Why well-off kids with gift the gab are top of the class
News Reporter
CHATTY youngsters from wealthier backgrounds go on to achieve greater academic success, say researchers.
They found that children with well-off and well-educated parents had better language abilities at nursery level and these skills boosted their classroom achievement throughout school.
Researchers at the University of York looked at data from 700 British children.
Their pre-school ability was tested at aged four and their educational outcomes were tracked up until the age of 16.
Differences in language skills between children explained around half of the effect of family background on their achievement in the first year of school. This gap widened during their education, the report suggests. Study
SPRING has finally sprung for these cute lambs who take the chance to soak up some sun.
And the merry newborns at White Post Farm in Newark, Nottinghamshire, made the best of the warm weather to leader Professor Sophie von Stumm said: “Our findings show that a child’s learning at home when they are under five is really important to their chances of later academic success.
“Children from more advantaged backgrounds are more familiar before starting school with the language patterns and linguistic codes that are used in formal educational settings get to know each other a little better. While Britons were forced to stay indoors, they were free to run about as lambing season began around and expected by teachers. Not all children get the same start in life, but this study highlights the importance of helping parents of all backgrounds to engage with their children in activities which enhance verbal skills – such as reading bedtime stories and engaging in conversation.
“Activities designed to improve verbal skills boost cognitive, social and emotional development. Also, they benefit parentchild bonding.” It is the first major study to look at children’s abilities in their early years and the extent to which it explains their educational achievement.
The researchers also looked at non-verbal ability at nursery school age and found it had a smaller but significant role in explaining the link between background inequalities and academic success.
Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds were at an advantage when it came to their non-verbal skills – such as solving puzzles, drawing shapes and copying actions – before they started school.
These abilities were found to account for around a third of the link between family background and educational achievement. The findings were published in the journal Child Development.
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