The acquired vocabulary skills as well as attention skills are decisive in the academic success of children starting school.
- An American study has shown that not all schoolchildren are equal when they enter kindergarten.
- The children’s skills, particularly in terms of vocabulary and inhibitory control, were tested.
- Children with better skills in these areas integrate better and are more likely to succeed in their further studies.
A 2022 study, published in Early Education and Development explains that not all schoolchildren are equal when they enter school. Indeed, children who already have a good command of vocabulary and have attention skills have better academic results.
Analysis of various children’s skills
The researchers worked with 895 preschool children in ten cities in eight American states. They evaluated them in the fall and then in the spring. They completed various tests to assess their skill level. For example, the test of “tapping with a pencil” which allows us to evaluate “inhibitory control”that’s to say “the ability to override the natural human response to distractions or stimuli and focus instead on achieving goals or tasks.”
In the vocabulary area, the children had to name objects observed in pictures.
Finally, the authors of the study assessed each child’s engagement in class, whether with teachers or with their classmates. The researchers estimated that positive engagement was based on sociability, communication, autonomy as well as the occurrence of possible conflicts with other schoolchildren or teachers.
The importance of skills acquired before school
The results demonstrated that better vocabulary skills at the start of the year were associated with better positive engagement of children, both with teachers and with other schoolchildren.
The study also highlighted the correlation between children being more engaged in classroom tasks when they do not have inappropriate behaviors and distracting thoughts. “VS“This study demonstrated that the levels of vocabulary skills and inhibitory control that children exhibit in the early kindergarten years are important for their classroom engagement in different ways.” said the study’s lead author, Qingqing Yang in a communicated.
The ability to detect children “at risk”
The authors of the study explain that, conversely, children who do not possess these skills, whether in vocabulary or inhibitory control, will encounter difficulties more easily, particularly in creating links with their peers or with the teaching team. It was also found that these children still had lower vocabulary skills at the end of the study.
The team of researchers believes that these results are a “step forward” Insofar as “a small change in children’s skills and experiences” from the beginning can “improve or reduce” their chances of long-term academic success. However, it will then be necessary for teachers to be better trained to identify students most at risk, in need of appropriate support. “This could help children who have lower levels of inhibitory control and weaker vocabulary thrive better once they enter school. the researchers concluded.
