The role of non-cognitive skills in educational production in South Africa
| dc.contributor.advisor | Wills, Gabrielle | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Van der Berg, Servaas | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Hofmeyr, Heleen | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-03-05T04:45:23Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-04-21T14:30:13Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-03-05T04:45:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-04-21T14:30:13Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH SUMMARY : The role of non-cognitive skills in educational production in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) has largely been overlooked in the international economics of education literature. This constitutes a noteworthy gap in our knowledge of how learning outcomes are produced in LMIC contexts, given the centrality of non-cognitive skills to current education research and policy debates in high-income countries (HICs). This thesis aims to address this gap by investigating the association between noncognitive skills and learning outcomes in South Africa. The thesis begins by contextualising the study of non-cognitive skills in the economics of education as a discipline. A case is made for studying the association between non-cognitive skills and learning outcomes in South Africa. In Chapter 2, South African data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) were analysed through the lens of “academic resilience” to explore why some students perform above expectations. In accordance with findings from the international literature, a strong association is found between noncognitive skills and the probability of exceptional performance. Chapter 3 makes use of reading achievement data from a local study titled Leadership for Literacy to explore potential interaction effects between school functionality and the non-cognitive skill of “grit”. The econometric analysis points to evidence of variation in the association between grit and reading achievement by school functionality, with a stronger association estimated for learners in more functional schools. These results provide empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis that school characteristics interact with non-cognitive skills to produce learning outcomes, a relationship that has received scant attention in the international literature on non-cognitive skills in educational production to date. A natural extension of the results from Chapters 2 and 3 is to explore whether South Africa’s gendered educational outcomes can be linked to gender differences in non-cognitive skills. This analysis is undertaken in Chapter 4. Again, the PIRLS and TIMSS data is utilised to model student achievement. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis is used to investigate how much of South Africa’s pro-girl achievement gap in these datasets can be explained by gender differences in observable characteristics, with a particular focus on the contribution of gender differences in non-cognitive skills. Overall, the analysis in this chapter illustrates clearly how focusing on non-cognitive skills as predictors of learning outcomes can enhance our understanding of hitherto unexplained features of South Africa’s educational performance, such as the country’s large and persistent pro-girl achievement gap. Together, these results suggest non-cognitive skills are an important input in the educational production process, even in contexts of severe resource deprivation which characterise a large part of the South African education system. This evidence makes an important contribution to local education policy and practice, as it suggests that targeting non-cognitive skills may be a powerful but hitherto unexplored policy lever for raising learning outcomes in the country. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Die internasionale ekonomie van onderwys het tot dusver min aandag gegee aan die rol van niekognitiewe vaardighede in die bereiking van leeruitkomstes in lae- en middelinkomste lande. Dit vorm ‘n opvallende leemte in ons kennis van hoe eeruitkomstes bepaal word in lae-en middelinkomste lande, gegewe die sentraliteit van nie-kognitiewe vaardighede tot huidige navorsings- en beleidsdebatte in hoëinkomste lande. Hierdie proefskrif beoog om daardie leemte aan te spreek deur die verhouding tussen nie-kognitiewe vaardighede en leeruitkomstes in Suid-Afrika te ondersoek. Die proefskrif begin deur die studie van nie-kognitiewe vaardighede binne die ekonomie van onderwys te kontekstualiseer. ‘n Motivering word verskaf vir die belangrikheid van die bestudering van hierdie vaardighede binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Data van PIRLS en TIMSS word in Hoofstuk 2 gebruik om te bepaal watter faktore verband hou met uitsonderlike prestasie in gelettertheid en wiskunde. Daar word bevind - in ooreenstemming met internasionale literatuur - dat nie-kognitiewe vaardighede sterk verband hou met die waarskynlikheid dat ‘n leerder uitsonderlik presteer. Hoofstuk 3 maak gebruik van leesprestasiedata uit ‘n plaaslike studie genaamd “Leadership for Literacy” om moontlike interaksie-effekte tussen skoolfunksionaliteit en deursettingsvermoë te bestudeer. Die ekonometriese analise wys na variasie in die verband tussen deursettingsvermoë en leesprestasie in skole met verskillende vlakke van funksionaliteit, met ‘n sterker verband by leerders in meer funksionele skole. Hierdie resultate verskaf empiriese ondersteuning vir die hipotese dat skooleienskappe en nie-kognitiewe vaardighede op mekaar inwerk om leeruitkomstes te bepaal, ‘n verband wat tans min aandag geniet in die internasionale literatuur oor nie-kognitiewe vaardighede in die produksie van leeruitkomstes. ‘n Natuurlike uitbreiding van die resultate van Hoofstukke 2 en 3 is om te ondersoek tot watter mate geslagsverskille in nie-kognitiewe vaardighede bydra tot geslagsverskille in leeruitkomstes in Suid-Afrika. Hoofstuk 4 handel oor hierdie kwessie. PIRLS en TIMSS data word weer gebruik om leerderprestasie te modelleer. Die Oaxaca-Blinder ontledingsanalise word gebruik om te bepaal watter proporsie van dogters se voordeel in terme van skoolprestasie verduidelik kan word met verwysing na geslagsverskille in waarneembare eienskappe, met ‘n spesifieke fokus op die bydrae van geslagsverskille in nie-kognitiewe vaardighede. Die analise in hierdie hoofstuk dui daarop dat ‘n fokus op nie-kognitiewe vaardighede ons kan help om sekere kenmerke van die Suid-Afrikaanse leeruitkomslandskap beter te verstaan – soos waarom dogters beter doen as seuns. Die gevolgtrekking is dat nie-kognitiewe vaardighede na alle waarskynlikheid ‘n belangrike faktor is in die bereiking van leeruitkomstes, selfs in kontekste van ernstige hulpbronontneming wat ‘n groot deel van Suid-Afrika se onderwysstelsel karaktiseer. Hierdie gevolgtrekking maak ‘n belangrike bydrae tot plaaslike onderwysbeleid en -praktyk, aangesien dit suggereer dat die teiken van nie-kognitiewe vaardighede ‘n kragtige maar onontdekte beleidsopsie kan wees om leeruitkomstes in die land te verbeter. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Doctoral | |
| dc.format.extent | 165 pages ; illustrations, includes annexures | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/109882 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.subject | Academic achievement -- Psychological aspects -- Developing countries | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Academic achievement -- Social aspects -- Developing countries | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Academic achievement -- Economic aspects -- Developing countries | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Life skills | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Personality and motivation | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Reading comprehension | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Soft skills | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Mathematics -- Students -- Knowledge and learning | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.title | The role of non-cognitive skills in educational production in South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |