China’s uniform approach for students is a bad fit for other countries

A disciplined schedule may benefit some students, but there’s more to success at school and in later life than turning up on time, says Michael Brooks

A line of schoolchildren

Is there a flaw in order?

Gideon Mendel/Getty

Get ready for the next trend in education theory. A new paper examining the habits of students at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China suggests that “orderliness predicts academic performance”. The study uses activity logged on student access cards to show that keeping a regular schedule (indicated by showering and eating at the same time every day) correlated with higher grades. Diligence, as measured by the amount of time spent in teaching buildings and the library, showed a similar positive correlation.

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