How Much Do Skills Developed Before School Matter? An Intra-generational, Non-linear Approach to Understanding Extreme Achievement

Authors

Ian Peacock, Brigham Young University
Dr. Benjamin Gibbs, Brigham Young University

Keywords

intra-generational achievement, non-linear approach, extreme achievement

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

Abstract

The hierarchical ranking of children in schools based on cognitive skills has important implications for understanding processes of social stratification. Scholars have noted that differences in cognitive skills in the school context can reach well beyond school, influencing later occupational and economic outcomes (Kerckhoff, Haney, and Glennie 2001). Despite a large scholarship investigating cognitive skills and their link to subsequent outcomes, there is little consensus as to what extent skills developed before school entry influence future achievement and outcomes. Some scholars argue that differences at school entry are magnified over time and that advantages of children who enter school with more skills tend to cumulate, while those with fewer skills fall increasingly behind (Morgan et al. 2008; Kerckhoff and Glennie 1999). Other findings suggest, however, that pre-existing skills differences narrow during school (Leppänen et al. 2004) because disadvantaged students develop new skills at a quicker rate than their advantaged peers (Phillips et al. 2002).

Recommended Citation

Peacock, Ian and Gibbs, Dr. Benjamin (2016) "How Much Do Skills Developed Before School Matter? An Intra-generational, Non-linear Approach to Understanding Extreme Achievement," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2016: Iss. 1, Article 93.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2016/iss1/93