Re: Schools, Skills, and Synapses
- From: "Gaz" <gazter@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:33:35 +0100
"Dr Quite" <quite@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Xns9ACCE8E13BAAEquite@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Genes are important, but intervene early and you save a hell of a lot of
trouble later.
This could be from University of Bleedin' Obvious, but here's a summary:
"The evidence assembled in this paper substantially amends the analysis
of The Bell Curve by Herrnstein and Murray.
The Bell Curve assigned a primary role to genetics in explaining the
origins of differences in human cognitive ability and a primary role to
cognitive ability in shaping adult outcomes.
If cognitive ability is genetically determined and is primary in shaping
adult outcomes, public policy towards disadvantaged populations is
limited to compensation. Recent research, summarized in this paper,
establishes the power of socioemotional abilities and an important role
for environment and intervention in creating abilities...
The argument of this paper is summarized by the following 15 points:
1. Many major economic and social problems such as crime, teenage
pregnancy, dropping out of high school and adverse health conditions are
linked to low levels of skill and ability in society.
2. In analyzing policies that foster skills and abilities, society should
recognize the multiplicity of human abilities.
3. Currently, public policy in the U.S. focuses on promoting and
measuring cognitive ability through IQ and achievement tests. The
accountability standards in the No Child Left Behind Act concentrate
attention on achievement test scores and do not evaluate important
noncognitive factors that promote success in school and life.
4. Cognitive abilities are important determinants of socioeconomic
success.
5. So are socioemotional skills, physical and mental health,
perseverance, attention, motivation, and self confidence. They contribute
to performance in society at large and even help determine scores on the
very tests that are commonly used to measure cognitive achievement.
6. Ability gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged open up early in
the lives of children.
7. Family environments of young children are major predictors of
cognitive and socioemotional abilities, as well as a variety of outcomes
such as crime and health.
8. Family environments in the U.S. and many other countries around the
world have deteriorated over the past 40 years.
9. Experimental evidence on the positive effects of early interventions
on children in disadvantaged families is consistent with a large body of
non-experimental evidence showing that the absence of supportive family
environments harms child outcomes.
10. If society intervenes early enough, it can improve cognitive and
socioemotional abilities and the health of disadvantaged children.
11. Early interventions promote schooling, reduce crime, foster workforce
productivity and reduce teenage pregnancy.
12. These interventions are estimated to have high benefit-cost ratios
and rates of return.
13. As programs are currently configured, interventions early in the life
cycle of disad vantaged children have much higher economic returns than
later interventions such as reduced pupil-teacher ratios, public job
training, convict rehabilitation programs, adult literacy programs,
tuition subsidies or expenditure on police.
14. Life cycle skill formation is dynamic in nature. Skill begets skill;
motivation begets motivation. Motivation cross-fosters skill and skill
cross-fosters motivation. If a child is not motivated to learn and engage
early on in life, the more likely it is that when the child becomes an
adult, it will fail in social and economic life. The longer society waits
to intervene in the life cycle of a disadvantaged child, the more costly
it is to remediate disadvantage.
15. A major refocus of policy is required to capitalize on knowledge
about the life cycle of skill and health formation and the importance of
the early years in creating inequality in America, and in producing
skills for the workforce."
Haven't read it yet. Looks interesting.
http://ftp.iza.org/dp3515.pdf
Murray said that IQ accounts for between 40% and 60% of the life chances of
individuals.
Gaz
.
- References:
- Schools, Skills, and Synapses
- From: Dr Quite
- Schools, Skills, and Synapses
- Prev by Date: Re: Preparing the Battlefield: Bush Adminstration steps up its secret moves against Iran
- Next by Date: Re: This is where equality will take you
- Previous by thread: Schools, Skills, and Synapses
- Next by thread: The Final
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
