The Power of Encouragement

We always knew that encouragement was a powerful tool in helping a child succeed academically, but one study, discussed recently on WBEZ Chicago’s radio show This American Life, adds clout to this claim.

In the study, college mentors met with middle school students a few times over the course of a year to pass along the simple message that through hard work, intelligence can be increased.  Education reporter Paul Tough explained that whether or not the theory that intelligence can be improved is accurate, this message gave students optimism and new-found courage to try new things and push themselves harder to do better in school.

 

Tough said that students with “cultural reasons to be anxious about their skills” were especially affected by this message.  Girls in math, for instance, tend to do just as well as boys until they reach middle school.  But due to several factors, girls become “socially anxious” during middle school, and their performance tends to decline.  Among middle school girls who were given this message, however, the gap in achievement between boys and girls closed 100%.

 

A family’s income, the language spoken at home, and many other factors can influence a child’s academic performance.  It is easy for children of certain backgrounds to deduce that they struggle more than other children in school because they are not as smart.  This study proves children can be transformed by the simple message that they have agency over what their minds can do.

 

For more information about what makes children succeed, listen to the entire radio show here.