What is love of learning and study support?
Love of learning is when individuals have a disposition to seek out new experiences and opportunities to foster learning (1). When students and young people develop a true love of learning they enjoy it intrinsically, valuing the enjoyment and rewards of mental exertion and discovering new things, rather than only enjoying it when receiving external rewards (1). Study support involves activities for students outside of normal school hours to assist pupils learning, improve academic achievement and/or to promote personal or social development (2).
Instilling a love of learning in young people and providing them with study support to ensure they have a positive educational experience is important for their personal and social development. Building a love of learning instills curiosity in young people that benefits them in the classroom and when they enter employment, as employers want curious and intrinsically motivated individuals (3). It also Research also shows developing curiosity and interest in continually learning new things promotes positive physical and mental health and helps to build resilience (3). Providing study support has similar benefits as research shows providing study support assists in building a love of learning and motivation to learn and improving young people’s self-esteem (2). Study support is particularly important for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to provide access to resources they may not have access to at home (2).
Why is this important to Ormiston Trust?
Providing study support and fostering a love of learning is important to Ormiston Trust as one of our core values is sustaining success. Providing study support in schools and building a love of learning through activities in schools allows young people to sustain success into adulthood by building curiosity, improving self esteem and resilience, and learning to actively seek out new opportunities. This builds skills for future employment and also contributes to positive personal development for young people to succeed in the future. Additionally, providing study support in schools where there may be higher proportions of students from disadvantaged backgrounds assists in bridging attainment gaps between students and ensuring these students have equal opportunities to succeed in school and beyond.
Grant programmes examples: Business mentors, online tutoring, after-school, after STEM clubs, university trips, work experience etc.
Note: While we are potentially interested in funding innovation in study support or catch up practice we would not typically cover the costs of routine practice or lessons.
Desired Outcomes:
References
(1) The University of Oklahoma Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing. “Love of learning”. The University of Oklahoma. https://www.ou.edu/flourish/virtues/intellectual-virtues/love-of-learning
(2) Department for Education, 1999. “The Benefits of Study Support: A Review of Opinion and Research”. Gov. UK. https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/4489/1/RR110.pdf
(3) Ben Dean, PhD., 2004. “Defining Love of Learning”. University of Pennsylvannia. https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/newsletters/authentichappinesscoaching/learning
