The term ‘non-cognitive skills’ refers to a set of attitudes, behaviours, and strategies that are thought to underpin
success in school and at work, such as motivation, perseverance, and self-control. They are usually contrasted
with the ‘hard skills’ of cognitive ability in areas such as literacy and numeracy, which are measured by academic
tests. Non-cognitive skills are increasingly considered to be as important as, or even more important than,
cognitive skills or IQ in explaining academic and employment outcomes. Indeed, there is now growing attention
from policymakers on how such ‘character’ or ‘soft’ skills can be developed in children and young people.
However, despite growing interest in this topic, the causal relationship between non-cognitive skills and later
outcomes is not well established. This rapid literature review is intended to summarise the existing evidence on
how ‘non-cognitive skills’ can be defined and measured; assess the evidence that such skills have a causal
impact on later outcomes; and the role of select interventions that aim to improve non-cognitive skills in children
and young people. It has been jointly funded by the Education Endowment Foundation and Cabinet Office to
inform future work in this area
