Building Girls’ Confidence in Kindergarten

When girls are ready to start their formal schooling, they are filled with promise. Spend any time around a happy-go-lucky, five-year-old, and her “I can do it!” attitude is contagious. We know that the kindergarten year is an important setting for girls to continue to build upon that natural confidence.

At age five, both girls and boys have an equal level of self-esteem and confidence. Their self-esteem is actually on par with an adult’s level of confidence, according to a 2015 study on self-esteem and preschool children by University of Washington researchers.

But, at around age six, a girl’s level of confidence in her own abilities tapers off.

In a University of Illinois 2017 study, published in Science magazine, about intellectual ability and cultural stereotypes, researchers found that girls’ belief in their own brilliance starts to change at six years old.

In the study, a group of boys and girls, aged from 5 to 7, were told gender-neutral stories about a “really, really smart” person. The researchers than asked each child to guess who the “smart person” in the story was from a group of photos of male and female characters. The five-year-old girls equally selected a photo of women and the boys selected a man as the “really smart” person in each story.

When girls are ready to start their formal schooling, they are filled with promise. Spend any time around a happy-go-lucky, five-year-old, and her “I can do it!” attitude is contagious. We know that the kindergarten year is an important setting for girls to continue to build upon that natural confidence.

At age five, both girls and boys have an equal level of self-esteem and confidence. Their self-esteem is actually on par with an adult’s level of confidence, according to a 2015 study on self-esteem and preschool children by University of Washington researchers.

But, at around age six, a girl’s level of confidence in her own abilities tapers off.

In a University of Illinois 2017 study, published in Science magazine, about intellectual ability and cultural stereotypes, researchers found that girls’ belief in their own brilliance starts to change at six years old.

In the study, a group of boys and girls, aged from 5 to 7, were told gender-neutral stories about a “really, really smart” person. The researchers than asked each child to guess who the “smart person” in the story was from a group of photos of male and female characters. The five-year-old girls equally selected a photo of women and the boys selected a man as the “really smart” person in each story.

But at six and seven years of age, the “girls were significantly less likely to associate brilliance with their own gender.” Most of the girls selected a photo of a male character as the “really smart” person in each story, and so did the boys. The concern from this study is that when girls begin thinking boys are always more brilliant, the girls will start narrowing their future career choices.

It’s clear that the development of confident, articulate, thoughtful, and compassionate young women begins in Kindergarten.

A valuable way to help girls build confidence is by attending a single-sex, Catholic Kindergarten like Villa Maria Academy in Malvern, Pa. Nearly 75% of girls attending girls’ schools say that the experience taught them that women can accomplish anything; girls’ school graduates demonstrate more self-confidence and ambition.

The full-day kindergarten program at Villa Maria Academy teaches girls the basic foundation for reading and writing skills, as well as the concepts involved in language, math, science, world language and culture. In Villa’s Kindergarten, girls learn about choosing right from wrong, setting and reaching goals, appreciating diversity, making good decisions, and understanding the importance of community. Plus, the program focuses on developing social skills, a solid moral character, and a faith foundation.

Girls at Villa build confidence by engaging in collaborative learning opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and unlock leadership potential. Embedded in the academic program is a commitment to the understanding of group dynamics, social responsibility, and leadership through love and service.

Achieving all of these abilities will help your daughter build upon the confidence she first developed when she was that happy-go-lucky, five-year-old girl. With her kindergarten foundation at Villa, she can become the strong and confident young woman God created her to be, and she’ll never forget that she is just as smart as a boy. Contact Villa Maria Academy to learn more.