Abstract:

Peer effects play a vital role in the development of children's human capital and hold significant implications for improving educational quality in China. This paper investigates the impact of peer noncognitive ability on students' academic performance. Using data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), we proxy noncognitive ability with grit and find that a one standard deviation increase in the average grit score of classmates leads to a 0.07 standard deviation increases in individual academic achievement. Mechanism analysis reveals that peer grit influences academic outcomes primarily through three channels: enhancing the classroom environment, altering teachers' instructional practices, and raising students' educational expectations, confidence, and study effort.

Key words:

noncognitive ability, grit, peer effect, academic achievement