Impact of Failure in Exam on the Performance of Student

The situation of the students gets so miserable who even can’t pass their exams. Their self-esteem is so affected that in some cases, it is observed that student commits the suicide. According to report, in India, approximate 476 students in a year die just because of depression after getting failed in the exams. Hence, their level of self-esteem can be found so level that they have to take this stupid step. There are many factors which are responsible for this situation. First of all, comes the role of family members. Now, the time has come when family members, especially, parents should be aware enough that there should be no much burden of education on their children. If they realize that their children are losing confidence towards their studies then they should counsel them properly so as to bring their self-confidence back. It is reported that some parents are so strict to their children that they force their children to choose the education stream according to their wish. Children are not taken into any kind of confidence while taking decision on future career field. Hence, student has to adjust with the situation and if he/she fails to deal with the circumstances then it affects the education and consequently, a failure in exam is observed which totally shatters their self-esteem. A student needs to be mentally tough to compete with others. He needs to groom himself so as to be better and better in every field of life. He has to consider the life as a challenge and has to deal with all even or odd circumstances. Failure in exam affects the performance of the students. The situation can be compared with the situation a person is illegally detained so badly for months and then released to work. He will not be able to concentrate in any field of life due to lack of self-esteem and confidence. The same situation arises in case of students getting failed in exams. Their self-esteem and confidence level is so lower that they treat themselves as they have done something wrong. Hence, the current research work highlights the impact of failure in exam on the self-esteem and performance of the students.

The current study is done to analyze the impact of failure of exam on self-esteem and performance of the students.

1. The study was delimited to analyze the impact of failure of exam on self-esteem and performance of the students. 2. The study was also de-limited to few cities of India.

on the responses to the questionnaire therefore, ascertaining the genuineness of the responses was identified as the limitation of the study.

On the basis of research finding, literature reviews, expert opinion and scholar's own understanding of the problem, it was hypothesized that the level of self-esteem and performance of student decreases after failure in exam.

Self-esteem is defined as the complication of feelings that guide behavior, influences attitudes, and drives motivation.

The objectives of the current research work are as follows: 1. To study the impact of failure of exam on self-esteem and performance of the students. 2. To study the factors influencing the performance of the students. 3. To study the drawbacks of education system.

Argyropoulos et al. (2010)1 described that a failure in exam can be harmful for a student. Some students take it so seriously that they consider that everything is finished after this failure. They get so stressed that in some cases, they chose to commit the suicide. neighbors, friends and relatives etc need to support him/her so as to give courage and proceed in life. Bernal et al. (2010)3 described that it is observed that some students build a lot of expectations regarding exams from themselves and after the results are out, if their expectations are not fulfilled and they get low marks than expected, they go under stress. Bourdieu et al. (2014)4 described that the role of parents is very critical in a student’s life. He highlighted that in many cases, parents put a lot of pressure on their children to perform well in the exams and when the student fail to do that then it also affects student’s self-esteem and further performance in life. Passeron et al. (2006)5 described that our education system is somewhat is responsible for poor performance of some students as it is observed that some of the students having excellent practical knowledge about the subject has to struggle a lot to get a good job because of lower marks in theory subjects. Therefore, students give more attentions to the theoretical part of the subjects and if they fail in this then get depressed. Brassett et al. (2012)6 described that performance of a student can be affected after getting a failure in exams. Counseling can be a good option for these kinds of students as they need to be encouraged in that kind of situation of life. Coleman et al. (2011)7 described that teacher-parent expectations, peer interaction and structure of the education system play a vital role for mental stress of a student after getting failed in exams. Mehta et al. (2011)8 described that the role of family members can’t be ignored as they are the primary source for a student in providing positivity if any decrease in self-esteem is observed in the children. Creemers et al. (2012)9 described that maturity level of student is also a big factor which evaluates how the student reacts on getting failure in exam. If he/she is so mature enough then compromise with the situation can be observed and wait for the second opportunity. Dilworth et al. (2011)10 described that not only for the students but every individual, self-esteem plays a critical role in their lives. If it is shattered due to any mis-happening then it is quite a difficult task to perform well in life. Katsikas et al. (2010)11 described that if the environment in the family is supportive with stable emotional atmosphere then it undoubtly enhances the performance of the student.

right guidance about the future prospective. Abramson et al. (2010)13 described that a teacher needs to point out the average students of the class and should provide more attention to them so that they can compete with the good ones. J. W. et al. (2013)14 described that some schools organize teacher training programs to handle the difficulty of the students related to education. Sinha et al. (2013)15 highlighted the importance of self-esteem in a student’s life. He described that students with high self-esteem perform well in life and those with low self-esteem don’t succeed so much. Washington et al. (2012)16 described that the factor of self-esteem affects the performance of the students. Students with high self-esteem have a goal in their mind and their performance stays at higher node. Agarwal et al. (2010)17 described that parents should not give a lot of stress to students regarding their results. They should treat it normally in spite of giving much attention to it.

To meet the specific objectives are the main methodological issues of the present study. The methodology adopted for the study is as follows:

The secondary data was collected from various journals, books and policy documents of the government. Primary data was collected from the respondents belonging to the education sector. Stratified random sample technique has been followed to identify the respondents. A Structured Questionnaire was designed, tested and administered for collection of data. things, but one of them is academic achievement, and more specifically, reading ability. Students with low selfesteem deal with anxiety and pessimism related to academics. Low self-esteem may prevent students from tackling difficult situations or feel satisfaction from their progress and success. School situations are where students build much of their self-esteem. This is because so much time is spent with their peers and those relationships have an increasingly strong effect in teens. Positive school climates where students feel connected with their peers helps lead to self-confident students. Reading ability is so important in a student’s life that having a low reading ability can lead to low self-esteem. Students with low self-esteem are not always diligent enough to overcome challenges when reading and may lack the proper strategies. These two issues contribute to the cycle of low reading skills, and students can begin avoiding reading situations where they feel they may become embarrassed. The complicated texts that students are expected to read today become stressful for students who do not know the proper strategies to understand them. However, having the proper strategies and reading skills can turn those situations into positive, self-esteem building experiences. Studies have shown that self-esteem can directly affect the reading levels of students, especially reading comprehension. Students who show a positive attitude toward reading and confidence in reading have higher levels of academic success. A high level of self-esteem acts as a buffer against anxiety so students with high self-esteem are not as likely to struggle with reading challenges.

Students’ social relationships have a big impact on students’ daily lives and can affect their success in school. Social relationships have an effect on book selections because students look to their peers for guidance in many areas. Close friends recommend books to each other and also tend to read the same things tin reading with each other, they are helping build their level of self-esteem about reading continue their level of friendship. When friends discuss books outside of the classroom or engage in reading with each other, they are helping build their level of self-esteem about reading.

Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., &Teasdale, J. D. (2010). Learned helplessness in humans: Argyropoulos, K. (2010). Occupational stress of teachers. Contemporary Education, 106, pp. 38-54 (in Greek). Atkinson, E. (2010). An investigation into the relationship between teacher motivation and pupil motivation. Educational Psychology, 20, pp. 45-57. Atkinson, J. W. (2013). An introduction to motivation. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Bernal, J.R. & Torres, M.E. (2010). Successful classroom strategies for students at risk begin with effective in-service training. Paper presented at the ACRES / NRSSC Symposium, Tucson, AZ. Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J.C. (2006). The inheritants. Students and their culture. Athens: Kardamitsa (in Greek). Bourdieu, P. & Passeron, J.C. (2014). Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, 2nd edn. Great Britain: Sage. Brassett-Grundy, A. (2012). Parental Perspectives of Family Learning. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No 2. London: Institute of Education. Coleman, J. (2011). Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, Supplement, pp. 95-120. Creemers, B. P. M. (2012). From school effectiveness and school improvement to Effective School Improvement: background, theoretical analysis, and outline of the empirical study. Educational Research and Evaluation, 8, 4, pp. 343-362. Dilworth, M.E. & Imig, D.G. (2011). Professional teacher development and the reform agenda. ERIC Document EPO-SP94-1. Katsikas, C. (2010). Family and school performance: the coincidence of a relationship. New Education, 74, pp. 121-128. Kelpanidis, M. (2012). Sociology of Education: Theories and Reality. Athens: Hellinika Grammata. Mehta (2011). Communication from the European Commission to the Council and to the European Parliament. Efficiency and equity in European education and training systems. COM 481 final. achievement (pp. 193-218).

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Govt. College, Ellenabad, Sirsa (Haryana) E-Mail –