Developmental Patterns of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills of Russian First-Graders

Abstract

This study explores patterns of development in cognitive, as well as social and emotional skills for children in the first year of school in Russia. The data analyzed are drawn from the International Performance Indicators in Primary Schools project. This is a large-scale assessment project involving 2741 children from two Russian regions. A k-means cluster analysis identifies four groups of children according to their cognitive and non-cognitive profiles, assessed at the beginning of the school year. Additional analyses explored how levels of children’s skill in each cluster differed by gender, phonological awareness and receptive vocabulary, maternal education, number of books in the home, parent involvement in home learning activities, and attendance at kindergarten in the year prior to school. The clusters proved to be stable across the end of the school year when a follow-up assessment was completed. The distinctive developmental characteristics of children from different clusters might be used to inform teachers in the first year of school about how they can adapt their teaching approaches to address the distinctive learning needs of different groups of children to reduce educational inequalities through primary school.

Résumé

Cette étude explore des modèles de développement des habiletés cognitives, sociales et émotionnelles d’enfants en première année d’école en Russie. Les données analysées sont tirées du projet sur les indicateurs internationaux de performance dans les écoles primaires (International Performance Indicators in Primary Schools, iPIPS). Il s’agit d’un projet d’évaluation à grande échelle impliquant 2741 enfants de deux régions russes. Une analyse de groupe par k moyennes identifie quatre groupes d’enfants selon leurs profils cognitif et non cognitif, évalué en début d’année scolaire. Des analyses additionnelles explorent comment les niveaux d’habileté des enfants de chaque groupe différent selon le sexe, la conscience phonologique et le vocabulaire réceptif, l’éducation maternelle, le nombre de livres à la maison, la participation des parents à des activités d’apprentissage à la maison ainsi que la fréquentation de la maternelle l’année précédant l’école. Ces regroupements se sont avérés stables jusqu’à la fin de l’année scolaire, alors qu’une évaluation de suivi a été effectuée. Les caractéristiques développementales distinctives des enfants des différents groupes pourraient servir à informer les enseignants de la première année d’école sur la façon dont ils peuvent adapter leurs approches pédagogiques pour répondre aux besoins distinctifs d’apprentissage des différents groupes d’enfants et réduire les inégalités en matière d’éducation au cours de l’école primaire.

Resumen

Esta investigación explora los patrones de desarrollo en habilidades cognitivas, sociales y emocionales en niños de primer año de Primaria en Rusia. La información analizada se obtuvo del proyecto Indicadores de Desempeño Internacional en Escuelas de Primaria (iPIPS, por sus siglas en inglés). Este proyecto de evaluación a gran escala incluía 2.741 niños de dos regiones de Rusia. Un análisis de cluster de K-medias identificó cuatro grupos de niños con base en sus perfiles cognitivos y no cognitivos, evaluados al comenzar el año escolar. Análisis adicionales exploraron diferencias en los niveles de habilidad de los niños en cada grupo respecto al género, conocimiento fonológico y asimilación de vocabulario, educación materna, cantidad de libros en sus hogares, participación de los padres en actividades de aprendizaje en casa, y asistencia a kindergarten durante el año escolar precedente. Una evaluación de seguimiento posterior mostró que dichos grupos se mantuvieron estables durante todo el año. Los rasgos distintivos del desarrollo de los niños en diferentes grupos podrían ser utilizados por los maestros de primer año escolar para adaptar sus métodos de enseñanza, atendiendo así a las diversas necesidades de aprendizaje de diferentes grupos de niños con el fin de reducir desigualdades educativas durante la educación primaria.

Appendix

Non-cognitive skills items rated by teachers on the PSED questionnaire

Item	Description	Lower score (1)	Upper score (5)
Adjusting to the school environment
Comfort	Extent to which a child is comfortable with his/her separation from his/her main caregiver; his/her ability to cope with transitions between locations and activities; and generally how settled he/she is during the day	Getting upset in the morning on separation from carer. Feels concerned during the day. It is difficult for a child to cope with the change in activities and locations within the school	Never upset in the morning on the separation with the carer. Very comfortable, feels at ease during activities. Has no difficulties coping with the changes in activities and locations within the school
Independence	Dependency on adults or other children for guidance and support, as well as the extent to which a child needs help with dressing and going to the bathroom	Needs support of the teacher and other children for most of the time. Generally needs help with clothing and personal activities (coat, toilet, etc.)	Independent. Asks for help only when something unusual is required. Can put on coat and fasten it, go to the toilet, etc.)
Personal development
Confidence	Child’s willingness to talk and ability to join group activities	Very hesitant. Does not join in group activities and rarely talk to others	Very confident. Willingly participate in group activities within the school
Concentration (teacher-directed activities)	Child’s concentration on tasks directed from the teacher. Is the child able to maintain concentration and remain undisturbed in the presence of competing activities?	Finds it very difficult to concentrate. Very rarely concentrates on one thing and very easily distracted	Able to focus attention, even when something disturbs. There were examples of concentration for a long period (e.g., for 15 min)
Concentration (self-directed activities)	Child’s concentration on activities chosen by the child rather than those determined by the teacher	Finds it very difficult to concentrate. Very rarely concentrates on one thing and very easily distracted	Able to focus attention, even when something disturbs. There were examples of concentration for a long period (e.g., for 15 min)
Actions	Child’s impulsivity and actions. Does he/she act without consideration for him/herself or others? Does he/she demonstrate appropriate behavior and interact well with others?	Acts impulsively without taking into consideration consequences for him/herself and others. Demonstrates inappropriate behavior in all situations. Unable to cope with changes in routine	Almost always takes into consideration consequences for him/herself and others before acting. Unless strongly provoked, demonstrates appropriate behavior with others without being prompted to do so. Copes well with changes in routine
Social development
Relationship with peers	Child’s ability to communicate, make friends, and notice the feelings of others	Communicates quite easily with other children and makes friends. Considers feelings of other people, when they are very obvious	Communicates very easily with other children and willingly makes friends. Is aware of other people feelings and responds to their needs. Sensitive
Relationship with adults	Child’s ability to approach and communicate with adults and to interact appropriately and confidently	Finds it very difficult to communicate with adults. Does not approach adults or interact with them. Demonstrates inappropriate behavior with adults	Confident approaching adults when necessary. Demonstrates appropriate behavior while interacting with adults. Speaks natural and easily understood
Rules	Extent to which the child obeys rules or instructions and restrains from distracting peers	Takes no notice of rules. Distracts other children and interrupts activities	Always obeys rules. Never distracts others
Cultural awareness	Extent to which the child understands that others may have a different way of life that should be respected	Shows an awareness of the routines in his/hers home (you can see it through the role-play “home-comer”)	Demonstrates understanding and respect to the way of life of others. Recognizes that other children and adults should pay respect to the life of the others
Communication	Child is able to communicate fluently and coherently, listen to the views of others, respond appropriately, and take turns in conversation?	Communicates using single words, gestures, and facial expressions	Speaks fluently and coherently. Speech is generally, but not always, grammatically correct. Listens attentively to others views and responds appropriately taking turns in the conversation