Analyzing the Concept of Success and Its Impact on Students and Children
1. What is Success?
Whether we’re talking about students or adults, the concept of success isn’t entirely straightforward. In fact, if we define success simply as high academic or professional achievement, it leaves out an important aspect of the concept and, in fact, a measurably important predictor of and contributor to achievement. That is, education and employment milestones aren’t a complete measure of success in a well-rounded and fulfilling life. When we limit the criteria for success to those people who achieve impressive grades in school, graduate from the best high schools and colleges, obtain the highest paying positions in the workforce, or patent the most inventions, we relegate many others to “also ran” status. This reductionist approach to measuring success arrives at a picture of a monochromatic success landscape; one in which success doesn’t vary within the “successful” group whereas we know that, even among those who receive the highest grades in school, qualities are diverse.
Frequently, our narrow focus on visible accomplishments comes at the expense of those characteristics that aren’t as visible; qualities that may be fundamental to the inner satisfaction and mental health of many individuals. Among these are prosocial behaviors in the form of generosity, kindness, and altruism that research has shown to be important ingredients of life satisfaction, and that have been called out by a Consensus Report from the Aspen Institute. Galvin B. of the University of Bristol has highlighted another shortcoming of our usual approach for defining and measuring success – it doesn’t always align with a range of other goals. Some of the other questions include things like family, upbringing, thoughtful citizenship, entrepreneurship, volunteer work, unpaid creative work, and informal mentoring. We have good evidence that guidance counselors, college coaches, and students at the high school level give substantial weight to career and employment status and salary. But it isn’t easy to measure some of the other aspects of a vibrant life. Since it isn’t as straightforward to measure these “soft” or intangible qualities and milestones, we don’t create reporting categories, and we don’t solve for them. Consequently, these aspirational goals receive insufficient attention compared to things we can count.
2. Factors Influencing Success in Students and Children
The concept of success is based on achievements individuals or groups have made in both traditional and non-traditional areas, such as at school, work, in relationships, and as part of a family. It is not specific to any stage of development or activity. It is also complex and multi-directional, which makes its operationalization equally difficult. Throughout time, different factors have been seen to play a determining role in this achievement, both those of a purely psychological nature – mainly motivations, aspirations, expectations, and self-concept – and those inherent in the context where they occur – mainly educational resources and stimulation. They are, therefore, factors that have mostly been attributed to the individual or at a micro level. Nevertheless, the student and the family, as individuals, interact with the context in which the educational experience takes place. Thus, it is important that these contexts provide resources and stimulation to foster the development of these factors in the students, and that there be coordination and coherence between them so the results can be mutually reinforcing.
The complex nature of success has led different studies to analyze the concept from different perspectives. It has been approached mostly from a cognitive or psychosocial perspective. With the first, attempts have been made to identify factors such as intelligence, personality, motivation, or learning. With the second, the most traditional way has been examining social origin, gender, or academic background. The study carried out by the OECD in different countries with students from 14 to 16 is an example of this. The models of analysis that gain these results are many and varied. Some stress personal characteristics of the individual, such as intelligence, creativity, or motivation. For others, the context in which they are situated, such as schools, family, or the very structure of the country, thus, sometimes of a more social or economic nature, has a more decisive influence.
3. The Role of Motivation and Resilience in Achieving Success
Motivation is defined as “a direction and intensity of persistent effort in respect to a goal” in the study of Leta B. The concept of motivation has been notably related to studying in a positive manner. According to various studies, motivation is considered to be a major dimension of success in subject area courses and is directly related to learning strategies that support learning. The existence of factors such as the needs and interests of young individuals, the role of learning experiences, and self-regulatory strategies could be cited as factors associated with motivation and success in the education system. For example, Barbara R. Schumann points out that teachers should be sensitive to learners’ biases as well as providing realistic objectives for learning, thereby creating the control that develops motivation and intrinsic interest in learners everywhere.
In terms of resilience, results of past research indicate significant positive correlations between personality traits as well as “success in education, career, and life” and resilience. Resilience is mostly defined as the ability to effectively manage stress, as well as the ability to “prevail over adversity, recover, and stand out” in addition to the standard or routine. Because resilience plays an active role in terms of perceiving stress, facing life crises, overwhelm, and developing the necessary traits to get back on track to meet emotional needs, it can enhance students’ success. That being said, there is a direct correlation between the psychological sense of students, being well-intentioned, and possessing the ability to stand out even in challenging circumstances with their resilience.
4. Impact of Success on Students’ and Children’s Development
Engaging in activities from which people around us derive a sense of competence and independence is at the heart of growth and learning. For children and students, success can be reached through a continuous and varied set of events that provide opportunities to develop and demonstrate competence. Gradually, success and the willingness to demonstrate skill growth and development can be expanded to become a personally significant goal that doesn’t harm relationships between people and still reinforces a sense of competence, especially the internalizations of failure important from achieving success in its fullest sense. By fostering intrinsic motivation to the activities that lead to our reaching established goals for success, there is a greater likelihood that we can meet our needs through hard work and effort – reaching success and developing the self-efficacy outcome expectancies that either predict risk of or resilience to a variety of maladaptive outcomes.
As Rieber noted, even when students are given the chance to experience developed competencies, the great expenditure of energy and effort in an attempt to reach accomplishments desired by others can become deadly. It is likely that those of us who have endured years of failure, who realize that endurance of highly difficult and potentially hurtful challenges is a necessary but in and of itself insufficient factor to ensure the realization of goals, would be the strongest advocates against activities that require effort without hope of reward. Being originally framed in a transactional theory known for its stress research applications, it is somewhat surprising that pleasure has been mostly stripped from the treatment of success. To be successful at learning/instruction is to develop the necessary knowledge capital to be successful at what one loves or enjoys. This occurs with the joint responsibilities of students, parents, and teachers participating as the agent of broad social expectations and guidelines.
5. Conclusion and Key Takeaways
5.1 Why is success important for students? Success or failure can vary from situation to situation, from person to person. Let’s say that a person wants to become an excellent doctor and is in the hospital where his daughter is born. While an experienced team works with his wife and newborn baby, he prays for them to get well; then, he prays for his daughter to be born healthy. In this situation, society needs every member to be successful; probably, not many people think “I am successful! I’ve just become a mom or dad!” In the development of society, success gains high importance. However, in everyday education, what kinds of opinions are there about success? Are all those opinions correct?
5.2 How can children achieve success? Some people believe that the educational training of children should be strictly organized, while others have smaller concerns about the contents of education. Nevertheless, opinions that guarantee success not only in one or more educational periods or institutions but everywhere are rare. Of course, everyone is aware of the fact that the English language has gained a leading role in the concept of success. People must attend English courses, it must be enabled to send children to English high schools, and it has gained importance to teach English for preschools. English, which is called a language of opportunity, has been regarded as a functional and successful power in the sense of personal and societal needs. Success has been thought to be achievable through the English language and education that guarantees the advanced use of this language. That language becomes a spoken language for children. It has become a rule that only children who have adequate skills in the English language in a globalizing world can use opportunities. Such an idea has made serious effects along educational life.
5. Conclusion and Key Takeaways
The word success is a very subjective term. For this reason, the meaning of success is individually related to distinct people, based on their critical thinking, thoughtfulness, devotion, and standing in life. The levels of progress, growth, and improvement that any person utters the expression of the accomplished person. The prosperous children most often mention its happy marriage, the resultant family. Conversations in the operating business sphere indicate to appear captivating and prosperous, active, semi-transparent, disciplined, and daring people.
The prosperous person contrasts with the frustrated and psychologically futile person who avoids proposals and extensive efforts, does not have practical projects in progress, and which uses conversations with negative expressions like “failure” and “demise”, says no without solid arguments, lacks creativity and dispositional value, and never smiles. Their adequate suggestion is that if people desire to accomplish success, everyone should enhance proficient and attitudinal perceptions promptly on the personal and specialized level. Recognize manageable goals, accept themselves, rely more and track a strategy, and most significantly, emphasize strong associations with continuous contact with persons informed, prepared, and capable of guiding them to decisions, partnerships, and exceptional business and academic conclusions.
