Hyderabad, Telangana, 20th of May 2026 : A recent social experiment conducted by Glendale International School has revealed that students are developing important habits and behavioural competencies that often go unnoticed in conventional academic evaluation systems.
The experiment, designed to understand what students are truly learning in school beyond textbooks and examinations, generated measurable insights into student behaviour, independence, collaboration and emotional intelligence.
According to internal observations and behavioural assessments conducted by the school, 84% of students demonstrated the ability to practise self-management independently, while 80% displayed proactive behaviour and initiative. Another 80% showed collaborative thinking by prioritising “we” over “me”, and 79% were able to prioritise tasks without reminders. The findings also revealed that 65% of students demonstrated proficiency in empathetic listening, while 52% showed the ability to independently plan ahead of time, highlighting the growing integration of leadership, responsibility, and positive behavioural habits into everyday learning.
The assessments were conducted across students from Grade 1 to Grade 9 as part of Glendale’s school-wide Leader in Me programme, using structured behavioural rubrics integrated into the learning framework.
The findings emerged from a broader social experiment where parents and students were independently asked the same question: “What is your child learning well in school?”
While parents largely referred to academic performance and subjects, students described behavioural and personal growth areas such as responsibility, listening, collaboration, initiative and self-management—revealing a significant gap between how learning is conventionally perceived and how students themselves experience it.
The initiative reflects Glendale’s structured approach towards integrating behavioural development into mainstream education through the Leader in Me programme, inspired by The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The framework focuses on embedding habits such as initiative, accountability, empathy, leadership, and collaboration into everyday learning experiences.
Unlike traditional approaches where such skills are treated as extracurricular outcomes, Glendale has incorporated habit-building into classroom interactions, school culture and student engagement processes, while also creating systems to observe and measure behavioural growth alongside academic progress.
Mr. 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 helping students build capabilities that extend far beyond the classroom.”
Ms. Minu Salooja, Director, Glendale International Schools, said, “Education has long been defined by what is easy to measure—marks, ranks, and results. But what truly drives outcomes are behaviours that are far less visible. Habits like listening, ownership, and initiative shape how children perform over time. At Glendale, through the ‘LeaderinMe’ programme, we make these behaviours visible and measurable. This experiment shows how deeply they are embedded in the way students think and act.”
As schools continue to rethink what meaningful learning should look like, Glendale’s social experiment presents a data-backed perspective on how students may be learning far more than what traditional report cards capture.
About Glendale International School
Glendale International School is part of a global network of premier international schools under Global Schools Group (GSG) – an initiative of Global Schools Foundation (GSF) which has won over 650+ prestigious awards for providing quality education. Rooted in the philosophy of holistic development, Glendale blends global best practices in education with Indian cultural ethos to empower students to become compassionate, confident, and future-ready leaders. With a strong emphasis on experiential learning, leadership development, and character education, Glendale provides a dynamic environment where students thrive—both in the classroom and beyond. Being part of GSG, Glendale students get an added advantage of collaboration within the network’s 64 campuses through knowledge exchange.
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