Associations between school enjoyment at age 6 and later educational achievement: evidence from a UK cohort study

Abstract

Education is influenced by a broad range of factors but there has been limited research into the role that early school enjoyment plays in pupil’s educational achievement. Here we used data from a UK cohort to answer three research questions. What is the association between early school enjoyment and later academic achievement? To what extent do family background factors underlie this association? Do sex differences in school enjoyment underlie sex differences in achievement? School enjoyment was self-reported in two questionnaires completed at age 6. We used multiple imputation to account for missing covariates in this study, giving an imputed sample size of 12,135. Children’s school enjoyment at age 6 associated with sex and cognitive ability but not family socioeconomic background. For example, girls were twice as likely to report enjoying school than boys (OR: 1.97; 95% CI: 1.56, 2.48). School enjoyment strongly associated with later achievement in age 16 compulsory GCSE exams even after adjustment for socioeconomic background and cognitive ability; pupils who reported enjoying school scored on average 14.4 (95% CI: 6.9, 21.9) more points (equivalent to almost a 3-grade increase across all subjects) and were 29% more likely to obtain 5 + A*-C GCSE’s including Maths and English (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.7) than those who did not enjoy school. These results highlight the importance of school enjoyment for educational achievement. As a potentially more modifiable factor than socioeconomic background, cognitive ability or sex, school enjoyment may represent a promising intervention target for improving educational outcomes.

Factors From Middle Childhood That Predict Academic Attainment at 15–17 Years in the UK: A Systematic Review

“…Fluency of English or English as an additional language showed inconsistent results with one high quality study showing no association (Fletcher et al, 2015) and another showing that students with English as an additional language at ages 6-12 years were more likely to have better KS4 attainment (Gorard and Siddiqui, 2019). Both age and quality of friendships also showed inconsistent results with some studies showing no association (age: Sammons, 1995;Sammons et al, 1995; quality of friendships: Morris et al, 2021) and others suggesting that younger students (Gorard and Siddiqui, 2019) and students with peer problems were more likely to have lower attainment at GCSE/KS4. There was insufficient evidence for physical activity, special educational needs and disabilities status, bullied status, autistic traits, confidence, entry into care, school enjoyment, whether student likes their teacher, and motivation to write in middle childhood.…”

The association between and development of school enjoyment and general knowledge

“…Research indicates that students' learning-related beliefs and feelings develop early and are important for academic performance (Stipek & Ryan, 1997). For example, school enjoyment at age 6 is associated with cross-discipline achievement 10 years later (Morris et al, 2021). School enjoyment is related to the affective components of curiosity, including "liking" or "enjoying" trying new things, which are associated with school readiness and learning (Lamnina & Chase, 2019;Litman, 2008;Shah et al, 2018), perhaps through promoting curiosity and higher engagement in more meaningful learning experiences, such as using constructive cognitive practices like making connections to material (both personal connections and across topics) or identifying gaps in one's knowledge and asking related questions (Chi & Wylie, 2014;Jirout, 2020;Jirout et al, 2018).…”

“…In a recent study using a three-item scale to measure preschool children's school enjoyment (Lichtenfeld et al, 2012;Ruzek et al, 2020), school enjoyment related to other important motivational factors and learning orientations, including growth mindset, perceived academic competence, peer social skills, and task orientation (Ruzek et al, 2020). These associations provide potential explanations for the observed link between school enjoyment and achievement (e.g., Morris et al, 2021), discussed further below. Importantly, enjoyment is associated with academic achievement across populations (Ainley & Ainley, 2011), with a universal relation observed in all 68 PISA participating countries (Loderer et al, 2020).…”

“…One benefit of playful learning is that it is enjoyable (Zosh et al, 2018). Enjoyment of learning and school is related to students' curiosity and love of learning in both teacher-led and individual tasks (Wagner et al, 2020) and is associated with positive educational outcomes (Morris et al, 2021;Shah et al, 2018). Thus, understanding early influences on school enjoyment and readiness and how they develop is important (Stipek & Greene, 2001).…”

“Reading Enjoyment” is Ready for School: Foregrounding Affect and Sociality in Children’s Reading for Pleasure

“…Yet there is a substantial body of international research that highlights benefits to children and societies of reading for pleasure and shows that children's reading is sustained within a complex of psychological, social, and material relations in which fostering and sustaining interest and engagement through enjoyment is key (Burnett & Merchant, 2018;Cremin et al, 2014;Gutiérrez, 2008). There is also considerable evidence that enjoyment enhances learning, including a study of children in England that showed enjoyment of school at age 6 predicted substantially higher attainment 10 years later (Morris et al, 2021). Many factors that influence educational achievement, such as socioeconomic factors, are outside the sphere of schools.…”