Educational achievement among East Asian schoolchildren 1967–2020: A thematic review of the literature

2022

Eur J Psychol Educ

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It is well established that socioeconomic status, cognitive ability, and non-cognitive abilities such as self-efficacy are substantially associated with academic achievement. However, the specific relationships of these variables remain a relatively unexplored topic in regard to more recent and representative samples. The current study examined such relations by taking advantage of two cohorts (total N = 12,315) of Swedish students at the elementary (Grade 6) and lower-secondary school levels (Grade 8) in the compulsory school. The regression models showed that all three variables explained a substantial portion of grade variance, with cognitive ability having the strongest relationship, followed by non-cognitive abilities, and SES. Longitudinal associations, which accounted for previous academic achievement, showed that the three variables did still explain a substantial amount of grade variance.

Section: Non-cognitive Abilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of SES, cognitive, and non-cognitive abilities on grades: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from two Swedish cohorts

2022

Eur J Psychol Educ

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“…Furthermore, due to age differences among country IQ samples summarized in Lynn and Becker (2019), it appears inappropriate to draw too far-reaching links between IQ test results and current PISA achievement. Hence, as said, one may prefer a different term, such as (Boman, 2022b), and non-cognitive factors that are typically difficult to measure at the country level. Test motivation in low stakes tests may have some effect, but it is often negligible (e.g., Rindermann and Ceci, 2009;Balart et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) have been studied since the 1960s (Boman, 2022b). Many researchers have assumed that these measure a latent ability among students (e.g., Hanushek, 1979) but tests such as PISA have not been labeled with a single term.…”

Section: Cognitive Ability Ses and Pisamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The independent variable average income for 2018 (2022). That is because major urban regions in China (e.g., Boman, 2022b) and Russia (e.g., Griogoriev et al, 2016) have higher test scores than rural regions and smaller cities, and it is, therefore, inappropriate to use country level data in those two contexts. Data on students' cognitive abilities, aggregated to the country level [i.e., national (IQ NIQ)], were retrieved from Lynn and Becker (2019).…”

Section: Data Variables and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Is the SES and academic achievement relationship mediated by cognitive ability? Evidence from PISA 2018 using data from 77 countries

2023

Front. Psychol.

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IntroductionEarlier research has suggested that that the international large-scale assessment, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), may be looked upon as a form of school test that is mostly explained by participating students’ socioeconomic status, non-cognitive factors, and various school factors, whereas another strand of research focuses on the similarities between PISA and cognitive ability assessments such as IQ tests. The latter position does also highlight the strong relationships between PISA scores and IQ test scores, typically aggregated to the country level. The current article adds to this scholarly debate by examining the latest PISA survey from 2018.MethodsCorrelation, regression, moderator, and mediation analyses were run for aggregated country-level data (N = 77) from PISA 2018.ResultsThe results indicate that PISA scores indeed are strongly associated with both cognitive ability test scores and socioeconomic status indicators such as average annual national income.DiscussionA more nuanced position suggests that PISA should be labelled a test that measures cognitive school skills rather than a proxy of national IQ, as the link between country-level abilities and school age abilities is neither causal, nor theoretically and empirically palpable, yet partly robust.

“…Whereas Korea and Sweden are, indeed, not the only countries relevant for such a comparison they are appropriate to analytically juxtapose for four major reasons: first, South Korea (hereafter Korea) may be regarded as a 'model country' for Sweden since it outperforms the latter in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) mathematics [e.g., 8,54]; second, there is a gap in the literature and no such country comparison has been made; third, Korea is sometimes portrayed in the Swedish media, academia, and education policy as an 'extreme' country in regard to educational diligence, competition and quantity [e.g., 34,76] and this depiction needs further examination in order to discern complexity and nuances; fourth, two nations as culturally different as Korea and Sweden [e.g., 7] make up an important case in regard to world culture theory. As such it expands on the scholarly curriculum 1 3 convergence/divergence debate which have mostly focused on the European context [e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Converging cultures? A comparative analysis of South Korea and Sweden’s national curricula, 1980–2018

Mosesson

2023

Discov Educ

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Relating to world culture theory, this article aimed to discern similarities and differences between the South Korean national curriculum (1981, 2015) and the Swedish national curriculum (1980, 2018) and a set of complementary documents, both more broadly and with special emphasis on middle school level mathematics education. The findings suggest that the latest curricula accentuate knowledge and skills. However, Sweden’s national curriculum underlines knowledge and values, while the South Korean counterpart stresses character education and a ‘well-rounded personality’. Mathematics education has not changed much since 1980 in both countries. However, cosmopolitan tendencies are more present in the latest Korean curriculum. Overall, an unequivocal converging effect has not been discerned.