How School Helps Shape Kids’ Brains: What New Research Says About Schooling and Executive Function

Monarch
4 days ago
6 min read

As parents, we intuitively know that school teaches children how to read, write, and solve math problems. But did you know that going to school may also help their brains develop in fundamental ways that go beyond academics? Recent research suggests that the structured environment of formal schooling actually boosts cognitive skills—collectively called executive functions—in ways that go beyond just getting older.

In this post, we’ll unpack this research in plain language, explain why it matters, and explore what parents can take from these findings to better support their children’s development.

What Are Executive Functions?

Before we dive into the study’s results, let’s clarify what scientists mean by executive functions.

Executive functions are a set of mental skills that act like the brain’s “control panel.” These skills help children:

Pay attention
Remember instructions
Control impulses
Switch between tasks
Plan and complete goals

Researchers generally divide executive functions into three main components:

Working Memory – holding information in mind and using it (like remembering steps in a task)
Inhibitory Control – resisting distractions and impulses
Cognitive Flexibility – shifting thinking when rules change or when faced with something new

These skills are essential in school and life. They help a child sit and listen to a lesson, manage homework, wait their turn, and solve problems when plans change.

What Question Did the Research Try to Answer?

Previous research showed that executive functions improve as children get older. For example, a seven-year-old typically has much stronger focus and self-control than a four-year-old. The big question was this:

Is this improvement simply due to getting older (natural brain maturation), or does going to school actually boost these skills above and beyond natural maturation? This distinction matters because if school itself helps develop these skills, then it suggests that the structured environments, expectations, and routines of school are doing more than teaching reading and math—they are training the brain.

How Did the Researchers Study This?

To find out, the research reviewed a bunch of earlier studies using what’s known as a meta-analysis. That means combining data from multiple studies to see overall patterns.

Here’s how they approached it:

A Natural “Experiment” in School Entry

Many school systems use a cutoff date for kindergarten entry—for example, a child must turn five by September 1st to start that fall. This creates a situation where two kids who are nearly the same age end up in different school situations:

One child enters kindergarten,
Another waits and stays out of school for another year.

Because these children are essentially the same age but have different amounts of school experience, researchers can see whether schooling itself accounts for differences—not just biological age.

Comparing Studies Across Countries

The researchers found 12 studies (from places like the United States, Germany, Israel, and Scotland) that met strict criteria. These studies included around 1,611 children between about 4½ and 9 years old. They looked at how kids who had spent a year in school compared to age-matched kids who hadn’t yet started school or who were in less structured environments. Then they combined the results using statistical models to see whether schooling made a consistent difference.

What Did the Researchers Find?

The key result was:

Formal schooling does improve executive functions beyond what would be expected from normal maturation alone.

Put simply:

Children who attended a year of formal school showed stronger gains in executive function skills than children of the same age who did not attend school.
The effect was modest but consistent—meaning it was small but reliable across multiple studies.

In research terms, the effect size was described as small but robust—significant enough that scientists can be confident that something meaningful is happening.

Why Might Schooling Boost Executive Function?

The researchers didn’t just look at numbers—they also thought about why formal schooling might have this effect.

Here are some key ideas:

1. School Requires Constant Use of Executive Skills

In a classroom environment, children regularly have to:

Sit still or wait their turn
Listen to instructions
Shift attention between tasks and subjects
Remember rules and directions
Work even when tasks seem boring or difficult

All of these situations require ongoing executive effort—kind of like practice for the brain’s control system.

For example:

Listening to a teacher’s directions uses working memory.
Ignoring a classmate’s distraction uses inhibitory control.
Switching from math to reading uses cognitive flexibility.

Over hundreds of hours per year, this repeated practice seems to strengthen executive functions.

2. School Is Intense Practice Compared With “Brain Games”

You may have seen apps or programs that claim to boost executive function or “train your brain.” Research generally finds that these programs help with the specific game or task, but skills don’t transfer well into everyday life.

School, by contrast:

Is immersive
Happens regularly throughout the year
Requires social interaction, real tasks, real instructions
Engages self-control in meaningful contexts

Because school contexts require kids to use these skills in real situations, the benefits appear to be greater than short, isolated mental exercises.

3. Classroom Routine Provides Structured Practice

For example, in Massachusetts, children are required to participate in 900 hours of structured learning per year. That’s a lot of time spent in environments that inherently challenge executive skills like inhibition, attention, and memory. This repetition matters.

Think about learning to swim: a single lesson won’t make you a swimmer. But repeated practice in the water over time strengthens muscles and builds confidence. Executive functions develop the same way: repeated, real-world use strengthens the brain systems involved.

What the Findings Don’t Say

While this research provides important insight, it’s also important to understand its limits.

1. The Effect Is Modest, Not Huge

The extra benefit from schooling wasn’t enormous—it was consistent and reliable but not so large that biological maturation or other factors disappear. It’s a boost, not a magic transformation.

2. Not All School Systems Are the Same

Educational expectations vary widely across countries and even districts or classrooms. Some schools emphasize play and flexibility (like in some European kindergartens), while others use more structured academic time. These differences could influence how much practice children get with executive functions.

3. We Still Don’t Know Which Parts of School Matter Most

The research pooled many different kinds of studies, and the next step is figuring out which specific elements of schooling are most effective at developing executive functions. Is it:

The structure itself?
The social interaction with peers?
The relationships with teachers?
The academic content?

This isn’t yet clear and requires more research.

4. Tests Are Often Laboratory Tasks

Executive function tests used in research are often simplified and artificial (e.g., card sorting tasks or memory games). They’re useful for research, but real-world executive function involves things like planning homework, regulating emotions with friends, or staying organized—all complex behaviors that don’t fit neatly into lab tasks.

Why This Research Matters for Parents

This research can help parents see schooling not just as academic preparation, but as training in cognitive control—skills that support behavior, planning, and problem-solving throughout life.

Here are a few practical implications:

1. Executive Function Growth Isn’t Only Natural—It’s Environmental

Children’s brains develop with age, yes—but certain environments accelerate that development. School appears to be one of those environments.

This means that:

Experience matters
Opportunities to practice self-control and organization matter
Structured expectations can support growth

2. Parents Can Think About Everyday “School-like” Practice

Even outside the classroom, children benefit from routines and activities that engage executive functions:

Cooking a recipe (planning and sequencing)
Playing strategy board games (working memory and flexibility)
Organizing art projects (planning and focus)
Completing chores with a checklist (task management and self-monitoring)

These contexts provide valuable opportunities to practice the same skills that school naturally engages.

3. Schools and Families Share a Developmental Role

Parents are partners in development—not just facilitators of academic skills.

Advocating for classroom environments that:

Include structure and clear expectations
Teach self-management explicitly
Support students who struggle with attention or inhibition

can enhance the developmental benefit students derive from school.

4. Understanding Variability and Support Needs

Not all children develop at the same rate or in the same way. Some may struggle with specific components of executive function, such as:

Working memory
Sustaining attention
Impulse control
Cognitive flexibility

Understanding that school supports the development of these skills can help parents and teachers work together to provide additional practice and accommodations when needed.

Executive functions are one of the most important sets of skills for lifelong success—and they are shaped both by biology and experience.

The recent meta-analysis confirms that formal schooling modestly improves executive function skills beyond natural maturation.

But it also reminds us that:

Development is multifaceted,
Experience matters,
Real-world practice matters more than isolated cognitive drills,
And supportive environments—both at school and at home—are key.

As parents, we can take heart in knowing that school provides more than academic instruction—it offers systematic opportunities for children to refine the mental skills they’ll use throughout life. We can also continue to support this development through structured, engaging activities that help children practice these same skills outside the classroom.

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