As students face new expectations with formal assessments, understanding how to build a strong academic foundation is key. This article explores three crucial factors—positive mindset, organisation, and goal-setting—that parents can nurture to support their children’s lifelong learning journey, particularly as they move to the next level.
3 Key Foundations for Academic Success for Your Child
As students begin or progress through formal assessments, both they and their parents encounter new expectations regarding planning, studying, commitment, and the scope of work to be mastered. This transition signifies moving up to the next level in a student’s academic journey. Understanding these foundations for academic success is crucial.
“It’s important for parents to understand this move into the next phase and the importance of these exams in terms of setting the tone for a successful academic journey for the rest of students’ lives,” says Nalani Singarum, Academic Advisor: InterSen Phase at ADvTECH Schools.
She adds, “While a good performance in formal assessments should be planned and worked towards, parents also need to realise that the experience of the journey of studying and preparing at this time will make a substantial impact on the child’s approach to exams in the future, when adult assistance and guidance won’t be available – or even desirable”.
Singarum identifies three factors that can lay the groundwork for developing a successful study foundation, empowering and supporting young students during this crucial time and in the future.
1. Cultivating a Positive Mindset and Atmosphere
A parent’s influence and attitude significantly matter. Children absorb our emotions like sponges; if parents approach exams with anxiety, negativity, or an excessive push for peak performance, children will pick up on it.
- Model Positivity: Parents should aim to model a positive attitude. Share stories of your own exam experiences, with an emphasis on growth and learning. This approach helps create a positive learning environment at home.
- Frame Exams as Opportunities: Encourage your child to view exams as opportunities to showcase their knowledge and skills. Resources like Mindset Works offer insights into fostering a growth mindset, which aligns with this positive approach.
- Homeschool Application: In a homeschooling setting, parents have a unique opportunity to tailor the learning atmosphere. Focus on effort and learning from mistakes as much as on outcomes. Celebrate curiosity and the process of discovery.
2. Mastering Organisation and Preparation: Key Study Skills for Academic Success
Effective organisation and preparation are essential effective study techniques students need.
- Create a Dedicated Study Zone: Make an effort to create a clutter-free, dedicated study zone over which the student can feel some “ownership”. This sets the stage for focused learning. Ensure it is free from distractions like mobile phones.
- Ensure Resources are Ready: Before study sessions, check that stationery, textbooks, and an exam pad are readily available. This simple step minimises disruptions and keeps the momentum going.
- Break Down Tasks: Help your child break down the work, as large tasks can overwhelm anyone, especially young students. Help them section the exam requirements into manageable pieces. Guide them in creating summaries and flashcards (without doing the job for them!).
- Celebrate Small Victories: Celebrate small victories every day. Each section completed is progress toward success and reduces the need for anxiety-ridden cramming.
- Active Learning Strategies: Encourage your child to develop a habit of writing and drawing keywords while studying, as this reinforces memory retention. Whether it is jotting down key points, solving maths problems, or practising spelling, the act of writing solidifies understanding. At this age, simply reading the textbook for revision is no longer a strategy for success. This highlights the importance of homeschooling study skills that go beyond passive reading.
3. The Power of Goal-Setting and Effort
Laying a strong foundation in the earlier years is even more important than immediate performance in primary school formal assessments.
- Teach Goal Setting: This is the time to show your child how to determine and set achievable goals, which provide direction and motivation. Goal setting for children is a life skill.
- Emphasise Effort: Teach your child that effort matters and that hard work pays off.
- Build Empowerment: Anxiety may still creep in, but consistently putting in the work, a little bit every day at this stage, helps students feel more empowered. This consistent effort is a cornerstone of parental support in education in SA.
The Parent Centre in South Africa offers resources and workshops that can help parents support their children’s emotional well-being and learning, complementing these foundational strategies.
Building strong foundations for academic success involves more than just focusing on grades. How do you help your child build these foundational skills? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!
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