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Turning Around a Lack of Confidence
The Matthew Effect refers to the phenomenon where individuals with an initial advantage continue to gain advantages, while those who are disadvantaged fall further behind. In learning, confidence and self-esteem as fuel, so much of a child’s learning trajectory is explained by the Matthew Effect.
In early life, there are two aspects of advantage – natural learning skills and the environment a child is born into, which can determine schooling, support at home, and access to books.
However, by 2nd or 3rd grade, learning success and confidence go hand in hand. Youngsters who perform well in school find it enjoyable, while those who struggle academically see their confidence erode and often dislike school.
Psychologist Keith Stanovich was the first to use “the Matthew Effect” to illustrate the negative psychological effects a child experiences from struggling to acquire literacy. The term comes from scripture: “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath,” or, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.
Self-Perpetuating Cycle
Unfortunately, once students begin to fall behind, a self-perpetuating cycle can start. Failure erodes social-emotional skills, confidence and enthusiasm for the task and leads to less effort. A loss of confidence can become a fear of failure and an unwillingness to try new things. Failure can also cause humiliation, a lack of self-esteem, and avoidance behavior.
Indeed, children who fall behind often have diagnosed or undiagnosed learning delays that will make any comeback hard. However, the change in attitude and giving up also play a massive role.
That’s why parents must learn to recognize the signs of the downward side of the Matthew Effect and intervene to stop the cycle of failure and defeat that many elementary school children experience.
Signs of a Lack of Confidence
Although every child is different, there are some general signs of a lack of confidence, i.e., that your child is on the wrong side of the Matthew Effect, that all parents should be aware of. These include:
- Resists new things, no longer a learning risk-taker
- Anxiety over assignments, homework, tests
- Suddenly dislikes school
- A drop in grades or standardized test scores
- Avoidance behavior – reading out loud, doing homework
A lack of confidence can bleed over into a general lack of life confidence with these symptoms:
- Withdrawing from social interactions and activities, confidence and social skills are related
- A lack of self-esteem and self-worth
- Negative self-talk and negative thoughts
- Low motivation and a lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities
- Avoiding challenges and difficulties
- Difficulty coping with failure or mistakes
It’s important to note that these signs can manifest differently in different children and may not be present in every child experiencing a loss of confidence. These signs can also be caused by various factors, not just difficulty with your child’s day job, i.e., learning.
When Trajectories Slow
As processing delays and other impediments to learning emerge, the pleasure and satisfaction around reading and learning are eroded. These difficulties can undermine curiosity and the desire to learn.
And if you stop wanting to learn, you stop learning. You act out at school, and you shut down over homework.
Individuals who find learning easy become risk-takers in their learning. Setbacks are merely a bump in the road. They shrug off misses and try again. They look forward to new concepts, finding them interesting and even exciting.
The reverse is most often true for struggling learners. Learning setbacks are taken to heart, yet another defeat or worse, humiliation. And so, struggling learners frequently struggle to overcome failure or try again. And they avoid new things. They dread homework and reading because they expect it will end badly.
These defeats become another source of self-doubt that erodes self-esteem. They get down on themselves; they are fully aware they are disappointing their parents and their teachers. And many also recognize that they are falling behind their peers, which they interpret as making them inferior.
Over time, a confidence divide grows between the good learners and the struggling ones, as the Matthew Effect predicts.
What Can You Do to Help?
If you notice signs of a lack of confidence or a negative spiral and see it impacting your child’s learning readiness, academic success or emotional well-being, here are some ideas to turn the tide and get back on the right side of the Matthew Effect.
Consult with a mental health professional if you have concerns about your child’s mental well-being.
Retention?
Consider retention as a way to reset your child’s learning career. The logic is that assignments will be easier the second time around, and the confidence tank can be refilled.
However, the research on the effectiveness of retention is mixed. It is more beneficial for children who are just below grade level and have a high chance of catching up with their peers, rather than those who are significantly behind.
The main issue with retention is that it does not address the underlying reasons for a child’s poor academic performance. Even with retention, the same academic struggles continue because the root causes of their difficulties continue.
Developing Strengths
Finding strengths and working on those can be tremendously helpful. While confidence does tend to be task-specific, you are bolder and more of a risk taker in an activity you know you are good at. More on using strengths to build confidence here.
Another common avenue is tutoring. However, tutoring does not address the source of a lack of confidence and skill that is at the heart of a downward trend.
Learning Interventions
The only real way to get back on the rich-get-richer side of the Matthew Effect is to resolve the delays that are holding your child back.
Let’s face it. Your child knows things are not easy, and no amount of encouragement and happy talk can make up for a deep-seated learning gap.
So, the most effective response to declining confidence in reading or learning is a learning intervention: grade-level remediation (either at home or school, but ideally both!). that gets at the source of difficulty once and for all.
Fast ForWord software by Gemm Learning is one such program.
To find out if our solution can help your child and to have your questions answered, start with a free consultation with a Gemm Learning team member.
Learning Confidence – You Reap What You Sow
Investor Warren Buffett was asked about his key to success. His quick answer? Reading. He does this because he loves learning. For him, the Matthew Effect, which promises rewards to those who put in the work, is all-powerful.
He’s not the only one transformed by learning. Oprah Winfrey’s love of books prompted her to start an international book club. Billionaire Bill Gates reads around fifty books each year. A love of learning is their rocket fuel.
If you find learning invigorating, enjoyable, and rewarding, you will approach it with vigor and enthusiasm. And you will not be discouraged by the occasional blind spot or complex topic. Which, of course, leads to learning progress.
On the other hand, if you find learning challenging, frustrating, and even humiliating, your attitude will be less keen and less enthusiastic. This will most often lead to less effort, less willingness to take risks, and ultimately the self-fulfilling prophecy of a slower learning trajectory.
Finding The Source of Your Child’s Delays
Learning is natural; it’s what humans do. We are conditioned to love this process of learning. A learning difficulty most often erodes this natural inclination. So that should be your starting point. Check out these symptom checklists:
Getting on the Right Side of the Matthew Effect
How do you help your child be a confident learner, build learning resilience, and love learning?
Sustainable confidence can only come from within.
No amount of tutoring or adult cheerleading is going to persuade a child that they are a good learner, truly. They encounter difficulties all day, every day, reminding them they are not. And so, tutoring or workaround ideas should be your backup plan.
The only real chance of finding true learning confidence is a learning intervention. That should be your first action.
Once you understand your child’s delays, our recommendation is to resolve the impediments to learning with an intervention like Gemm Learning.
Gemm Learning provides neuroscience-based learning interventions. Our testimonial pages are full of stories of children who were able to get on to the right side of the Matthew Effect after spending 4-6 months on our service.
To find out if we can help, you could have your child complete a reading test, or you could request a free consultation.
