The Effect of Schooling on Basic Cognition in Selected Nordic Countries

Jonsson, Bert; Waling, Maria; Olafsdottir, Anna S.; Lagström, Hanna; Wergedahl, Hege; Olsson, Cecilia; Fossgard, Eldbjørg; Holthe, Asle; Talvia, Sanna; Gunnarsdottir, Ingibjorg; Hörnell, Agneta · 2017 · DOAJ

DOI: 10.5964/ejop.v13i4.1339

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of formal schooling duration on basic cognitive abilities in children aged 10–11 years across four Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland. The research was motivated by the hypothesis that an additional year of schooling would enhance cognitive performance, given that Norwegian and Icelandic children enter compulsory school at age six (5th grade at age 10–11), while Swedish and Finnish children enter at age seven (4th grade at age 10–11). Despite Finland having lower instructional hours and public expenditure on primary education compared to the other nations, it consistently outperforms them in international assessments. The study aimed to determine if these educational differences translate into measurable differences in working memory capacity (WMC), processing speed, inhibition, attention, and self-control. The data were collected as part of the ProMeal project, involving 837 pupils from 30 schools. After exclusions for incomplete data or clinical diagnoses, 693 participants were analyzed for WMC, and 733 for processing speed and inhibition. A subsample of 194 participants was assessed for attention and self-control. Cognitive measures included a Child Operation Span (CO-Span) task for WMC, a computer-based Stroop task for inhibition and processing speed, and the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test (IVA+Plus) for attention and response control. Statistical analyses employed ANOVA with country and gender as between-subjects factors, alongside factorial invariance tests to ensure cross-cultural comparability of the measures. Contrary to the initial hypothesis, Finnish 4th-grade pupils outperformed their Norwegian, Icelandic, and Swedish counterparts on the CO-Span task measuring working memory capacity. No significant differences were found between countries on tasks measuring processing speed or inhibition. Regarding gender differences, boys demonstrated superior performance in processing speed, whereas girls performed better on tasks related to attention and self-control. Parental education levels did not significantly influence cognitive outcomes. The results indicate that the extra year of schooling in Norway and Iceland did not confer a cognitive advantage over the Finnish system, which achieves higher WMC scores despite fewer instructional hours and lower financial expenditure. The findings challenge the assumption that increased schooling duration directly enhances basic cognitive abilities in early adolescence. Instead, they suggest that the quality of schooling or specific pedagogical approaches in Finland may be more influential than the quantity of time spent in school. The study highlights the complex reciprocal relationship between cognition and schooling, implying that international variations in educational outcomes cannot be explained solely by structural differences in school entry age or instructional time. These results contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the efficacy of different educational models and the specific cognitive mechanisms affected by formal education.

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• cognitive capacity variation