Examining Exams: School, Stress, and the Impact on Young Minds

South Africa · CPD points & talks · Psychologists

This year, I feel like I've relived exams. Witnessing the emotional toll of this time of year on children and teenagers has given me a window of insight into the pressures and expectations that exams can bring. Even where parents feel they adopt a liberal stance and avoid putting undue pressure on children, many children are aware of being evaluated and fear disappointing their parents or feeling disappointed in themselves when confronting a report card that does not live up to their expectations.

For some children whose living circumstances are filled with stress and uncertainty, reaching a clear and focused mindset which would enable them to absorb and retain information is near impossible. These are the children who find themselves achieving well below their academic potential, with stressors scrambling the mind and precluding the focused attention required.

In his writing about thinking, Wilfred Bion links the capacity to think and link ideas to the experience of emotional containment. A child who lacks a sense of containment and emotional security also often lacks the internal holding space in which ideas can land, be linked together and retained in a meaningful way.

For many teenagers, the mathematics exam looms large. I can imagine high school students across the country, staring at a convoluted maths problem while the invigilator crosses numbers off the blackboard to indicate the diminishing time available to complete the paper. This is the stuff of nightmares - literally, it is not uncommon to hear of adults who completed high school decades before, dreaming about feeling unprepared for their final maths examination. For those learners who really struggle to master this subject, the imagined relief of dropping the subject conflicts painfully with the threat of closed doors and lost career opportunities. Indeed, the maths monster dogs many a teenage mind.

Some influential modern psychologists, including Howard Gardner and Robert Sternberg, argue that the education system needs an overhaul. Gardner puts forward the idea of multiple intelligences, arguing that the school system tends to privilege linguistic and mathematical intelligence over other equally important kinds of intelligence. His theory invites reflection on whether our education system nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit, the creative mind, and the intrepid inclination. Sternberg suggests that we are in a self-perpetuating cycle of recycling the same kinds of assessments and entrance requirements which were relevant 50 years ago, and he doubts whether these correlate with the skills required to adapt to and thrive in the world.

The education system and its methods of assessment are issues which are important to think through and debate. What seems important for now is an awareness of the demands of exams and assessments on children, and a mindful attitude towards whether we can offer the emotional provision required for children to thrive emotionally and intellectually.

Calabash · South Africa
Calabash Articles · South Africa
Calabash Partners · South Africa
Calabash Contributors · South Africa
Calabash Speakers · South Africa
Calabash Talks · South Africa
Calabash Sign up · South Africa
Calabash Sign in · South Africa
Children, Teens & Families CPD talks · South Africa
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy CPD talks · South Africa
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CPD talks · South Africa
Article · Working with Impilo: The Experience of Assessing Parents for Adoption · South Africa
Article · Medication for Anxiety · South Africa
Article · Cleaning during COVID-19 Pandemic · South Africa
Fairy Tales CPD talks · South Africa
Cerebral Palsy CPD talks · South Africa
Supervision CPD talks · South Africa
Talk · Sensory & Emotional Regulation 3: Sleep & arousal · South Africa
Talk · The Developmental Hierarchy of School Readiness · South Africa
Talk · Family Constellations Therapy: Core concepts & practice · South Africa
Terms of Use · South Africa
About Contributors · South Africa
Uploading a Talk · South Africa
Calabash · Australia
Calabash Articles · Australia
Calabash Partners · Australia
Calabash Contributors · Australia
Calabash Speakers · Australia
Calabash Talks · Australia
Calabash Sign up · Australia
Calabash Sign in · Australia
Imago Relationship Therapy CPD talks · Australia
Therapy Modalities CPD talks · Australia
Mood Disorders CPD talks · Australia
Article · Going Deeper Than Diets: Rethinking Relationships with Food and Weight · Australia
Article · Tips to ensure neuroplastic changes in therapy · Australia
Article · Sleep changes through the lifespan · Australia
Depression CPD talks · Australia
CPD talks · Australia
Vision CPD talks · Australia
Talk · Language Discordance and the Associated Ethical Dilemmas · Australia
Talk · Let's Talk about Gender and Sexuality · Australia
Talk · New ways of Approaching Borderline Personality Disorder: Insights on Trauma & Addiction · Australia
About Contributors · Australia
How It Works · Australia
Uploading an Article · Australia
Calabash · New Zealand
Calabash Articles · New Zealand
Calabash Partners · New Zealand
Calabash Contributors · New Zealand
Calabash Speakers · New Zealand
Calabash Talks · New Zealand
Calabash Sign up · New Zealand
Calabash Sign in · New Zealand
Mood Disorders CPD talks · New Zealand
Australian Counselling Association CPD talks · New Zealand
Neurodiversity CPD talks · New Zealand
Article · The Recovery Bus: A warning about addiction · New Zealand
Article · DBT and CBT: Demystifying Differences · New Zealand
Article · Schema Therapy · New Zealand
Confidence CPD talks · New Zealand
Technology CPD talks · New Zealand
Blank CPD talks · New Zealand
Talk · Emotionally dysregulated clients: Supporting Families - 4. Walking the middle path · New Zealand
Talk · Criminal Minds: Understanding criminal behaviour · New Zealand
Talk · Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: Mindfulness - the "what & how" skills · New Zealand
About Contributors · New Zealand
About Calabash · New Zealand
Uploading a Talk · New Zealand
Calabash · United Kingdom
Calabash Articles · United Kingdom
Calabash Partners · United Kingdom
Calabash Contributors · United Kingdom
Calabash Speakers · United Kingdom
Calabash Talks · United Kingdom
Calabash Sign up · United Kingdom
Calabash Sign in · United Kingdom
Personality CPD talks · United Kingdom
Imago Relationship Therapy CPD talks · United Kingdom
Australian Counselling Association CPD talks · United Kingdom
Article · Reflections on CPD · United Kingdom
Article · Tips for student supervision · United Kingdom
Article · Literature & Mental Health · United Kingdom
CPD talks · United Kingdom
CPD talks · United Kingdom
Dizziness CPD talks · United Kingdom
Talk · Family Constellations Therapy: Core concepts & practice · United Kingdom
Talk · Use of low-tech tools and devices in Hand Therapy : The hand and fingers · United Kingdom
Talk · Neuropsychological Assessment · United Kingdom
About Calabash · United Kingdom
Privacy Policy · United Kingdom
Uploading an Article · United Kingdom
Calabash · United States
Calabash Articles · United States
Calabash Partners · United States
Calabash Contributors · United States
Calabash Speakers · United States
Calabash Talks · United States
Calabash Sign up · United States
Calabash Sign in · United States
Psychodynamic Therapy CPD talks · United States
Clinical Issues CPD talks · United States
Personality CPD talks · United States
Article · How my therapist missed my diagnosis: a patient’s experience of PND · United States
Article · Loss and Gain during COVID-19 · United States
Article · Why Would a Baby Need a Psychiatrist · United States
Confidence CPD talks · United States
Fathers CPD talks · United States
Neurodiversity CPD talks · United States
Talk · Emotionally dysregulated clients: Supporting families - 1. The distress cycle · United States
Talk · Supporting People through Grief, Loss & Bereavement · United States
Talk · A Brief Introduction to the Enneagram · United States
How It Works · United States
About Partners · United States
Uploading an Article · United States
Calabash · Canada
Calabash Articles · Canada
Calabash Partners · Canada
Calabash Contributors · Canada
Calabash Speakers · Canada
Calabash Talks · Canada
Calabash Sign up · Canada
Calabash Sign in · Canada
Mood Disorders CPD talks · Canada
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy CPD talks · Canada
Personality CPD talks · Canada
Article · Confidentiality and Consent when working with Adolescents · Canada
Article · Medications for ADHD · Canada
Article · SAPC Dialogues: Challenges and Innovations · Canada
Psychotherapy CPD talks · Canada
Canada CPD talks · Canada
BPPV CPD talks · Canada
Talk · Functional Neuroanatomy · Canada
Talk · Addressing Structural Racism · Canada
Talk · Neuropsychological Syndromes · Canada
Privacy Policy · Canada
About Contributors · Canada
About Partners · Canada
Psychologist in Sydney