Do you always ask your children what they learned in school? Maybe you should ask a completely different question

When many children return to school this week, it is not only good teaching that can influence how much they learn in the coming school year.

If children thrive socially in the classroom, it can actually affect how much they learn during lessons, according to associate professor and research leader Mette Molbæk.

- When children feel part of the community, their motivation and desire to come to school can increase. They are more likely to ask questions, are less afraid of making mistakes, and become more persistent.

- They have a belief that someone has their back, says Mette Molbæk, who researches children's well-being at VIA University College.

Conversely, if a child does not thrive socially in the classroom, it can affect their academic performance.

- Then concentration drops. It can lead to increased absenteeism, lower learning outcomes, and grades can also fall.

- The community can thus determine whether it becomes an upward or downward spiral.

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> When some students experience being left out, it affects the community in the entire class.

> Mette Molbæk, associate professor and research leader at VIA University College

If you ask the children themselves, many also think the social aspect is important.

More than two out of three 9-14-year-olds say that the atmosphere in the class is the most important thing for them about going to school. This is shown by a new survey conducted by Epinion for DR Ultra.

In the survey, the children were asked whether it is the atmosphere in the class, i.e., the social aspect, or the teaching, i.e., the academic aspect, that is most important to them about going to school.

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About the survey

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In the survey, the children were asked whether it is the teaching (the academic) or the atmosphere in the class (the social) that is most important to them about going to school.

68 percent answer the atmosphere in the class (the social)

20 percent answer the teaching (the academic)

13 percent answer don't know.

Source: Epinion for DR Ultra

Here, 68 percent say that the atmosphere in the class is most important. Only 20 percent say that the teaching is the most important.

That many children point to the social rather than the academic does not surprise Mette Molbæk.

- We should not see the social aspect in the class as something that runs alongside the academic. On the contrary, it is a prerequisite for feeling safe and motivated to learn something, says Mette Molbæk.

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