Fear of failure in education

Recognizable? You've studied very hard for a test, but with the exam in front of you, you suddenly don't remember anything. Or, you were so tense for a presentation you had to give in front of the class that you walked away shaking and sweating. In these situations, chances are you are suffering from fear of failure, a common form of anxiety among students. About 10-13% of elementary and middle school students suffer from it. That's about three students in every class. Not a small number, in other words. In order to better understand fear of failure (and thus the students who suffer from it), our student teachers attended two training sessions by Denise Olivers of Learn4Life. Drawing from her experience as an educator/educator, she told us all about the causes and characteristics of fear of failure, among other things, using real-life examples.

How do I recognize fear of failure?

Fear of failure is a performance anxiety that results from too much or too little anxiety in the student. To illustrate this, we looked at the graph of Dodson's law. You can see it in the image to the right. The curve shows the relationship between anxiety and achievement. The graph is shaped like a mountain. To the left of the mountain, achievement is low because of a lack of excitement or tension that causes a student to exert effort. To the right of the mountain, achievement is low for a different reason. In fact, learners on the right side of the curve experience too much anxiety to perform well. On both sides of the mountain, students may experience fear of failure. Very useful to know, because this allows us to better recognize fear of failure in students. However, if we really want to do something with it, we need to ask: How is fear of failure caused?

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Different sources

Important to know, Denise stressed, is that fear of failure is not innate. Although genetic predisposition plays a role, environmental factors are most influential in the development of fear of failure. Education is one of these factors. Fear of failure develops by giving a child too much freedom, too much protection or too high expectations. What perhaps fewer people know is that school influences are also important. A competitive atmosphere, feeling unsafe or a lack of structure at school can all lead to fear of failure. So there are several causes. Also, fear of failure can manifest itself differently from person to person. This applies not only to children, but also to adults. While some shut down or ask a lot for affirmation, others become perfectionists or sensitive to criticism. All of these causes and manifestations are important. Only by being aware of them can fear of failure be recognized. Very important for our student teachers. This is because we strive to create an environment where the student feels supported. Parents and school are also important for this, so only together can we master fear of failure. Fortunately, Denise also told us which techniques we can use for this.

From anxiety to healthy tension

Let's look back at Dodson's law for a moment. Which tells us that fear of failure can come from too high or too low a level of tension. Denise explained to us very practically how students can change this. The graph is a mountain and we want to come out on top. So overcoming fear of failure is a matter of walking up the mountain. But why do we want to end up in the middle of the graph? Denise explained this to us by telling us that at the middle of the mountain you have just that little bit of excitement that is needed to perform well. So at the top of the mountain, the fear of failure is not completely gone. However, the fear has become so small that it no longer gets in the way. Getting to the top of the mountain is not easy. There will be setbacks that will take you down the mountain. So it is a matter of turning fear into healthy excitement. I think every student can do this. Especially now that we have learned the 5G scheme. After all, this is what Denise gave us to address thoughts and feelings.

Addressing thoughts and feelings

The 5G diagram consists of five parts. Together, these parts provide insight into a situation of fear of failure. Each part represents a word with a "G," namely event, thought, feeling, behavior and consequence. Denise explained to us that we can use this diagram if, for example, a student has had a panic attack during a speaking engagement. By doing exercises together, we clarify the G's of the situation. What was the event? For example: classmates laughed at you. What were your thoughts and feelings about this? For example, you were embarrassed and thought that your classmates would think you were stupid now. What was your behavior? You started crying and ran away. Finally, what was the consequence? You couldn't give your talk. By asking the questions of the 5 G's, the situation becomes clearer and we can do something about it. To do this, Denise taught us some exercises. A first exercise we can use is to ask ourselves if the situation was really as bad as in your experience. We can also focus on positive and helping thoughts instead of fear of failure. We do this by writing down what your strengths are and what you are proud of. It became clear to me that the goal of counseling students with fear of failure is not to remove the fear of failure; the goal is to learn to cope with it.

I learned a lot from Denise's trainings. For example, I found out that fear of failure is much broader than I thought, with many possible causes and characteristics. With what I learned, I and other student teachers can now help students with fear of failure a lot better. But, of course, it's also useful outside of my work at Studied. If someone around me suffers from this, I can also help better. So all in all, Denise again taught us a lot and inspired us.

Interested in counseling for a student with a diagnosis or behavioral characteristics of fear of failure?

Check www.studied.nl and contact us.

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