Non-cognitive skills and social isolation in late childhood: An investigation of their impact on school performance in Italy

Abstract

This study investigates whether students’ non-cognitive skills are related to their educational outcomes. To mitigate potential issues of reverse causality, we rely on a very rich panel dataset, which provides extensive information on a cohort of Italian students, including school performance, demographic characteristics, and various measures of non-cognitive skills. Controlling for ex-ante cognitive abilities, we estimate whether non-cognitive skills measured in primary school predict standardized test scores in literacy and numeracy in 8th and 10th grade. Our findings reveal that higher levels of academic motivation and good time management disposition are positively related to performance in literacy and numeracy, as assessed by national standardized tests and teacher-assigned marks. Additionally, we explore the relationship between social isolation within the classroom and performance and find that higher levels of social isolation in primary school are associated to worst educational outcomes in secondary school. Our findings show that the influence of non-cognitive skills varies significantly by gender and with socio-economic background.