THE UNDERACHIEVING CHILD
INTRODUCTION
All children are natural learners and begin life with a drive to acquire knowledge, understand it and make use of it according to their abilities. Children do not begin school with the intention of seeking failure or frustrating their teachers.
It is important to understand that academic under-achievers are not necessarily unmotivated in every respect. These youngsters may be highly motivated in certain areas of their lives (but not necessarily in areas that are important to their parents or teachers. For example, many academic under-achievers are highly motivated socially. Some under-achieving students are highly motivated as attention-seekers.
Definition of Underachievement
There is perhaps no situation more frustrating for parents or teachers than living or working with children who do not perform as well academically as their potential indicates they can. These children are labeled as underachievers, yet few people agree on exactly what this term means. At what point does underachievement end and achievement begin? Is a student who is failing mathematics while doing superior work in reading an underachiever? Does underachievement occur suddenly, or is it better defined as a series of poor performances over an extended time period? Certainly, the phenomenon of underachievement is as complex and multifaceted.
Early researchers have defined underachievement in terms of a discrepancy between a child's school performance and some ability index such as an IQ score. These definitions, although seemingly clear and succinct, provide little insight to parents and teachers who wish to address this problem with individual students. A better way to define underachievement is to consider the various components.
The personal characteristics of underachievers are listed below:
Self-Perception
- Low perception of abilities
- Poor self-concept and low self-esteem
- Self-critical
- Fear of failure, fear of success
- Anxious, nervous (especially over performance)
Goal Orientation
- Unrealistic standards; perfectionist
- Lack of or low educational and occupational aspirations
- Lack of persistence
- Impulsive reaction to challenges
Peer Relations
- Lack of friends, lonely, alienated, withdrawn
- Immature or ineffectual social skills, not liked by peers
- Feel rejected
Authority Relationships
- Overtly aggressive, hostile
- Discipline problems, delinquency
- Rebelliousness, independence-striving
- Lack of self-control, manipulative
- Irresponsible, unreliable
- Passive-aggressive
Locus of Control
- External control, blame others for problems
- Hypercritical of others, negativistic
Emotional Expression
- Flat affect, apathy
- Emotionally explosive, poorly controlled emotions
ENGAGE PROFESSIONAL HELP
For many parents, the choice to seek help from a counselor, psychologist or other professional's depends on their tolerance level. Sometimes they act at the first signs of a problem, but often they wait until the problem corrodes daily family life. Making the decision anywhere along that spectrum is a difficult and personal one.
Before choosing this option, observe your child for a while, then attempt intervention. This conservative approach is recommended to avoid overreaction by the family. A small number of underachievers quickly demonstrate that they are amenable to change. It is helpful, though, to have the child evaluated by a psychologist if underachievement symptoms persist. The student's intellectual potential, achievement level, emotional maturity and the possible presence of learning disabilities should be determined so as to eliminate these factors as causes. The psychologist can then diagnose the problem and guide the parents in evaluating their observations. This allows for establishment of reasonable parental expectations and to see if, indeed, the child is underachieving.
Remember, to be identified as an underachiever, the child should have at least a several months pattern of underachievement. The underachievement generally surfaces both in academic areas, as well as in other, nonacademic responsibilities.With few exceptions, up to the age of eight, parents should restrict their actions to observing and co limited parental interventions. Until about age eight, wide variations in development occur that can be considered normal. Pushing the child too hard at this time can be counterproductive. Every so often, parents will come to the Center with a very young child. They complain that their five-year-old would rather play with Legos than use flash cards to learn a third language. Their expectations are out of whack. I offer to treat the parents, insteadof the child.
After age eight, if patterns of underachievement continue, other response options should be seriously considered. Allowing the underachievement to progress, generally means the unwanted patterns will become more firmly ingrained and, therefore, more difficult to change. The greatest risks lie with letting children fail and ignoring their problems. The belief that if only these two approaches are used the children will change is doubtful and very limiting. When positive action is called for, parents must be ready to assume the responsibility for taking it to correct the problem of underachieving children.