Nord Anglia Study Links Metacognition to 72% Boost in Student Skills

Event summary

  • Nord Anglia Education partnered with Boston College to conduct a two-year research project on metacognition in education.
  • The study, spanning 29 schools across 20 countries and involving over 12,000 students and 5,000 teachers, measured the impact of metacognitive strategies.
  • Findings indicate that metacognition can boost future-ready skills by up to 72%, including collaboration, curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.
  • A longitudinal study with Boston College was launched in September 2025 to assess the long-term impact of these approaches.

The big picture

Nord Anglia's research underscores the growing recognition that 'future-ready' skills—collaboration, creativity, critical thinking—are paramount in an era of rapid technological change. The study's findings, while impressive, highlight the need for educational institutions to move beyond traditional curricula and actively cultivate these skills, particularly as AI increasingly automates routine tasks. The scale of Nord Anglia’s operation (over 100,000 students) provides a unique opportunity to test and refine these approaches, but also presents challenges in widespread adoption.

What we're watching

Implementation Scale
The success of Nord Anglia’s model hinges on its ability to effectively embed these metacognitive practices across its 89 schools and beyond, a process that will require significant teacher training and resource allocation.
Data Validation
Independent verification of Nord Anglia's methodology and findings will be crucial to establish the broad applicability of these results across diverse educational settings and student populations.
AI Integration
The long-term value of these skills will be determined by how effectively they complement and adapt to the increasing prevalence of AI and automation in the workforce.

Related topics

Partnership