottery coefficient will be given to each student by using the student's high school GPA, class GPA, and class ranking. Thus, students will enter random selection with a lottery coefficient based on school success. Those with high success will have a higher coefficient and those with low success will have a lower coefficient. We hope that the random selection method will provide students with opportunities for their non-cognitive development and contribute to social peace.

Parental migration and self-efficacy among rural-origin adolescents in China: Patterns and mechanisms.

Large-scale rural-to-urban migration has shaped the socialization contexts of rural adolescents in China and can potentially impact their developmental outcomes. In this study, using data from the first wave of the China Education Panel Study collected in 2013, we focused on self-efficacy, an important but under-studied facet of noncognitive development, and assessed how it was influenced by family migration status. We also explored the mediating role of family and school resources. We compared three groups of rural-origin adolescents with different family migration statuses: rural left-behind children (LBC), rural not-left-behind children (NLBC), and rural-to-urban migrant children (MC). Structural equation modeling was performed to estimate the main effects of rural-origin groups on self-efficacy and the mediating effects of family income, family social capital, and school social capital for the significant group effects on self-efficacy. We found similar levels of self-efficacy among MC and NLBC, who in turn, exhibited greater self-efficacy than LBC. Discrepancies in family and school resources mediated the self-efficacy gaps between LBC and their MC and NLBC counterparts. Notably, when their disadvantages in family and school resources were controlled for, LBC were more efficacious than MC and NLBC, indicating LBC's resilience and the potential for promoting self-efficacy in LBC by providing adequate resources and support.

Contextual effects on students’ achievement and academic self-concept in the Nordic and Chinese educational systems

BackgroundThe current study investigates school contextual effects on students’ academic self-concept and achievement, that is, peer socioeconomic effect and big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), in four Nordic education systems (i.e., Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) and selected Chinese education systems (Hong Kong and Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang). The two school contextual effects are studied simultaneously to negate the confounding effects of student and school socioeconomic status (SES), academic self-concept and academic achievement. The study focuses on the following research questions:Are there differences in the between-school variation in school SES composition, academic self-concept and reading literacy across the Nordic and selected Chinese education systems?What are the sizes of peer SES and BFLPE in the Nordic and Chinese education systems?Are there any differences that can be observed between the 2000 and 2018 data for the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the first two questions for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and Hong Kong?MethodsUsing PISA 2000 and 2018 data from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong and Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Zhejiang (in 2018 only), a multiple-group two-level structural equation modelling was applied to estimate the school contextual effect.ResultsThe current study indicated that school academic and socioeconomic segregation intensified over the two decades in most of the studied countries. This finding lays the groundwork for understanding the two schools’ contextual effects. School SES compositions positively affected students’ academic achievement, while average school achievement negatively affected students’ academic self-concept. Given that students’ academic and socioeconomic composition has become more homogeneous within schools, the contextual effects were more pronounced. However, variations across diverse education systems were also notable.ConclusionsThe current study adds evidence of the school contextual effects regarding the peer SES effects and robustness of the BFLPE, considering the nested structure of the data and diverse cultural milieu. We argue that these diversities reflect the varying extent to which educational reforms were introduced in different countries, here as oriented to marketisation, privatisation and choice. These reform actions have changed the composition of students at schools and school culture, which moulds individual students’ cognitive and noncognitive development.

Hong Kong high school students' perceptions of the new secondary school curriculum.

BackgroundThe New Senior Secondary (NSS) curriculum in Hong Kong aims to change the exam-oriented culture and promote students' all-around development. This reform emphasizes student-centered learning and promotes a shift from a top-down approach to school-based management, with the ultimate goal to help students become lifelong learners. This study examined students' perceptions of the NSS curriculum with a focus on their noncognitive development (e.g., self-understanding, positive values, purpose in life, and resilience).MethodsThe data were collected from 3,498 Secondary 6 students in Hong Kong (Girls: 47.7%; Mean age: 17.33 years) using a self-reported questionnaire in 2015. We examined the psychometric properties of the instrument, “Perceptions of the New Secondary School Curriculum” (PNSC), and conducted multigroup CFA to evaluate the measurement invariance of PNSC across genders. Paired t-test analysis was used to examine whether students perceived the junior and senior secondary curricula differently. A series of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were conducted to examine students' perceptions of the curriculum by gender and by academic performance level.ResultsResults based on percentage responses showed that most students liked the curriculum and acknowledged its benefits in promoting their noncognitive development. However, substantial proportions of the students also reported relatively negative responses to some items, particularly their fondness for senior secondary education. Students generally reported higher fondness for the junior secondary curriculum than for the senior secondary curriculum. Girls had more positive perceptions of the NSS curriculum than did boys. High-performing students liked the NSS curriculum the most and perceived the most benefits of the curriculum in promoting their noncognitive skills, whereas low-performing students showed the lowest levels of fondness for/interest in the curriculum and perceived benefits.ConclusionsOur findings support previous evidence showing initial success in promoting students' noncognitive skills but also alert educators and policymakers that the curriculum should not leave the low-performing students behind. Collective efforts from schools, educational bureaus, researchers, and policymakers are needed to take appropriate measures to cater to students' balanced development.

Breastfeeding and Child Development

We show that children who are born at or just before the weekend are less likely to be breastfed, owing to poorer breastfeeding support services in hospitals at weekends. We use this variation to estimate the effect of breastfeeding on children's development in the first seven years of life, for a sample of births of low-educated mothers. We find large effects of breastfeeding on children's cognitive development but no effects on health or noncognitive development during the period of childhood we consider. Regarding mechanisms, we study how breastfeeding affects parental investments and the quality of the mother-child relationship. (JEL I12, I14, I18, J13, J16, J24)

Unnecessary caesarean section delivery in rural China: exploration of relationships with full-term gestational age and early childhood development.

Gestational age at delivery is reportedly associated with cognitive and non-cognitive development in early childhood. Delivery at an earlier full-term gestational age has been associated with an increased rate of caesarean section (C-section) delivery; the high rate of C-section delivery in China implies that the rate of medically unnecessary C-section delivery is also high. This study investigated the relationships of medically unnecessary C-section delivery with full-term gestational age and early childhood development in rural China. We conducted a survey of 2765 children (aged 5-24 months) who resided in 22 national designated poverty counties. Primary caregivers were interviewed to collect information regarding child and household characteristics (including the child's gestational age), each child's delivery method, and reasons for C-section delivery (if applicable). The children were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Developmental outcomes were compared among gestational age-groups; regression analyses were used to assess relationships among medically unnecessary C-section delivery, gestational age, and developmental outcomes. Overall, 56.2% of children were born at ≤39 weeks of gestation. Among C-section deliveries, 13.1% were medically necessary and >40% could clearly be classified as medically unnecessary. Repeat C-section was the most common reason given for medically unnecessary C-section delivery. For each 1-week increase in full-term gestational age, cognition scale scores increased by 0.62 points (P<0.01), language scale scores increased by 0.84 points (P<0.01), and motor scale scores increased by 0.55 points (P<0.05). Medically unnecessary Csection delivery was significantly associated with lower full-term gestational age. Higher full-term gestational age was significantly associated with better childhood developmental outcomes, indicating that medically unnecessary C-section delivery may negatively influence early childhood development.