Implement study-habit improvement programs for children before age 8 to support stable academic performance¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (2 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article recommends that "it is important to implement programs which would be focused on improving the study habits of children before 8 years". Study habits are described as "easy to learn and adapted to compensate for academic demands throughout the school year", and higher study habits were associated with less change (more stability) in achievement between grades. The strategy targets early acquisition of study habits as a modifiable, noncognitive lever on achievement.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programs should target study habits (general attitude towards study, place of study, work plan, study techniques) as measured by instruments such as the SHTQ.

Constraints¶

• The supporting evidence comes from a small two-year follow-up in one state-subsidized school; the negative change-score coefficient for study habits is correlational and interpreted with caution by the authors.

Target Learners¶

• Elementary school children under 8-9 years old

Target Learning Goals¶

• Academic achievement and stability of performance across school years

Claims¶

• In predicting the change in achievement from 3rd to 4th grade, IQ is positively and study habits negatively associated with change, together predicting 12% [~W]
• IQ and study habits, but not short-term memory, significantly predict 56-59% of academic achievement variance in 3rd and 4th grade elementary pupils [+M]
• IQ, short-term memory and study habits each correlate positively and significantly with academic achievement in both 3rd and 4th grade [+M]

Related Strategies¶

• Using Reflection for Habit Formation
• Offer a STEM-specific pre-college preparation course emphasizing mathematics and effective learning habits, and expose female high-school students to extra-curricular advanced mathematics

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• Alberto Quilez-Robres, Alejandro González-Andrade, Zaira Ortega and Sandra Santiago-Ramajo. (2020). Intelligence Quotient, short-term memory and study habits as academic achievement predictors of elementary school: a follow-up study. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101020