Competition in Education.

The month is September, and we shall be observing 5^th September as “Teachers Day”. So it is appropriate and timely that we discuss one of the most debated issues in learning and education. Whether or how much competition is relevant- for good or bad- in learning (education) process?

The relevance comes in to existence /play only when we / student take learning (hence forth only one word to mean learning as well as education) as means or tool to achieve something- may be first rank in Board Exam or get through a job interview. That is, something is not available in abundance and only winner will have it. On the other hand, if we take learning, as aim in itself and not a means to achieve something through it there is no relevance of competition. As Newton said “I know as much as only a single sand particle on beach of Sea (knowledge). Meaning knowledge is vast and abundant but I know or could take little of it. This aspect of learning will be taken at the end of article, and to begin discussion, let us now discuss about first aspect- where 99.99 % student, teacher ,school  and parent pay attention or feel that primary function of learning is to prepare  self /student for something tangible in life .

In this, one type of reasoning asserts that it helps the students to develop, prepare to fit in today’s competitive world; counter argument is that it ruins students, self esteem, relationship and fuel resentment. Does not competition create winners and losers? Should our student compete? What about collaboration? Like that arguments and counter arguments goes on and on.

Before we discuss above pro and cons of Competition, let us understand “Competition” word itself.  “Competition” simply describes an act or a situation in which two or more participants desire the same resource or outcome. In neutral term a competition is about finding the most efficient path to achieving a goal. In over 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature has found that repeated competition is the best way to identify this efficiency. Competition is an unavoidable natural process woven into the very nature of life. As humans evolved over the past few millennia our bodies have developed physiological mechanisms to address the competitions we face in nature and in more recent years in our complex societies. It is these adaptations through competition, over successive generations, that have made us the most successful species on the planet.

Further, competition is an integral part of innovation and is critical to many career and life situations, training and team-building exercises. Successful teamwork, 21st century skills, and the ability to manage stressful, competitive situations are major success factors in today’s fast-paced technology-driven economy. Educational competitions can help students gain these critical real-world skills. Thus education and academic competitions are two most important ingredients of human life and these two have always been considered as important issues.

In spite of above facts, why is it that we continue to debate and oppose competition in our educational systems? We debate and oppose because of the emotions the word “Competition” generates in us. In recent years, the term “Competition” has been branded as being synonymous with aggression. Many of us automatically identify competition with having a winner and a loser. We think that the only way to use competitions in our education system is in a zero-sum, winner take all scenario. We think that a competition will dissuade the losing students from wanting to continue in their studies. We think that the mere act of competing will cause the students involved to automatically start fighting with each other and break apart relationships.

Thus our hesitancy to embrace competition in education is based on above bias, misinformation, and fear. Are there bad competitions? Yes. Can they have negative impacts on students? Yes. One of the most common concerns and misconceptions regarding education competitions is the “Competition vs Collaboration” thinking. We think of competition as the antithesis of collaboration.  However, most team based competitions actually foster collaboration.   They create what we call “Net Collaborative Impact” .This means - overall students will gain more than they lose through participation. Before we analyze further, even at the cost of some repetition, for better clarity let us list out separate –separate, advantages and disadvantages claimed from competition in learning,

The advantages claimed are: Competition is a great way to motivate students, by challenging them to put in their maximum effort. Competition nurtures growth mindset, students constantly looks for ways to improve themselves.  When children face competitive activities at school, they not only gain individual skills, like resilience and motivation, but they also build on important interpersonal skills. Competitive activities actually help students learn to let others have their turn, see things from others’ point of view, and build a strong character in spite of failure. Thus it helps them succeed socially and academically in school. They also learn to mange subjectivity in their lives. Competition allows seeking opportunities to repeat the competition, developing new talents, and experiencing higher score. They learn to better gauge and evaluate risks. Students learn how to bend and not break under pressure. He/ she learn how to handle stressful, competitive situations. Persistence, resiliency, and grit are all components of Mental Toughness.  Educational competitions in a higher secondary level provide students with safe scenarios in which they can practice these skills.

One critical piece to increase a student’s academic self –identity is in having heroes and idols they can look up to. Comparison is built in to human nature and it is natural way to evaluate how one is doing on the matter that matters. For Higher secondary students comparison is mostly around items of social status; how likable are they, how many friends they have, how much respect others give us and so on. Competition in learning changes the items on which comparison is made. It helps students increase their respect for academics and interest in learning. Further, they learn through their participation that failing to achieve the best marks is not the end of the journey, but just a stepping stone, and an amazing learning experience. Limiting students from participating in competitive environments during their secondary level education can be a huge detriment to their future careers.

Above are just a few of the broad spectrum of benefits and skills that students can achieve through educational competitions that helps students to prepare for the workplace later in life. As, in real life, companies look for employees who are able to analyze situation, chose course of action and handle the stress of competitive situations. Unfortunately, our traditional lecture and test model of schooling leaves no opportunity for students to practice these skills. Competitions on the other hand fill this gap.

The cons of competition in schools: The first drawback is that competition, create the boundaries between individuals, or, if concerned, groups in class. Some student’s eagerness to be always first, gives rise to unpleasant learning environment in which the vigor takes over the friendliness and calmness. Further by creating external incentives (we high-light the value of the task achievement as only being valuable because of external reward), we end up decreasing intrinsic motivation of students to learn. It ends curiosity for learning, student value marks then knowledge. While coaching, I know of many students, who clearly focus what is in syllabus, which problem is going to be asked etc, without showing any sign of actually learning anything. In worst case, they become a bird or animal- carrier of pollen or germs from one place (class room) and depositing at other place (exam hall) without absorbing anything for self. Competitions also easily lead to stress and anxiety, especially if it promotes academic competition between individual students. A less-than-perfect result may affect child’s emotions, or hurt their confidence. In extreme case it leads to suicide.  This stress forces students to push back other interests and extra-curricular activities, leading to an unbalanced life.

Losing definitely isn’t easy, with some jumping ahead and others ending up left in the dust. As Competition is focused on winning, instead of honing in on learning a new skill or working as a team, it creates anxiety and a diminished desire to participate in activities. This also Increases the gaps between participating and non participating (because of indifference or fear) students at different levels and is another problem in competition in learning. It elicits the fact that, while a few achieve the advantages from competition, majority of students hardly improve their knowledge, as well as the experience they may need in the future (speaking in public, critical thinking, etc.) and all the fun they may have. Thus, what to do? Is it better to keep competition out of the way at school, so no one gets hurt? Or allow competition which is the key to unlocking even more of your child’s potential?

Learning is a complex area of development for students and educators trying to help them. There are so many factors at play here it is sometimes difficult to determine what will have an impact, and if the same (competition) will have the same impact on all students. Some student appears to be motivated by competition, whereas others are not. Students who are motivated by competition are motivated for at least three reasons: competition allows them to satisfy the need to win, competition provides the opportunity or reason for improving their performance, and competition motivates them to put forth greater effort that can result in high levels of performance.

Further academic competition has its downfall, as it leads to high stress and anxiety, especially in younger students who aren't equipped to handle the pressure. Pushing kids to compete around things that don't require competition (4th grade spelling tests etc) skews the purpose of learning, elevating winning and prizes over the joy of simply doing well. However the reality are competition is everywhere. If competition is not encouraged in school, we shall deprive students of a valuable life skill (and fact). Sure we can tell kids/students that everyone is a winner, well but what happens when they get out in the real world and realize that everyone is competing for that same job at that same company? Are they prepared for this real life?

So question goes beyond yes competition or no competition, and rest in, at what age and from which class onward and in what format. This is just like what is appropriate age/class for co-education, entry of democratic process and other issues of education system. Whether competition in learning is a positive way to boost learners’ knowledge and skills or not, depends on how well and adequately it is organized. We should aim for competitive activities that involve setting attainable goals and encouraging teamwork. And of course, above all, students should be kept engaged and allowed to have fun. One will harvest many things if he takes part in an appropriately constructed competition. So far as the maintenance of friendliness among classmates is concerned, students should be taught to not to always aim at the reward, neglecting his friends, and encourage them to join in and develop altogether.

Further, as seen earlier, it is a fact that competitions create winners and losers, where the losers feel that they are not good enough to perform in academics and have their academic self-concept crushed. We need to mitigate the negative impacts of not-winning a competition and highlight the benefit of participation. In basic zero-sum-game competitions, it may happen that students who repeatedly lose end up having lower self-concept in the challenge topics. Celebrate their participation. Highlight their effort that it took to get them there, and showcase how the team enjoyed every minute of the challenge. This is just one mechanism to ensure that even the "not-winners" end up benefiting from their participation. It should be ensured that just because you don't win the end goal, doesn't mean that you are a worthless good-for-nothing student. Losing in a competition does not have to diminish the participant's self-concept.

Many good practices go hand in hand with each other, but none are guaranteed. It is critical that our educators, coaches, parents, and competition organizers understand the best-practices in executing competition design in ways to ensure these benefits are realized. Education and completions are very closely related as competitions are put in education for the development of educational skills. Indeed, without competitions, we cannot imagine education. A student has to fight in admission tests and once he/she has passed, he/she admitted in the institution. Then the institution arranges several kinds of competitions that enhance the knowledge as well as skills of a student. The exam itself is a biggest competition where a student competes to surpass others.

To conclude, competition can be a double-edged sword for students, promoting positive values under the right conditions but creating negative environments that de-motivate under the wrong ones. It is good when it provides feedback to students about their performance and improvement, when winning is not the sole or primary objective. Unfortunately win-at-all costs mentality generally associated with competition can undermine motivation and dissuade them from activities they may be otherwise enjoyed. It can kill curiosity. It is critical that teachers and parents work to teach students these valuable lessons from competitions. This way win or lose, our children will learn, grow and  be better prepared for life, which ( like competition ) provides  adversity but continual opportunities to play well  with others and treat opponents with dignity and respect.  

But all this was all about learning as means to achieve something in life. But learning for the sake of learning (sometimes called hobby also) is really bliss in life. Inner joy, that comes, from algebra which gives end formulas to be applied without repeated calculation of arithmetic, eureka moment of knowing the height of Everest, without measuring (impossible task), with the help of Trigonometry and so on is more worthwhile than achieving something tangible. Just try to learn for learning and enjoy life . And of course age is no bar.