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. 2023 Sep 23;23(1):1852.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16748-8.

The impact of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in adolescents

Fang Chang  1 , Yanan Huo  1 , Songyan Zhang  1 , Hang Zeng  1 , Bin Tang  2
Affiliations

The impact of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in adolescents

Fang Chang et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Since China adopted a policy to eliminate rural learning centers, boarding has become an important feature of the current rural student community. However, there is a lack of consensus on the impact of boarding schools on students' cognitive and non-cognitive development. This study investigates the effect of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of junior high school students in rural northwest China.

Methods: Using a sample of 5,660 seventh-grade students from 160 rural junior high schools across 19 counties, we identify a causal relationship between boarding and student abilities with the instrumental variables (IV) approach.

Results: The results suggest that boarding positively influences memory and attention, while it has no significant effect on other cognitive abilities such as reasoning, transcription speed, and accuracy. Furthermore, we find no significant association between boarding and the development of non-cognitive skills.

Conclusions: Given the widespread prevalence of boarding schools in rural regions, our study highlights the growing importance of improving school management to promote the development of students' cognitive abilities and integrating the development of non-cognitive or social-emotional abilities into students' daily routines.

Keywords: Boarding; Cognitive ability; Non-cognitive ability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of WISC IQ scores for sample students and a healthy population. The WISC IQ scores density distribution in the healthy population is a normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Distribution of Raven’s IQ scores for sample students and a healthy population. The Raven’s IQ scores density distribution in the healthy population is a normal distribution with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution of standardized math scores for sample students. Math scores are standardized
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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