I came across this today in the Assessment Manifesto and thought it tied into the perfectionism issue.
http://www.assessmentinst.com/forms/AssessManifesto-08.pdf The psychological underpinnings of student motivation
and learning success are directly relevant here. Our
aspiration is to give each student a strong sense of
control over her or his own academic well-being. Albert
Bandura (1994) refers to this sense as �self-efficacy.� In
the paragraphs that follow, he describes this continuum
as a psychological construct. However, if the reader will
think of this continuum in terms of the student�s sense of
control over learning success (academic self-efficacy, if you
will), it will become clear that the consistent application of
principles of assessment for learning can move students
boldly toward the productive end:
A strong sense of efficacy enhances human
accomplishment and personal well-being in
many ways. People with high assurance in their
capabilities approach difficult tasks as challenges
to be mastered rather than as threats to be
avoided. Such an efficacious outlook fosters
intrinsic interest and deep engrossment in
activities. They set themselves challenging goals
and maintain strong commitment to them. They
heighten and sustain their efforts in the face of
failure. They quickly recover their sense of efficacy
after failures or setbacks. They attribute failure to
insufficient effort or deficient knowledge and skills
which are acquirable. They approach threatening
situations with assurance that they can exercise
control over them. Such an efficacious outlook
produces personal accomplishments, reduces
stress and lowers vulnerability�
In contrast, people who doubt their capabilities
shy away from difficult tasks which they view as
personal threats. They have low aspirations and
weak commitment to the goals they choose to
pursue. When faced with difficult tasks, they dwell
on their personal deficiencies, on the obstacles
they will encounter, and all kinds of adverse
outcomes rather than concentrate on how to
perform successfully. They slacken their efforts
and give up quickly in the face of difficulties.
They are slow to recover their sense of efficacy
following failure or setbacks. Because they view
insufficient performance as deficient aptitude it
does not require much failure for them to lose
faith in their capabilities. (p. 71)
