In the morning, it’s the obstacle course to bring your little one to school: he is reluctant to leave his duvet, dresses on the radar, drags his feet to his bowl of chocolate and keeps moaning against this school which, decidedly, begins much too early … But perhaps he is right.
Indeed, a study published recently in the Journal of Educational Psychology by a team of American researchers from the University of Kentucky has just shown that children who start school early have poorer school resultsthan the others.
To come to this (surprising) conclusion, the researchers analyzed the academic performance, level of concentration and attention of students from more than 718 elementary and preschools in the state of Kentucky (United States). Verdict: Children who started school very early or went to daycare in the morning had difficulty concentrating, were not very attentive and had poorer results in the evaluations than the others …
Less concentration
“These children get a shorter night’s sleep than the others,” the researchers explain. As a result, they are less concentrated in the classroom and may also fall ill more often. This work also showed that each minute saved in class time in the morning increased children’s thinking and attention skills by 0.2%: a significant statistic!
With the reform of school rhythms(which all French municipalities should set up from the start of the 2014 school year), some municipalities have already chosen to start lessons later, but also to extend the school day into the afternoon . A choice that could therefore promote good results for children, if this study is to be believed …
What time does your child start school in the morning? We discuss it on the forum.
