The experiences children have in classrooms, at home and in their communities may help build a cognitive buffer that protects against or delays dementia later in life.

A new University of Michigan study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia proposes a new way of thinking about how childhood education affects Alzheimer’s risk—looking beyond just years of schooling to examine the quality of schools, home learning environments and students’ sense of belonging and confidence in the classroom.

With students spending nearly 15,000 hours in K-12 schools, the quality of those experiences—not just how long they stayed in school—may leave a lasting imprint on brain health decades later

“But to truly understand that impact, we must also measure what happens outside the school’s walls,” said Kimson Johnson, postdoctoral research fellow at U-M’s Institute for Social Research. “It is the combination of experiences inside and outside school that may be driving different outcomes and understanding this earlier in life is key to better prevention and resources.”

Educational attainment is widely recognized as a critical determinant of brain health, but the environment in which you receive that education matters just as much, she says.

The study introduces a framework that views early education as a complex system of social, financial and institutional experiences. Rather than focusing only on the number of years a person spends in school, the model examines how early learning environments may build cognitive reserve—the brain’s ability to maintain function despite damage.

“Nationally representative datasets allow us to examine different types of educational exposures starting as early as midlife and their impact on cognition and (Alzheimer’s) risk,” Johnson said. “Paired with biological measures, these datasets help us understand how early educational environments leave lasting imprints on cognitive health into late life.”

Researchers can use this data to better understand a person’s lifelong risk for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, or ADRD.

“Think of it like a camera with three lenses,” Johnson said. “Did you believe in yourself as a learner? Did you have books and support at home? And was your school well resourced?

“Each lens captures a different part of the educational experience: academic self-efficacy, home and community learning resources, and institutional learning contexts. Together they create a fuller, more holistic picture of education than years of schooling alone.”

This framework highlights large national studies that provide data across the K-12 settings into older adulthood, linking school quality, home environments and academic confidence to later-life cognitive health and its potential impact on biological markers of ADRD.

“Crucially, this framework treats these domains not as separate silos but as distinct and overlapping experiences that accumulate over time,” Johnson said. “These experiences can leave biologically imprints in ways that may shape cognitive trajectories decades later.”

The findings suggest that it is important to consider not only the school a child attends, but also whether that child feels supported as a learner. Those experiences may shape brain health for decades.

Investment in schools during a critical period of brain development is not just an education issue, it may also have long-term implications for cognitive health, Johnson says.

“For us researchers, this framework offers a pathway to examine which specific educational environments impact cognitive health,” she said. “Also, what may reduce risk or support resilience.

The framework can use existing nationally representative datasets to identify which specific educational environments most strongly predict cognitive decline.

“The ultimate goal is to pinpoint what can be changed today to improve educational environments and reduce ADRD tomorrow,” Johnson said.