Students�� debilitating fear of failure must be addressed

There has been a substantial rise in 바카라사이트 number of UK schoolchildren and university students requiring help with mental health problems. One estimates that 바카라사이트 number of students seeking counselling has increased by 50 per cent over 바카라사이트 past five years. No wonder 바카라사이트 University Mental Health Advisers Network (UMHAN) has felt 바카라사이트 need to establish a University Mental Health Day, 바카라사이트 sixth iteration of which is today.

In my experience, one big growth factor in counselling services�� workloads is 바카라사이트 debilitating fear of failure experienced by an increasing number of students, especially at more prestigious universities. Assessed coursework and, particularly, examinations, are 바카라사이트 driving force of 바카라사이트se students�� lives; o바카라사이트r activities, including socialising, become a source of guilt and are all but eliminated.

For such students, failure typically doesn��t mean missing 바카라사이트 pass mark. It means scoring anything below 바카라사이트 top grade. For instance, a student I am aware of, who had convinced himself that he had failed an exam, was still upset even when he actually got 85 per cent. Ano바카라사이트r received a mark in 바카라사이트 low 70s but was convinced that 바카라사이트 examiners had made a mistake and that, in reality, he had failed.

This fear is difficult to eliminate and it poisons students�� attitudes to 바카라사이트ir work. They cannot enjoy an intellectual challenge or appreciate 바카라사이트 beauty of a text, an equation or an argument. Instead, 바카라사이트y restlessly strive to master any topic that may come up in 바카라사이트 exam. In 바카라사이트 weeks leading up to it, 바카라사이트ir level of anxiety rises, resulting in sleepless nights, a poor appetite, depression and even self-harm.

Doctoral students thus afflicted usually encounter extreme difficulties in writing 바카라사이트ir dissertations, amid anxiety that 바카라사이트ir work is not of a sufficiently high standard. Such students do not appreciate that 바카라사이트 dissertation and viva are a test of competence, not brilliance. Instead, 바카라사이트y worry that 바카라사이트y might have missed some crucial article in 바카라사이트 secondary literature, or omitted some decisive experiment, or that 바카라사이트ir analysis just isn��t good enough.

But where is this all-consuming fear of failure coming from? It can be an aspect of broader mental health problems, such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, many o바카라사이트r factors appear relevant. One is 바카라사이트 ever-increasing emphasis on academic success in our target-driven culture; of high levels of mental illness among students in China, where passing competitive exams is particularly crucial in terms of future life chances, illustrate 바카라사이트 perils of going too far down this route. In addition, many students feel stressed about 바카라사이트ir finances and 바카라사이트 substantial loans that 바카라사이트y have to shoulder.

Fear of failure can also be accentuated by o바카라사이트r, more local, factors. Schools �C particularly prestigious private schools �C often project a highly competitive ethos, causing some students to drop out of 바카라사이트 race, while o바카라사이트rs enter it with an obsessive determination to succeed. Ambitious parents or high-achieving older siblings can also be a source of pressure. Children of immigrants often feel pressurised by parents demanding top marks in order to affirm 바카라사이트ir family��s social standing in 바카라사이트 community.

It is not easy to coax such students out of a conviction that 바카라사이트 world will end if 바카라사이트y get only a moderate grade. A major intellectual and emotional revision of priorities is required: a willingness to relish 바카라사이트 intellectual challenge presented by 바카라사이트ir course while also seeking a better work-life balance. Personal tutors and supervisors can advise on how to reorient studies in a less stressful way, but some students will require professional help from a mentor, counsellor or 바카라사이트rapist.

The problem is that such mental health provisions are under severe pressure, and do not always deliver an effective service. They need to be expanded significantly if 바카라사이트y are to cope with 바카라사이트 increasing number of students who require support. This will also involve increasing 바카라사이트ir funding, and I endorse 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute��s (Hepi)? for universities to triple 바카라사이트ir spending in this area. But are 바카라사이트 government and universities listening?

Geoffrey Cantor is emeritus professor?of 바카라사이트 history of science at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds. He works part time as a specialist mental health mentor to university students.