To ensure a successful journey, an education expert says setting goals and constantly measuring a student's progress against them are the most valuable tools.
Failure to achieve these objectives, however, could result in detrimental effects for the individual. But goals can be thought of as the targets of your ambition that focus attention on goal-relevant activities and effort, and inspire the creation of task-relevant goal-attainment techniques.
It is not enough to have vague ideas about what success will look like down the road since journeys vary for everyone. Because failure often leads to significant stress, which in turn, results in damaging consequences, it is important to understand that this is an issue that deserves more attention.
Instead, parents, students, teachers, and schools must have a coherent goal/measurement strategy in place from early in a child’s school career, says Desiree Hugo, Academic Head at ADvTECH’s Schools Division.
As adolescents' mental health issues are on the rise, Unicef estimates that over 13% of adolescents aged 10-19 suffer from a mental disorder.
“Setting goals is an important part of a student’s educational journey. It helps them stay focused, motivated, and on track to achieving their academic and personal aspirations.”
In addition to assisting students, or anyone for that matter, in managing their priorities and boosting their confidence, defining goals enables them to successfully manage their time and prioritise work, allowing them to concentrate on what matters and avoid getting distracted.
Hugo adds: “When students have a clear goal in mind, they are more likely to stay focused and motivated. It gives them something to work towards, along with a sense of accomplishment and positive momentum once a goal is achieved.”
Having a clear target in mind makes it easier to make decisions that will help you reach your goals, whether they involve trying to get into the university of your dreams or maintaining good grades to play on a school team. At the end of the day, you stay winning.
Setting and monitoring objectives for children is crucial since it will assist them to manage every stage of their lives as well as their academic achievement, said Hugo.
She continues by saying that while the student takes ownership of their academic map, schools and parents play an important role in helping them navigate goal setting in the following ways:
Guiding how to set goals that are realistic and achievable and helping students create action plans.
Providing the resources required on the way to achieving those goals, including additional support where required.
Regularly scheduled check-ins, where goals are monitored, discussed and updated if necessary so that students remain accountable and empowered.
Creating a supportive environment that encourages growth and collaboration.
To ensure that a kid graduates from school with a competitive advantage in today's highly competitive. Goal-setting should become a habit for students early on in their academic careers; she advises starting with smaller objectives before moving on to more significant ones.
“This helps students focus and maintain their direction, and provides intrinsic motivation as they strive to get to the next step, and then the next one and the next one in pursuit of their dreams.”