Have you noticed your child procrastinating on their studies, regularly criticizing themselves or expressing doubt in their abilities? They may be suffering from a lack of self-confidence at school. Several studies have linked having a high self-belief in school work with better GCSE grades. On average, children with 18% more self-belief are more likely to get 5 ‘good’ GCSE grades. That’s one whole grade level difference. This correlation between self-belief and academic performance is even more apparent amongst the maths and sciences. [1] [2] So what can you do to help?
Ways to boost your child’s confidence at school
1. Get involved in your child’s learning
One way to help boost your child’s academic confidence is to get involved in their learning. Ask yourself – are you just reading letters that occasionally come home from school, or are you actively getting involved in your child’s learning? Do you occasionally check-in to see how they are getting on with their homework?
You should also spend some time finding out about the services that are available at your child’s school. For example, many schools have personal advisers or counsellors that the child can communicate with if they come into any difficulty at school. Use open evenings and PTAs as opportunities to build relationships with your child’s teachers. If your child is struggling with chemistry for example, get to know his/her chemistry teacher. Make them aware that they can contact you anytime with updates on your child’s progress.
Getting involved in your child’s learning shows you’re taking your child’s education seriously This in turn, will cause them to take it seriously and give them a boost of confidence.
2. Help them foster a love of learning
Having gone through the education system myself, as well as having worked as a secondary school science teacher; it is clear that there are some subjects that many students don’t like. Maths and science are amongst the top of that list. So how can you get your child to love science for example? Get them to see that science is all around us. Watch science shows on TV with them. There are plenty to choose from. From crime scene programs to wildlife documentaries. This helps them to see science in a different light. There are also opportunities for museums and exhibitions. The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, for example, has a Planetarium exhibition. The exhibition gives an almost real-life tour experience of the universe. There is plenty of time during summer breaks, half-term breaks or at the weekends to attend such exhibitions.
For the early years of secondary school, there are science experiment kits available. By using the kits, they learn how to use the different science apparatus and get to see interesting science experiments. As a result, the child starts to see science as fun and interesting and their confidence in the subject begins to grow.
3. Teach them how to set goals
The process of setting goals and taking daily steps to achieve them is hugely beneficial. Goal setting enables a child to visualize things that they ordinarily wouldn’t. And the action of taking daily steps to work towards their goals increases motivation and self-belief.
Many children live in a bubble. They go through life without thinking of the bigger picture. Goal setting helps a child vision their possibilities and teaches them to be accountable. It stretches and challenges them; and as they start to achieve their goals, they begin to trust in their abilities. This in turn boosts their confidence.
Children can set goals in any area of their life; from academic to health to relationships.
4. Help them instil a positive mindset
Having a positive mindset means believing that if you put your mind to something you can achieve it. Many children have a fixed mindset. If they are doing poorly in science for example, they believe that they are not good at science. That limiting belief ultimately leads them to take actions that fulfil that prophecy. They procrastinate studying for science, then they do poorly in tests. This reinforces their belief and the cycle continues.
One way you can help your child develop a positive mindset is to teach them that failure is actually a good thing. In fact, failure can be the catalyst that pushes us to work harder or to find a different strategy to succeed. As success coach and author Darren Hardy put it, “the key to success is massive failure”
You should also praise your child for their effort rather than their natural intelligence. Kids who are praised for their effort are always willing to keep trying. On the other hand, those who are praised for their intelligence avoid difficult tasks because they know they are less likely to be praised if they fail the task.
Having a grown mindset improves self-esteem, reduces anxiety and depression and leads to better grades. [3]
5. Give them 1 on 1 support
Amongst, hard work, consistency, self-confidence and others, many top achievers swear by 1 to 1 coaching or mentoring. They say that having a coach catapulted their success. That without coaching or mentoring, it would have taken them much longer to achieve their goals. But 1 to 1 support should not only be reserved for adults. Many children need guidance too. One way you can help your child improve their confidence at school is by having them work with a tutor. I can’t tell you how many times I get messages from parents telling me how their child’s confidence has increased in science after just two lessons. Having someone explain a concept to a child in a manner that is digestible and easy to understand helps boost their confidence. A good tutor not only imparts subject knowledge, they also help the child with their planning and study schedule. They build a relationship with the child such that the child is comfortable asking them general non-academic questions. Essentially, they act as a mentor to help bolster the child’s confidence.
6. Consider moving them to a lower set
At first glance, this sounds contradictory. But hear me out! Having worked in the classroom, I have seen many examples of students who were in set 1 (top set) for example. They struggled with the pace of the lessons and even understanding the content. After having them moved down one set to set 2, something magic happened. They move from being the bottom of one class to the top of another class. They find that they are doing just as good as their peers or even better, and all of a sudden confidence is restored. They start to believe in themselves, work harder and end up getting even better grades than some in the higher set. While this sounds contradictory, it is something that has worked for many students. So, if your child is in a similar situation, then it’s something to consider.
7. Have them sit the foundation paper
Tier entry can be a little tricky and as such, some teachers still get this wrong. I have worked with many students who have been entered for the higher paper, yet struggle with the practice questions. When they switch to try out a foundation paper, it is amazing the difference. It becomes clear that they do have the subject knowledge, they are just better at answering the type of questions in the foundation paper. As a result, they do much better and their confidence level goes up.
If you notice your child is struggling with higher level practice questions and they do not have any plans to do science at further education, consider getting them to try some past foundation paper questions. It is likely that revision will be much easier and less stressful for them. Furthermore, they would escape the hassle of doing a retake which they may have done had they sat the higher paper. Find out more about the difference between the foundation and higher paper here.
Final Thoughts
A number of studies have shown that a lack of confidence at school, is linked with poor grades. Girls tend to be especially lacking in confidence when it comes to maths and science. Watch out for the common signs of low self-confidence in your child and use one of the tips mentioned to help them.
[1] https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/academic-self-belief-helps-to-raise-pupils-gcse-grades-new-study-finds/. (n.d.)
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/05/girls-lack-self-confidencemaths-science-oecd-school-engineering.
[3] https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2018/jan/04/research-every-teacher-should-know-growth-mindset
