Kindergarten engagement leads to lifelong success

Kindergarten engagement leads to lifelong success


As author Robert Fulghum [FULL-gam] observed in his best-selling book a number of years ago, all you really need to know you learn in kindergarten. Golden rules such as: Share everything. Play fair. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Say you’re sorry.

Now, a study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has taken this a step further. Researchers sought to better gauge the links between good behavior and school readiness in kindergarten and academic, psychological and health success for the same students at the end of high school.

The study tracked nearly 1,000 Canadian children from ages 5 to 17. Students were assessed in a number of areas — from grades, school engagement and dropout risk to anxiety, substance abuse and physical activity. Kids who were engaged as kindergarteners were less likely to report substance abuse by the end of high school and were also more physically active as teens. Kindergarten engagement was tied to a 65% lower risk of being overweight at age 17.

The study echoed others linking early academic success to proficiency later, but it had a particular focus on school engagement. It found kindergarten engagement consistently predicted not only scholastic achievement, but also a lower risk of dropping out or substance abuse. School engagement also led to better impulse control, goal-directedness and improved executive functioning.

The takeaway: Kids who are encouraged to engage in their classrooms and learn proper behavior in kindergarten have a stronger chance of being successful throughout their high school years and beyond. It’s all you really need to know in life, after all.

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