“They’re Going Above and Beyond”: Teacher Perspectives on Working With Perfectionistic Students (66219)
Session Chair: Samantha Thompson
Friday, January 6, 2023 (17:05)
Session: Session 5
Room: 323A
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
While progress is being made in understanding how teachers may impact the development of perfectionism among adolescents, we still do not understand how teachers perceive perfectionism among their students. The current research examined teachers’ beliefs about how perfectionism manifests in their students and the strategies teachers implement when working with perfectionistic students. Participants were 197 teachers (83% women, 17% men; 66% elementary teachers, 34% high school teachers; teaching experience range 2 –48 years; 52% self-identified as a perfectionist) who completed surveys that included both quantitative and open-response questions. Results indicated that, on average, teachers reported approximately 21 – 30% of their students were perfectionistic. When considering the perceived advantages and disadvantages of perfectionism for students, teachers perceived perfectionism as advantageous overall. However, this appeared to be fueled by its perceived benefits with respect to academic achievement, as teachers expressed that student perfectionism was disadvantageous with respect to mental and physical health, stress, and relationships. These results suggest that teachers are putting more weight on academic achievement rather than health, stress, and relational functioning when assessing the adaptiveness of perfectionism for students. In analyzing strategies for working with perfectionistic students, reflective thematic coding identified the following themes in an open-response question: growth mindset, promoting self-care, providing positive feedback, communication, managing expectations, focusing on process, helping students prioritize, structure and time management, and confronting perfectionism. Overall, results provide insights into teacher experiences of student perfectionism. Implications of the current findings for teachers and students will be discussed, including potential supports and resources.
Authors:
Danielle Molnar, Brock University, Canada
Dawn Zinga, Brock University, Canada
Natalie Tacuri, McGill University, Canada
Melissa Blackburn, Brock University, Canada
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Danielle Molnar is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Brock University in Canada
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