Research
is accruing on something that teachers probably already knew…. that non-cognitive
attributes (e.g., student confidence, motivation, personality, resilience) are
significant predictors of a range of educational outcomes. Indeed, there is an excellent (and very
accessible) review of this topic within a recent Education Endowment Foundation
(EEF) publication (http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/Non-cognitive_skills_literature_review.pdf).
This
review considers a range of non-cognitive attributes (termed ‘skills’) - namely
self-perceptions, motivation, perseverance, self-control, metacognitive
strategies, social competencies, resilience/coping and creativity. The review very helpfully provides
definitions of these terms, existing measurement tools to examine these
attributes and correlational and causal evidence between these attributes and
educational outcomes. Furthermore, the
extent to which each non-cognitive attribute is malleable (i.e., may respond to
intervention) is discussed.
However,
despite what seems to be increasing recognition of the importance of
non-cognitive attributes, there is still, in my opinion, greater time and
attention spent on studying aspects of cognition (i.e., language, memory etc)
amongst psychology researchers in the UK. This could be for a number of reasons. From my experience as a researcher, I know
that non-cognitive skills are often underestimated and are regarded (by some)
as less worthy of attention than aspects of cognition. However, they are also arguably harder to
define and measure than aspects of cognition (at least at present) and this
poses difficulties for conducting high quality research. Of course, one could argue that we cannot define
or measure motivation, resilience or confidence etc. As a psychologist, I appreciate the
complexity of these attributes, but I also believe that we have to develop high
quality measurement tools if we want to better understand the role
non-cognitive attributes play in children and young people’s lives.
If we
are genuinely interested in supporting students to achieve their potential
(i.e., educational and personal success), researchers need to invest more time
and effort studying non-cognitive attributes. My research has developed in this way; from
beginning my research career as someone solely interested in the cognitive
skills associated with reading development, I now consider the relative
importance of both cognitive and non-cognitive skills.
While
understanding the relationship between non-cognitive attributes, educational
and personal success is important, equally important are studies identifying home,
school and community environments conducive to fostering positive attributes
(e.g., motivation, perseverance), and effective interventions for those
students who may be in need of support.
However,
we need more research from the UK. While
the EEF review is helpful and relatively comprehensive for teachers, it did
highlight to me (from my familiarity with this field), the lack of research studies
from the UK. We need to understand the
role and importance of these attributes as children proceed through the UK’s education
system(s).
Reference:
Morrison Gutman, L., & Schoon, I. (2013). The
impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people. Education Endowment Foundation/Cabinet
Office.
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