Bitesize Research: Role Of Perfectionism In Progress Of More Able Learners

By Jaya Carrier

I hope everyone has had a great week so far. I’ve been looking this week into research about more able students (or HPAs). I came across a really interesting NACE (National Association for Able Children in Education) blog post about some forthcoming meta-analysis that will be published later this year in Educational Psychology Review that they’ve conducted in conjunction with academics from York St. John University. They also presented some of their findings in this YouTube video. Objectives:

To understand the role of perfectionism in the progress and attainment of more able learners. Summary:

• This study categorises perfectionism into two categories; perfectionist strivings (extent to which students strive for unrealistic personal standards) and perfectionist concerns (extent to which students fear making mistakes or receiving negative feedback).
• This meta-analysis looked at data on 10,000 able learners who were part of 36 studies. These suggest that perfectionist concerns have the biggest impact on learning, and have a strong correlation to depression, alienation from parents, lower motivation and self-esteem.
• On the other hand, perfectionist strivings appeared to be correlated with more variable outcomes that were both positive and negative; for example, there was a correlation with strong academic performance, but also with lower happiness and lower creativity.
• The blog suggests that those working with more able learners need to be mindful of the consequences of perfectionism. They should look to reduce both types of perfectionism, but particularly perfectionist strivings.
• It proposes that teachers can and should play a role in creating environments that are less perfectionistic and focus on creativity, problem-solving and appropriate levels of challenge.
• Likewise, teachers can help more able students ‘reframe setbacks’ as an integral part of the learning process whilst being mindful that more able learners often find setbacks more stressful.

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflection questions arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• Do any of my HPA students demonstrate the ‘perfectionist strivings’ or ‘perfectionist concerns’?
• How do these manifest in their attitude towards learning in your classroom?
• How can I help my students by focusing on creativity and problem-solving?
• What does ‘appropriate challenge’ look like in my subject?
  

If you would like to discuss this further with me - please let me know! I’d be delighted to open up these discussions and conversations. Thanks, Jaya