Students, stress and anxiety

[Jourdain11]

I work in a university and it's the middle of exam season. For most universities this is the first year returning to in-person exams, but actually not for the one I work in.

These last few weeks have been a constant flood of deferrals, issues in exams, requests to cancel their attempt and retake in August. Some are very well justified, others not so much. Unless there has genuinely been a breakout of gastroenteritis in student halls which has incapacitated every student for a full two weeks.

Since Covid, there seems to be an accepted get-out clause on everything. If you don't want to do it, you just don't! Yet I worry that it is not helping students in the long- or even short-term. They are backing up assessments and at some point they run out of road and it's even more stressful. And meanwhile, workloads are unmanageable.

What can be done about it? Do universities just need to be tougher? Everyone is worried about possible harm being caused, but I do worry that by trying to alleviate stress for the few, we're creating a ridiculously permissive situation for the many, which is not to their advantage.

Or, if so many students are genuinely so stressed and anxious that they cannot do a single exam - what needs to change?

it's all geared to going to Uni or apprenticeships for those who have practical skills. The children who aren't really skilled in either area still get driven towards Uni and then can't cope,

I agree. Schools and 6th form colleges want to look good so they can publish the destinations that the pupils went on to. They especially focus on Oxbridge and RG universities as being the gold standard.

I think schools should also fensure that 6th formers know full well that they will not get the hand holding at university that they do at school. If you are in a cohort of 300 for your course your lecturers won't know you from Adam. This was certainly true in DD's case.

The problem is that some people simply shouldn't be at uni. Perhaps it's too much for them emotionally or academically but in any case the unis should be able to say "look, we've tried to help you in so many ways - it's time to think whether uni is for you or not". But in this day and age, obviously no one will have the courage to say that.

Totally agree.

DD's university was pretty strict about extensions. DD applied for a PEC when she had covid in the middle of writing her final year dissertation, and it was refused. Her dissertation tutor even agreed that it wasn't fair.

@toddlermom99. I hope your baby is recovering well.

England is now ranked fourth in the world for childhood literacy, behind only Hong Kong, Singapore and Russia. We've never been ranked so high. I know teachers (and parents) dislike league tables, homework, constant testing, and so on, but it works.

We've also never seen such high levels of childhood anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and depression. We're also seeing these things occurring in younger children than before. I'm a secondary school DSL and whereas it used to be quite unusual for kids to present with diagnosable mental health issues until year 9 or 10 we've seen a big increase in kids coming to us from primary school already self harming, having panic attacks or eating issues. My best friend is a GP and is seeing 10 and 11 year olds with genuine clinical level anxiety triggered by the pressure of SATS or preparing for the 11+. Maybe constant testing "works" but at what cost?

Totally agree @Jourdain11

I've been teaching students all year some of whom seem incapable of turning up to seminars on time, incapable of speaking up in a seminar (although they'll chat to each other while I'm talking), incapable of handing work in on time, and incapable of following simple directions or finding out information when we signpost them to it.

I've cut them slack this year, as they have been COVID-affected for the last few years.

But I'm worried that this lack of discipline & resilience, and the constant "What do I have to do to get a First?" or "I need a powerpoint slide to tell me what I'm supposed to learn" or "I have anxiety" (anxious about what specifically??) will become the new normal.

And I teach a competitive subject at an RG university.

I really worry for some of these young people who will get a rude shock in the workplace. I would love to be tougher with them, but I can't stand the level of bitching, complaints, and impact on MY mental health (and my career) that this would have.

And my university has the referred/deferred (including the kids who didn't get their act together during term time, as well as those with genuine impediments to doing as well as they can) deadlines in the middle of August - so the only time I can take more than 2 or 3 days' leave in a row is interrupted by marking.

My son is in his first year and leaving. He has found it too stressful. He was the year that didn't do GCSEs. He's clever. I never thought he would struggle but he seems to have no confidence or resliance. Anxiety is very real and debilitating for him. He is coming home anyway. Enough is enough for him.

Mostly because students get stressed about an assignment, get an extension, hand in something that isn't meaningfully better than what they would have handed in on time, and then are behind for the next deadline.

Then maybe they're wasting their time being at University or do they intend going through the rest of their lives making excuses for their own inadequacies? Maybe they've left mummy's apron strings too soon.

We've also never seen such high levels of childhood anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders and depression. We're also seeing these things occurring in younger children than before.

If the posts on this site from parents who are in a constant state of 'anxiety' it's not surprising that these levels exist, it seems that 'anxiety' is highly contagious.

but SOME anxiety is a normal human emotion and, as someone said above, it’s not setting students up for real life.

I think this is very apposite @Airdustmoon - difficulty, pain, anxiety about the unknown, finding stuff hard to do - these are all NORMAL. A bit of stress can be good for people - stimulating and energising. We actually learn by tackling difficult things and working our way through them, and also we learn from failure.

Where I do have sympathy for my students is that they are now an over-examined and over-tested population. They start with SATS at age, what 6 or 7? and although SATS are supposed to test the efficacy of the school's teaching, we all know that SATS are proxies throughout a child's education for her ability.

There's little or no space to fail.

This focus on teaching also takes the focus on learning as a separate activity. I'm a good teacher - I offer my undergrads opportunities to work through complex material, and I offer several different ways to approach materials (for different ways that people learn best). But if the students do not do the work ... If they come to seminars having not read the required reading, if they are not prepared to contribute to discussions, if they do not spend 40 hours a week on their studies (many are shocked when I say this is what we assume - a full-time load!), if they do not even attend. Then I'm not a bad teacher - they're not taking up opportunities offered them to learn.

Couldn't agree more. It got to the stage that if I'm ever in a position to be a recruiting manager in my workplace, I'll make sure that the probationary period is as long as possible HR-wise. I'll want to make sure that any fresh uni leavers that could end up with us can withstand the pressure of a workplace.

Anxiety is very real and debilitating for him.

Anxiety about what, if you don't mind me asking @Minervia ?

I find it not particularly constructive if a student says they "have anxiety." The best way to deal with anxiety is to work out what it's about, and to break down the catastrophising into rational, doable steps.

There are things I'm anxious or scared about doing (even at my old age!) but I think it through. I try to work out what specific thing bothers me, and then try to plan around that.

Why aren't we teaching our DC this?

I will agree that university is not for everyone. However, I think we should be catching more people in their last couple of years of school to identify those students and educate them on different, equally valid career paths.

And I wish we had an education system where it was easier NOT to go at 18 to university if you & your parents & teachers recognise you're not ready, but to be able to re-enter formal education in your late 20s, or 30s - whenever you're ready to work hard and gain the extra education to get you further on in life. And that this was normal.

If I was Prime Minister (unlikely, I admit), my number one priority would be education (in all forms, from Primary school to post-grad to apprenticeships). No matter what the cost, I would make our schools the envy of the world. Education is key to everything: health, GDP, crime...all of them can be improved through education. The better educated a society is, the wealthier, healthier and more civilised it tends to be.

@JaneyGee for PM!!!!! I'd work for you.

but living through Covid deprived young people of many important experiences and I believe some of the effects of that are now being seen. It also taught that cohort that nothing is set in stone. If a whole set of national exams can be ditched overnight, and schools be closed for months, what's the big deal about an essay extension?

Thing is, we ALL lived through COVID. We all had to adjust & had our own challenges and struggles. I found myself thinking about my parents and grandparents living through WW2 - my father lost his father - my grandfather was a highly decorated war hero, but that is no compensation for losing your father at age 11. They all just got on with it, and adjusted and lived through it (or died).

But what I find now - and indeed in the middle of all the lockdowns - is the resentment by students about COVID and all the adjustments we made. They visited their fear & resentment at constraints on university staff - and they still do.

We were following the laws - although I had students who tried to demand (quite rudely) that we teach them in-person when it was actually illegal to do so. I think this is what sticks in my throat - that there is still a proportion of undergrads who won't take responsibility for just getting on with things. Not all students, by the way! My cohort last year were amazing.

We've all gone through something huge & challenging - it was nobody's fault, but some students still direct a weird kind of resentment, as if it's the university's fault!

even though it's frustrating to explain things like "you need to bring pen and paper so that when I write things on the board you can copy it down".

What were they doing all through secondary school, if they need spoon feeding to that degree?

Exams aren't just about regurgitating information crammed at the last minute and forgotten five minutes later. At A Level and degree level, in essay subjects at least, they're about reading and following instructions, constructing an argument, selecting relevant information to back up the argument, writing in an appropriate style, within a time limit, and producing a piece of writing that demonstrates that they have actually read the bloody question.

All useful skills to have.

There is a difference between being anxious, and having medically diagnosed anxiety. What you describe is being anxious. It isn't having a mental health condition that needs treatment.

This was the current third years when they were in second year. They'd finished school and started university online. Some of them genuinely thought it was reasonable to ask me to take photos of the board and post them online rather than taking the info down themselves.

I’m a mature student and I find it all very interesting compared to last time around. We have automatic 5 day grace periods for all written assignments, most people use them, and then they miss the lectures scheduled/next module launch because they are working on their assignments and then are behind, and it just adds to the stress.

I’m also amazed at the specific instructions we are given to pass and excel at assignments, it’s really clear and comprehensive. Nothing like my first degree. But I do wonder how helpful it is really.

I’m also amazed at the specific instructions we are given to pass and excel at assignments, it’s really clear and comprehensive.

That didn't happen at DD's university. In her first year just before the December exams, during a lecture someone asked wht they could expect in the exams. They were told that they were no longer in school and they had to learn and read around all the modules covered so far - STEM degree at an RG university (not top 10).

DD's degree was rigorous and not easy.

I'm a secondary teacher and we see the same. It is so difficult to deal with. For example, this week I did a form group session on 'anxiety' as part of our PSHE curriculum. Trying to tread the tightrope of 'you can come and talk to us if you are feeling anxious' but also 'some anxiety is normal and can be motivating'.

I had to cut my post short as my lift had arrived.

I wonder if admission tutors should stress more at subject talks at university open days that university is not school and there is no hand holding, and if students aren't motivated to work independently then maybe they should take a gap year or reconsider whether university is right for them at this stage?

@BusMumsHoliday I think the late penalty actually helps them learn a useful real world lesson - that done is good. In almost all cases in life, it's better to hand in something 85% there on time, than 100% best effort two days late.

1000% this. I keep telling my students to just get it done, but so many seem to have this fair of failure that completely paralyses them. Even my postdoc is like that, keeps missing deadlines because she "needs a bit more time to look into A or B". I've said so many times it doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to be done, but the message doesn't seem to sink in. It's the first time I have a postdoc/ or RA who is like that and I'm at a loss what to do.

I think part of the issue is that competitive courses select for perfectionists. It’s why so many on my course (myself included) are really suffering with exam related anxiety this year.
My post-exam nerves are usually awful but I’ve never had 2 months of crippling anxiety before exams like this before. The vet school literally selected for people like us so we’re all just whizzing each other up into a frenzy I think.

I wonder if admission tutors should stress more at subject talks at university open days that university is not school and there is no hand holding

You can tell applicants all you like, they just won't hear it if they don't want to. I used to teach at a research-led university in a discipline which has written and practical components. This was on all our information about assessment and course structure, and something we outlined in Admissions talks.

I remember several personal tutees coming to talk to me about the "shock" they experienced on having t write essays. They told me they weren't expecting this.

I think part of the issue is that competitive courses select for perfectionists. It’s why so many on my course (myself included) are really suffering with exam related anxiety this year.

Really? I think you are projecting your stress and uncertainty onto a degree and the people who teach it.

Teaching to and expecting high standards isn't asking for "perfect." It's asking for "good" or "very good." Which is not unreasonable.

The PP stating that these students are in for a rude awakening when they start work; the public and charitable sectors have the same nanny-ing attitude as HE.

I teach on the course with the highest entry requirements in our university. We don't require perfectionism, and would prefer a more balanced viewpoint from our students, but the kinds of teenagers that get those marks do tend to be perfectionists.