Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skill Formation:

The Impact of Summer Activities in a Quarter System

Abstract

The adoption of quarter systems by an increasing number of universities has led to a rise in summer program opportunities for students. These programs not only enhance academic knowledge but also potentially develop students’ internal abilities. In previous studies, summer program participants developed some non-cognitive skills or maintained most cognitive and non-cognitive skills during summer, while non-participants experienced a decline in several skills. However, how these changes in skills occurred is unclear. This study examined the formation of skill changes during summer and the impact of summer programs on skill development and formations to shed light on this point. Various production function forms of skills, including a dynamic factor model, were explored and employed for analysis. The Global Perspective Inventory, which measures cognitive and non-cognitive skills simultaneously, was examined for first-year and second-year students at our university. The findings indicate strong self-productivity across all skills, with weaker cross-productivity. Estimation results suggest that cognitive skills may have contributed to non-cognitive skill development to a similar extent as non-cognitive skills did to cognitive skills. However, the influence of non-cognitive skills appeared to be more consistent. Interpersonal skills demonstrated offsetting cross-productivity, while intrapersonal skills bolstered both cognitive and intrapersonal abilities. Summer programs contributed to the development of both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The application of dynamic models provided insights into the crucial non-cognitive skills driving overall skill development even in a short period.