Students’ Perceptions of the Benefits of Scholastic Chess Instruction

Abstract

This paper explores students’ perceptions of the benefits of chess-based instruction as part of an evaluation of a Chess in Schools (CIS) program implemented in 2017-2018 by a State Department of Education in the southeastern United States. The data were collected using a cross-sectional survey administered to students at the end of the academic year after one year of exposure to the CIS program. Results from the student survey responses (n = 1,286) indicated that the majority of students across all grade levels felt they had experienced a variety of positive outcomes as a result of their exposure to scholastic chess-based instruction. These perceived positive outcomes are beneficial for understanding the holistic impact of chess-based learning as they provide insight beyond only measuring students on a metric such as a test score or GPA.