Non-cognitive skills: The hidden superpower boosting academic success

LONDON — As parents and educators, we often focus on improving children’s cognitive abilities – their reading, math, and problem-solving skills – to boost academic performance. But what if there’s another set of skills that are just as crucial for success in school? New research suggests that non-cognitive skills like motivation, self-regulation, and perseverance play an increasingly important role in academic achievement as students progress through their education.

The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, followed over 10,000 children in England and Wales from age 7 to 16. It found that while cognitive abilities remain important, non-cognitive skills become progressively more influential in predicting academic outcomes over time. By the end of high school, these non-cognitive traits were equally as important as cognitive skills in determining academic success.

What exactly are non-cognitive skills?

They encompass a range of abilities that aren’t directly related to intelligence or subject knowledge. This includes things like self-control, curiosity, grit, social skills, and having a growth mindset. While cognitive skills help you solve a math problem, non-cognitive skills help you persevere when the problem is difficult.

The study used a variety of methods to measure non-cognitive skills throughout childhood and adolescence. At age 9, for example, children, parents, and teachers answered questions about the child’s academic interests, attitudes toward learning, and classroom satisfaction. By age 16, students completed more in-depth assessments on traits like academic ambition, grit, and curiosity.

To assess cognitive skills, researchers administered tests of verbal and non-verbal abilities at each age. Academic achievement was measured through teacher reports in earlier years and standardized test scores at age 16.

One of the study’s most intriguing findings was that genetic factors associated with non-cognitive skills became increasingly predictive of academic achievement over time. By age 16, these “non-cognitive genetics” explained as much variance in achievement as cognitive genetics did.

The researchers suggest this may be due to a snowball effect as children progress through school. Those with a genetic predisposition towards traits like motivation and self-control likely create positive feedback loops – they put in more effort, which leads to better performance, which increases their confidence and motivation further. Over time, this compounds to have a major impact on academic outcomes.

“We discovered that genetic effects associated with non-cognitive skills become increasingly predictive of academic achievement over the school years, in fact their effect nearly doubles between the ages of 7 and 16,” explains Dr. Andrea Allegrini, a Research Fellow at University College London, in a statement. “By the end of compulsory education, genetic dispositions towards non-cognitive skills were equally as important as those related to cognitive abilities in predicting academic success.” 

Importantly, this increasing influence of non-cognitive skills held true even when comparing siblings within the same family. This indicates the effect isn’t simply due to family-wide factors like socioeconomic status or parenting styles.

The study also examined how socioeconomic status interacts with cognitive and non-cognitive skills to influence achievement. While higher socioeconomic status was associated with both higher skills and higher achievement overall, it didn’t change the relationship between skills and achievement. In other words, non-cognitive skills were equally important for academic success regardless of a student’s socioeconomic background.

These findings have important implications for education policy and practice. They suggest that schools and parents should place greater emphasis on cultivating non-cognitive skills alongside traditional academic abilities. This could involve explicitly teaching skills like goal-setting and emotional regulation or structuring learning environments to foster curiosity and persistence.

The research also highlights the potential of genetics in understanding educational development. While it’s important to note that genes aren’t destiny, this work shows how genetic predispositions can interact with environments over time to shape outcomes. This knowledge could potentially be used to identify students who might benefit from extra support in developing non-cognitive skills.

“Our research challenges the long-held assumption that intelligence is the primary driver of academic achievement,” says co-author Dr. Margherita Malanchini, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London. “We’ve found compelling evidence that non-cognitive skills – such as grit, perseverance, academic interest, and value attributed to learning – are not only significant predictors of success but that their influence grows stronger over time.”

As we continue to unravel the complex factors that contribute to academic success, this study provides compelling evidence that we need to look beyond IQ and test scores. By nurturing the full range of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, we can help all students reach their full potential in school and beyond.

“Our education system has traditionally focused on cognitive development,” concludes Dr. Malanchini. “It’s time to rebalance that focus and give equal importance to nurturing non-cognitive skills. By doing so, we can create a more inclusive and effective learning environment for all students. This study is just the beginning. We hope it will inspire further research and lead to a transformation in how we approach education.”