ARTICLES
Five Tips to Help Year 12 Students – Set Better Goals in the Final year
of School
By Joanne Dickson;
Joanne is Associate Professor of Psychology at Edith Cowan University.
The final year of high school is one of the most significant transition
periods in a young person’s life. One of the least enjoyable by-
products is the stress associated with year 12 – the daunting
sense that it’s all come down to this.
but avoidance goals focus on avoiding negative outcomes. For
example, “I want to avoid getting below 80% for biology.”
These two goals are essentially the same in content, but
evidence shows people who set approach-oriented goals report
better well-being. The tendency to predominantly set avoidance-
oriented goals is associated with anxiety. Focusing on avoidance
goals is more taxing and stressful. You typically have to monitor
and prevent all the possible ways the negative outcome might
happen.
Anxiety is already one of the most common disorders among
young people, but it can be especially severe in year 12. Even
moderate levels of anxiety can negatively impact a young
person’s social functioning, relationships, performance at school
and social adjustment.
Emerging research increasingly shows personal goal setting
and motivation are tied to well-being and anxiety. However,
while there is substantial evidence to show pursuing goals is
associated with well-being, setting goals itself is not a cure-all.
How you set goals, think about them and pursue them can either
promote well-being or worsen anxiety.
Goals need to be meaningful and freely chosen
It’s important to think about why you set and pursue your particular
goals. Goals that are genuinely meaningful, rewarding, aim to fulfil
your personal hopes/desires, and also freely chosen represent
internalised self-motivated goals, and promote well-being. On
the other hand, those goals that are a product of external or
situation-specific pressures (such as the perceived expectations
of parents or society) have been linked with stress and anxiety.
Research also indicates people who pursue goals for controlled
or external reasons tend not to experience increases in well-
being, even when they do make progress.
Focus on a positive target
Research shows our goals are set as either “approach-oriented”
or “avoidance-oriented”. Approach-oriented goals focus on a
positive target and involve trying to move toward this desirable
outcome. For example, “I want to strive to get over 80% in biology,”
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 1