In a recent study published in Nature Human Behavior, researchers assessed the associations between cognitive and non-cognitive (NCS) skills and academic achievement from ages 7 to 16.
Study: Genetic associations between non-cognitive skills and academic achievement over development. Image Credit: PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock.com
Background
Children who can regulate their impulses and attention and are motivated and emotionally stable perform better in school, independent of their cognitive abilities.
These socioemotional characteristics have been described as NCS. NCS predicting better educational outcomes can be classified into three overlapping domains – personality traits, motivational factors, and self-regulatory strategies.
Research on twins has revealed that genetic differences between individuals contribute to differences in NCS. Most NCS are moderately heritable.
Besides, studies have observed genetic correlations between NCS and academic achievement. These genetic links have been confirmed using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based methods.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants correlated with the completion of formal education.
A polygenic score (PGS) based on GWAS results predicts greater academic motivation, increased self-control, and more adaptive personality traits. Further, NCS genetics are related to health-risk behaviors, gratification delay, openness to experience, and conscientiousness.
About the study
In the present study, researchers examined associations of NCS and cognitive skills with academic achievement over development. Participants were twins born in England and Wales during 1994-96 and were part of the Twins Early Development Study.
The current study analyzed data collected when twins were aged 4, 7, 9, 12, and 16. The team focused on two broad NCS dimensions modeled as latent factors – education-specific NCS and domain-general self-regulation skills.
At age 9, information on education-specific NCS was obtained from teachers, parents, and twins’ self-reports.
Measures included the classroom environment questionnaire, self-perceived academic ability, and academic interest. At age 12, data were similarly collected on the following measures: self-perceived academic ability, literacy and mathematics environment questionnaires, and academic interest.
At age 16, education-specific NCS were assessed via twins’ self-reports on an academic self-concept scale, school engagement, grit, academic ambition, mathematics self-efficacy, time spent studying math, mathematics interest, attitudes toward school, and curiosity. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire examined behavioral and emotional self-regulation at all ages.
Four tests were administered to measure cognitive ability at ages 7, 9, and 12. At age 16, a composite non-verbal and verbal test was administered for measuring cognitive ability.
Academic achievement at ages 7, 9, and 12 was assessed using teacher reports. At age 16, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam scores were used to evaluate academic achievement.
Findings
Latent factors of domain-general self-regulation skills and education-specific NCS positively correlated with academic achievement at developmental stages.
The effect sizes increased with age. Further, both non-cognitive factors were significantly associated with academic achievement beyond cognitive skills. Notably, the heritability of NCS was significantly different across developmental stages and raters.
Further, the researchers found that genetic factors associated with cognitive skills accounted for 21% to 36% of the total variance in academic achievement. NCS-associated genetic effects accounted for up to 32.5% of the variance, independent of cognitive skills. Moreover, 5% to 37% of the variance in academic achievement was independent of genetic effects associated with NCS and cognitive skills.
Next, the researchers calculated PGSs for non-cognitive and cognitive factors and assessed their associations with academic, cognitive, and non-cognitive phenotypes.
Cognitive PGS significantly predicted variations in NCS over development. Likewise, non-cognitive PGS predicted variations in NCS, independent of the cognitive PGS. While the association was smaller at younger ages for parent-reported education-specific NCS, it increased over developmental stages.
Non-cognitive and cognitive PGSs predicted variations in verbal, non-verbal, and general cognitive abilities at all stages of development.
Associations between cognitive PGS and academic achievement were evident at seven years, which remained consistent over time. By contrast, effects were weaker for non-cognitive PGS in early ages but increased over time, reaching the same levels as cognitive PGS at 16 years.
Conclusions
In sum, the study investigated associations of non-cognitive and cognitive genetics with educational achievement during compulsory education.
The findings indicate that NCS predicted academic achievement over time, which was substantial even when cognitive skills were accounted for. These associations were largely due to shared genetic factors.
Further, the effects of non-cognitive genetics were sustained even after family-fixed effects were accounted for.
Together, these results underscore the crucial role of NCS in primary and secondary education. As such, fostering NCS could be an avenue for successful academic interventions and strategies.
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