Prompted by an increase in requests for exam arrangements, issues of anxiety and stress, and the impact of how we perceive these emotions, are explored.
One of the reasons for the increasing number of requests for exam arrangements appears to be growing anxiety among students. In England, there was an 84.5% increase in demand for access arrangements in 2022 compared to previous years (Castiglione, 2021). The rise is linked especially to an increase in generalised anxiety and other mental health conditions. According to Jonathan Haidt (2024), the surge in elevated anxiety levels has continued to escalate over time (see the graph below, taken from his recent book: The Anxious Generation, 2024).
© US National Survey on Drug Use and Health
While there is still a lot of debate on why anxiety has increased, as educators and support staff we focus on how we can help students better manage their anxiety and stress. Although many strive for a life without anxiety and stress, the reality is that some level of both is inevitable, and how we cope with them can be transformative.
With regard to stress, according to researchers Crum and colleagues (2017), there are two main ways to perceive stressful events: through a "stress-is-enhancing" mindset or a "stress-is-debilitating" mindset. In their study, participants watched a three-minute video that framed stress as either helpful (enhancing) or harmful (debilitating) and then reassessed their stress mindset, highlighting the power of perspective in shaping our relationship with stress.
This study found that adopting a "stress-is-enhancing" mindset can have positive effects, such as improving mood, cognitive flexibility, and focus on positive stimuli in challenging situations, as well as increasing a stress hormone linked to resilience in both threatening and challenging contexts.
Importantly, a situation is deemed threatening when the individual evaluates the environmental demands to outweigh their resources or ability to cope, whereas a situation is considered challenging when the individual perceives that they have sufficient resources to meet the environmental demands.
The "stress-is-enhancing" mindset does not reduce negative emotional reactions to stress. The benefits come from enhancing certain cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses that may help people adapt to stress over time, rather than making stress feel less threatening. These effects were stronger in situations perceived as challenges rather than threats, highlighting the importance of framing stressors as challenges when possible.
Of course, the "stress-is-enhancing" mindset is not a cure-all for handling stress. Especially in children and teenagers, stress and anxiety are feelings they are still getting to know and learning how to react to. But this is precisely why this age is a critical moment to show students how they can view stress and deal with it in a healthier way.
Regarding anxiety, we as educators and parents can help children by encouraging them to face their fears while balancing support with promoting independence. In this effort, parental support is crucial. This is why cooperation and trust between parents and the school are so important.
The book Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD (Lebowitz, 2020) offers a parent-focused approach to helping children with anxiety. Instead of forcing changes on the child, it teaches parents to change their own responses – moving from accommodating behaviors (which can worsen anxiety) to supportive ones that show understanding and confidence in the child’s ability to cope. The book covers an important topic of recognising how parents might unknowingly encourage anxious behaviors.
Often, schools must choose not to accommodate anxious behaviors in students, a decision that is not always understood by parents. However, given the high number of young people struggling with anxiety and lacking effective strategies for coping with stress, it is crucial for schools to embrace the social responsibility of helping them develop a repertoire of resilient, courageous, and independent behaviors.
Rising anxiety and stress among students present significant challenges that extend beyond academic settings. While accommodating students through exam arrangements is an immediate response, it addresses only a part of the issue. Given the number of young people with high anxiety and poor strategies for coping with stress, fostering collaboration and partnership between schools, parents, and mental health professionals is not just essential but necessary. Such efforts can ensure that students receive not only the support they need for academic success but also the life skills required to navigate an increasingly complex and demanding future.
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