A child’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills must be measured better so social scientists can completely understand keys to skill development that directly prepare people for school and careers.
Both cognitive and non-cognitive skills — the latter described as “soft skills” such as motivation, self-esteem and perseverance — determine many life outcomes, including education, health and crime.
That was a key message from Nobel Prize winner James Heckman, keynote speaker for “The Long Run Impact of Early Life Events II” — a two-day conference on the health effects of early life events on later life outcomes.
Kevn Brown & Jared Wadles
University of Michigan Record Online, 2008
Nobel Prize Winner Calls for Harder Research on Soft Skills
http://www.ur.umich.edu/0809/Mar16_09/04.php
very good article