A common feature in
many educational systems is the use of high-stakes school leaving exams at the
end of secondary education. The results of these exams can, and do, influence
opportunities to access post-compulsory education and training, and
opportunities to enter and progress in the labour market. The United Kingdom is
no exception: GCSEs are taken at the end of Year 11 in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Students in Scotland take National exams at the same age (S4
in the Scottish system).
One of the areas that
I have been researching concerns the language used by teachers in the run up to
these important exams. The overwhelming
majority of teachers that I have worked with, both as a former teacher myself
and now as an educational researcher, care deeply about the results and future
of their students. Teachers are also being increasingly subjected to performativity
regimes whereby their performance and pay are judged through the results of
their students. These factors combine to place teachers under considerable
pressure.
In this environment,
what do teachers say to students about their forthcoming exams? In one study,
my colleague Christine Roberts and I, surveyed the attitudes of 232 secondary
school teachers in England (Putwain & Roberts, 2012). We found that many
teachers emphasised the importance of GCSEs for one’s future and how failure
could have damaging consequences. 81.6% of respondents indicated that they
either agreed or strongly agreed that students should be reminded that they
would fail if they did not complete coursework and revision. Teachers also used
many forms of encouragement. 96.2% either agreed or strongly agreed that
students should be reminded about the benefits of hard work. It would seem that
teachers are using varying combinations of ‘carrot’ and ‘stick’.
Some of our studies
have focused on how students interpret and respond to the ‘stick’ type of
messages. We call these consequence reminders. Not surprisingly, students do
not interpret consequences reminders in the same way. In one study, Wendy Symes
and I provided students with hypothetical scenarios and asked students how they
would respond (Putwain & Symes, 2014). If students attach little importance
to forthcoming exams they tend to disregard consequence reminders. Perhaps they
see no chance of passing, or want to follow a path after school that does not
depend on results of exams. If students do value exam results, either as a
means to an end or as an end in themselves, they do pay attention to
consequence reminders. When exam results are valued and students expect to pass
they see consequence reminders in a positive way, as motivating. However, when exam
results are valued and students don’t expect to pass they see consequence
reminders in a negative way, as a trigger for worry and anxiety.
In other studies,
rather than asking students to respond to hypothetical situations we have asked
them to report on how often their teachers use consequence reminders in the run
up to important exams and how these consequence reminders are interpreted. In two
studies focusing on maths GCSE we have found that consequence reminders predict
negative educational outcomes when they are interpreted in a negative way as
threatening. For instance, Wendy and I have shown that the negative
interpretation of consequence reminders predicts a lower GCSE maths grade
(Putwain & Symes, 2011). This was partly due to an increase in exam anxiety
and a fear of failure. My colleague Richard Remedios and I have also shown that
the negative interpretation of consequence predicts greater levels of exam
anxiety and a lower GCSE maths grade (Putwain & Remedios, 2014). In this
study it was partly due to a lower enjoyment, lower interest and lower
motivation.
Our conclusion from
these studies is that consequence reminders can have detrimental impacts on
students when they interpreted negatively. It is students who value their exam
grades but don’t expect to pass who tend to interpreted these messages
negatively.
However, the picture
is not all negative. We have also looked at another common message used by
teachers. That is to regularly remind students about deadlines, when exams are
scheduled and how long (or little) preparation time if left. We call these exam
reminders. Richard, Wendy and I have shown that exam reminders tend to be
interpreted positively, as a motivator (Putwain, Remedios & Symes, 2014).
Importantly, Wendy and I have also shown that exam reminders can lead to higher
maths GCSE grades by increasing motivation (Putwain & Symes, 2014). Our
conclusion is that exam reminders can be an effective tactic.
Our research is
ongoing. At the present time, I am working with colleagues to examine the
impact of exam and consequence reminders, and their interpretation, on student
engagement in maths. Wendy has also just finished a study examining how
students’ capacity to deal with exam pressure can influence how messages are
interpreted. Richard is starting a study soon to examine parental messages and
their impact. We would also like to conduct research to examine encouraging messages,
how they are interpreted and what effects they might have.
In summary, we would
encourage teachers to reflect on the following questions:
1.
What
do you tell your students in the run up to high-stakes examinations?
2.
How
do you think students interpret these messages; might some interpret them more
positively and negatively than others?
3.
Are
there certain individuals, or groups of students, that would benefit more from one
type of message than another?
References
Putwain, D.W., & Symes, W. (2011) Classroom fear appeals and
examination performance: facilitating or debilitating outcomes?
Learning and Individual Differences, 21(2), 227-232. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2010.11.022
Putwain, D.W. & Symes, W. (2014).
Subjective value and academic self-efficacy: The appraisal of fear appeals used
prior to a high-stakes test as threatening or challenging. Social Psychology of Education,
17(2),
229-248. doi: 10.1007/s11218-014-9249-7
Putwain, D.W., & Remedios, R. (2014). The scare
tactic: Messages which contain fear appeals prior to a high-stakes test predict
lower self-determined motivation and exam scores. School Psychology Quarterly. Advance online publication, doi: 10.1037/spq0000048
Putwain, D.W., Remedios, R., & Symes, W. (2014). The
appraisal of fear appeals as threatening or challenging: Frequency of use,
academic self-efficacy and subjective value. Educational Psychology: An International Journal of Experimental
Educational Psychology. Advance online publication, doi: 10.1080/01443410.2014.963028
Bio
Dave Putwain is a
Professor in Education at Edge Hill University and Chair of the Psychology of
Education Section of the British Psychological Society. He is interested in how
psychological factors influence, and in turn are influenced by, motivation,
engagement and attainment. If you are
interested in learning more about his research, or participating in this area
of research, please contact him: Putwaind@edgehill.ac.uk
