Hyderabad, April 9: Glendale International School, part of the Global Schools Group, has highlighted a significant insight into modern education through a simple yet revealing social experiment raising an important question: What is a child really learning in school?
The school independently asked parents and students the same question: “What is your child learning well in school?” The responses revealed a clear contrast. While parents largely focused on academic subjects such as mathematics, science, and performance outcomes, students spoke about behavioural and life skills—including listening, initiative, responsibility, and collaboration.
This divergence underscores a deeper reality in education: while learning is often measured through academic results, students experience it through the habits and behaviours they develop daily.
At the core of this insight is Glendale’s structured approach to holistic education through the ‘Leader in Me’ programme, inspired by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The programme integrates habit-building into everyday learning, focusing on key attributes such as self-management, empathy, accountability, and teamwork.
Unlike traditional add-on modules, these behaviours are continuously practised and tracked alongside academic performance, offering a more comprehensive view of student development. Internal observations indicate that a significant number of students demonstrate proactive behaviour, independent task management, and effective collaboration, reflecting the programme’s strong integration into daily learning.
Atul Temurnikar, Chairman of Global Schools Group, said,
“This initiative reflects a shift from focusing only on performance to understanding student development more holistically. By embedding habit-building into everyday learning, we are equipping students with capabilities that extend far beyond the classroom.”
Minu Salooja, Director, Glendale International Schools, added,
“Education has long been defined by what is easy to measure—marks and results. But what truly drives outcomes are behaviours like ownership, listening, and initiative. Through the ‘Leader in Me’ programme, we make these behaviours visible and measurable.”
The initiative reflects a broader shift in education—from measuring outcomes to understanding how those outcomes are built. By connecting behaviour, data, and real-world application, Glendale International School is redefining student success for a future-ready world.
As the experiment suggests, when the same question leads to different answers, it may be time to rethink how learning is defined. Strong academics matter—but it is habits that ultimately drive outcomes.
