Asia Society – Anne Hilton
“What does it take to succeed in the 21st century? It might not surprise you to hear that education is key. But what you may not expect to hear is this: social and emotional skills are more critical to success than the academic skills you learn in a traditional classroom. This insight is from Dr. James Heckman, a professor at the University of Chicago and Nobel laureate in economic sciences and the keynote speaker at the Forum on the Future of Education in Asia…Heckman’s research has shown that non-cognitive skills are more closely correlated to future success than the cognitive skills tested on the PISA or in IQ tests, and, unlike in IQ, non-cognitive skills are more malleable and can be developed later in life. “If we tailor the education system appropriately, we can foster those skills until a later age, even in adolescence and the young adult years,” Heckman said. But what exactly are non-cognitive skills? Sometimes called “soft” skills, character skills, or social and emotional skills, non-cognitive skills include traits like motivation, sociability, empathy, attention, self-esteem, and self-regulation.”(more)