Reason 2: Social ChallengesSchool success requires that students perform a variety of social and academic tasks. Students must work on maintaining and establishing interpersonal relationships, develop social identities and a sense of belonging, all while mastering subject matter and developing effective learning strategies. Some students may respond to these social challenges by appearing apathetic or unmotivated to learn.
Common Signs and ExamplesFear of Failure
Zakrzewski (2013) states that students gain a sense of self-worth by believing that they are competent and making others believe it as well. When students do not believe that they are competent, they will avoid the sense of failure by putting on a performance for other students and teachers in order to protect their self-worth. In these cases, their apathy is a form of defense. These students have a poor self-image of themselves as learners and can fall into two categories which Zakrzewski, using research done by Martin Covington, describes as, failure-avoidant and failure-acceptant. Failure-avoidant students are simply trying to avoid failure, they do not expect success. Lumsden (1994) feels similarly to Zakrzewski in that these students feel that if they put forth a lot of effort and then fail, it means they have a low ability level. But if they do not put in any effort and still fail, it will not negatively reflect on their ability. This avoidance of failure keeps their self-worth intact.
Failure-accepting students have given up trying because they have internalized failure. They believe that their repeated failures come from a lack of ability. They have given up trying to gain success in order to keep their self-worth intact. If these students do succeed they attribute their success to circumstances outside of their control.
Peer and Family Pressure Another form of social challenges that can affect student’s motivation to do well in school is peer and family pressure. According to social cognitive theory, students do not learn simply by trying something on their own, but by observing and replicating actions of other people. This means that if a student is surrounded by peers that gain positive attention by not trying to succeed, the student who is trying to build a sense of belonging may feel pressure to conform to these norms and stop trying to succeed in school. There can also be pressure from the family of the student. If their family does not put a high value on education, the student may withdraw from the learning in order to conform to family norms.
Potential InterventionsStudents Struggling with Fear of Failure
The first step for both of the sub-groups is for teachers to realize that students are using these strategies to protect their sense of self-worth. Following are some possible interventions to help these students:
Students Struggling with Peer and Family Pressure
Additional Resources Relating to Social ChallengesOvercoming Fear of Failure
Discusses how students protect their self-worth and how this translates into failure in school. Also provides strategies on how to help students overcome their fear of failure. Overcoming Peer Pressure Discusses what peer pressure is and gives advice on how to help students overcome peer pressure. Also provides links to other article about peer pressure. |