{"id":70043,"date":"2023-09-29T00:10:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T04:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=70043"},"modified":"2023-09-29T00:10:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T04:10:11","slug":"threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers.<\/p>\n

Part of the work of teachers is to\u00a0encourage their students<\/a>\u00a0to pay attention and fully engage in lessons so that they achieve the best grades possible. They might emphasise to them how important\u00a0GCSEs are for their future<\/a>. For example, teachers might point out how good grades can lead to access to college courses, apprenticeships, and the workplace.<\/p>\n

And in dwelling on the importance of GCSEs, teachers may\u00a0also use messages<\/a>\u00a0that focus on the possible negative effects of failure. These include things like: \u201cIf you do not work hard, you will fail your GCSEs and you will not get into college.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u00a0researched<\/a>\u00a0how students interpret<\/a>\u00a0these motivational strategies from their teachers and found that while\u00a0warnings of failure<\/a>\u00a0are likely to encourage some pupils to work hard, it\u2019s not a message that should be delivered to the whole class.<\/p>\n

Fear appeals<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Messages from teachers that focus on failure are known as \u201cfear appeals\u201d: they can create a strong fear of failure in students. Teachers use fear appeals more often when they believe that students will interpret the message\u00a0as threatening<\/a>\u00a0and when they believe their class are\u00a0less engaged<\/a>. The intention may be to\u00a0shock students into engaging<\/a>\u00a0in their studies.<\/p>\n

Fear can be a powerful motivator. When a student believes that doing well in a test is important, and is\u00a0optimistic about doing well<\/a>, a fear appeal \u2013 such as: \u201cIf you fail your GCSE, you will find it difficult to get a good job\u201d \u2013 can be a good thing. It can\u00a0motivate students to work hard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a challenge. One GCSE student we worked with (in research that is yet to be published) said: \u201cI don\u2019t feel panicked about it at all and I feel quite confident in maths \u2026 it gives me motivation to work harder and like learn the topics more and thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

But other students, who also see exam results as very important, may\u00a0lack confidence<\/a>\u00a0that they will do well. For these students, fear appeals can trigger feelings of\u00a0anxiety<\/a>\u00a0and hopelessness. They can\u00a0lose motivation<\/a>, procrastinate and worry. Ultimately,\u00a0their achievement is lower<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We describe this as a student interpreting the message as a threat. As a\u00a0GCSE student said<\/a>: \u201cEvery time a teacher tells me exams are near or if you fail you risk not getting a good job I get so scared and sometimes I get so scared and stressed I feel like crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other students simply disregard fear appeals. They\u00a0may not care<\/a>\u00a0about their exams, perhaps because they have already disengaged from their studies \u2013 or are so supremely confident they have no doubt they will succeed.<\/p>\n

Mixed messages<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This suggests that using the same message to encourage a whole class or year group could be counterproductive. For students who feel confident in their abilities, fear appeals could be the right type of motivational message.<\/p>\n

But as it is difficult for teachers to\u00a0accurately judge<\/a>\u00a0their students\u2019 private self-perceptions, it would be risky to advise the use of fear appeals on this basis. Students\u2019 levels of belief in their competence also\u00a0vary over time<\/a>, and so fear appeals could be appropriate at one time but not another.<\/p>\n

One option, of course, would be to switch a fear appeal to a more positive message, such as: \u201cIf you work hard, you will get the grades you need for college.\u201d But our research shows that students respond to messages like this in a\u00a0similar way to fear appeals<\/a>. Success-focused messages are still pressuring messages.<\/p>\n

A more\u00a0useful approach<\/a>\u00a0could be to increase the chance that students interpret messages like this as a challenge rather than a threat. One\u00a0way to do this<\/a>\u00a0is to give students a greater feeling of control over their learning and exams. This can be done, for example, by helping students reflect on the ways they learn the content needed for the exam.\u00a0Teacher feedback<\/a>\u00a0on the strategies that students use in class can increase their sense of control and their understanding that they can improve their learning techniques.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Laura Nicholson is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Edge Hill University and David Putwain is a Professor in Education at Liverpool John Moores University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers. Part of the work of teachers […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[434640],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-70043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-motivational-strategies"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThreats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers. Part of the work of teachers […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":777,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/motivational-strategies.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"motivational strategies\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/\",\"name\":\"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/motivational-strategies.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/motivational-strategies.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/motivational-strategies.jpeg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":454},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the results can allow them to carry on in education or go on to certain careers. Part of the work of teachers […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class","datePublished":"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/"},"wordCount":777,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg","keywords":["motivational strategies"],"articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/","name":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg","datePublished":"2023-09-29T04:10:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/motivational-strategies.jpeg","width":680,"height":454},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/threats-of-failure-motivate-some-students-but-its-not-a-technique-to-use-on-the-whole-class\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Threats of failure motivate some students \u2013 but it\u2019s not a technique to use on the whole class"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70043"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70045,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70043\/revisions\/70045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70043"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=70043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}