IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/asiaps/v13y2026i2ne70075.html

Does Your Classmatesʼ Early Childhood Education Experience Affect Your Non‐Cognitive/Socio‐Emotional Skills?

Author

Listed:
  • Yuhe Guo
  • Chengfang Liu
  • Yalin Tang

Abstract

We investigate whether having more classmates with ECE experience affects junior high school studentsʼ non‐cognitive/socio‐emotional skills. We draw on panel data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) and leverage the exogenous variation in classroom ECE experience composition brought by the random assignment of students when they entered junior high schools. Results from a quasi‐experimental research design show that having more classmates with ECE experience helps to improve studentsʼ non‐cognitive/socio‐emotional skills. Possible mechanisms underlying these relationships include having more classmates with ECE experience is associated with improved classroom peer environment, the enhanced parent and teacher behaviours. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the positive spillover effects of ECE are more prominent among girls, students without ECE experience, those with better‐educated parents, those in classes with lower ECE enrolment or smaller size, as well as those in urban or public schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuhe Guo & Chengfang Liu & Yalin Tang, 2026. "Does Your Classmatesʼ Early Childhood Education Experience Affect Your Non‐Cognitive/Socio‐Emotional Skills?," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(2), May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:13:y:2026:i:2:n:e70075
    DOI: 10.1002/app5.70075
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/app5.70075
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/app5.70075?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2013. "Under Pressure? The Effect of Peers on Outcomes of Young Adults," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 119-153.
    2. Williams, Breyon J., 2019. "The spillover benefits of expanding access to preschool," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 127-143.
    3. Helen F. Ladd & Clara G. Muschkin & Kenneth A. Dodge, 2014. "From Birth to School: Early Childhood Initiatives and Third‐Grade Outcomes in North Carolina," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 162-187, January.
    4. Milagros Nores & Steven W. Barnett, 2012. "Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions Across the World: (Under) Investing in the Very Young," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 1, pages 200-228.
    5. Isaac M. Opper, 2019. "Does Helping John Help Sue? Evidence of Spillovers in Education," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 1080-1115, March.
    6. Jie Gong & Yi Lu & Hong Song, 2021. "Gender Peer Effects on Students’ Academic and Noncognitive Outcomes: Evidence and Mechanisms," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(3), pages 686-710.
    7. Hu, Feng, 2015. "Do girl peers improve your academic performance?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 54-58.
    8. Feng, Han & Li, Jiayao, 2016. "Head teachers, peer effects, and student achievement," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 268-283.
    9. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2008. "Formulating, Identifying and Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tang, Yalin & Hao, Xinmeng & Guo, Yuhe & Liu, Chengfang, 2025. "Cognitive spillover benefits of early childhood education: Quasi-experimental evidence based on random class assignment from China," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    2. Zhang, Haifeng & Zang, Lijun & Mao, Mingzhi & Guo, Jiqiang & Wang, Chunchao, 2023. "The externalities of preschool attendees in middle school classes," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Guo, Yuhe & Li, Shaoping & Chen, Siwei & Tang, Yalin & Liu, Chengfang, 2022. "Health benefits of having more female classmates: Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Seul-Ki Kim & Young-Chul Kim, 2021. "Coed vs Single-Sex Schooling: An Empirical Study on Mental Health Outcomes," Working Papers 2103, Nam Duck-Woo Economic Research Institute, Sogang University (Former Research Institute for Market Economy).
    5. Dewan, Prerna & Ray, Tridip & Roy Chaudhuri, Arka & Tater, Kirti, 2024. "Gender peer effects in high schools: Evidence from India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 470-494.
    6. Bobby W. Chung & Jian Zou, 2023. "Understanding spillover of peer parental education: Randomization evidence and mechanisms," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 496-522, July.
    7. Cai, Xiqian & Fan, Qingliang & Yuan, Congying, 2022. "The impact of only child peers on students’ cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Robert Rogers & Doan Hai Ma & Tra Nguyen & Ngoc Anh Nguyen, 2019. "Early childhood education and cognitive outcomes in adolescence: a longitudinal study from Vietnam," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 658-669, November.
    9. Nick Drydakis, 2023. "Parental unemployment and adolescents' academic performance," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 44(7), pages 1362-1381, February.
    10. Adamopoulou, Effrosyni & Cao, Yaming & Kaya, Ezgi, 2026. "Gritty peers," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Zou, Jian, 2024. "The peer effect of persistence on student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    12. Megalokonomou, Rigissa & Zhang, Yi, 2022. "How Good Am I? Effects and Mechanisms behind Salient Ranks," IZA Discussion Papers 15604, IZA Network @ LISER.
    13. Rasmus Landersø & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Marianne Simonsen, 2017. "School Starting Age and the Crime‐age Profile," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(602), pages 1096-1118, June.
    14. Liu, Xiangqing, 2025. "Breaking segregation in classrooms: Peer composition and inter-group relationships," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    15. Chang, Fang & Wang, Yajie & Huo, Yanan & Zhang, Songyan & Zhang, Yi & Liu, Jian, 2025. "The peer effect on the academic performance of rural left-behind children," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    16. Greta Morando & Lucinda Platt, 2022. "The Impact of Centre‐based Childcare on Non‐cognitive Skills of Young Children," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(356), pages 908-946, October.
    17. Weina Zhou & Andrew J. Hill, 2023. "The spillover effects of parental verbal conflict on classmates' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(2), pages 342-363, April.
    18. Conti, Gabriella & Heckman, James J., 2012. "The Economics of Child Well-Being," IZA Discussion Papers 6930, IZA Network @ LISER.
    19. Lao, Yehui, 2023. "The more male classmates, the worse: How male peers harm academic performance of a student," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Mariana Zerpa, 2025. "Short- and medium-run impacts of preschool education: evidence from state pre-K programs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(3), pages 1-39, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:asiaps:v:13:y:2026:i:2:n:e70075. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=2050-2680 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.