How much children learn in kindergarten helps them be successful in life

Jul 30, 2010 12:45 GMT  ·  By

A new Harvard study implies that children who learn a lot in kindergarten and have an experienced teacher are more likely to become richer that their peers and even to be married before age 30. the six economists, authors of the study, followed almost 12,000 adults who had their kindergarten scores measured back in the 1980s in a study that concluded some classes have better performance only because they have a better teacher.

This research shows that children, either rich or poor, that were in extremely well-qualified kindergarten classes in the 80's, are now earning about $1,000 more a year than their colleagues in less advanced classes. They also have more college degrees, own more expensive homes, save more for their retirement and are more likely to have high-earning wives.

Co-author John Friedman, an economics professor with Harvard’s Kennedy School says that “Overall, this study shows that what you do in kindergarten really matters. And it may be about more than just cognitive skills. It may be a good kindergarten teacher may instill things like patience or perseverance or even polite manners and qualities that stand a person in good stead later in life.”

“But there has been a view that everything is determined by the time you’re 4, by who your parents are and how much they read to you. This is direct evidence that what happens in your kindergarten class also makes a huge difference,” he added.

If the Tennessee study concluded 30 years ago that better kindergarten results were caused by more experienced children, Friedman agrees. He admits that experience counts for much, as those whose teachers had more than nine years experience went on to earn $900 a year more by the age of 27, as related by parentcentral.ca.

“We have to be careful how we interpret this; it may be more than just experience. These may be teachers who have chosen to stay teaching kindergarten because they’re committed to this age group.”

“Kids need a very clever teacher with a big heart, someone who helps kids believe in their own abilities to think and learn and be independent, which nurtures the creativity and soft skills in demand today,” said education professor Linda Cameron of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and a former kindergarten teacher.

Kids that have the luck of good kindergarten teachers have more chances of succeeding early in life. This alone should be a good reason for appreciating valuable teachers that stay in kindergartens by passion.