School and Uni Will Be Different in 2021: Here’s How You Can Face It Head On

We asked an expert for some coping strategies. We need 'em.

This post is presented in partnership with ECU. Apply now through their Early Offer Program.

2020 high school grads, umm, how’s it going?

You:

Nobody would blame you if you said you’d been having a tough time, given, y’know, everything that’s happened lately (*gesturing generally around ourselves*).

As you face an uncertain future, we’re sure you’ve got a whole heap of questions about study in 2021, like: How will we even be learning? And how can we possibly prepare?

That’s why we spoke to an expert at ECU (where Year 12s with a predicted ATAR can apply now through their Early Offer Program) to snag some tips on how to tackle 2021 successfully.

"It’s really important to have a positive focus," …

… says Joanne Dickson, Associate Professor of Psychology at Edith Cowan University.

Joanne tells Student Edge there’s definitely a preferable way to set goals, and according to the research findings, "Goals typically tend to fall into two very broad categories that we call 'approach' type goals or 'avoidance' type goals."

"An approach goal is focused on a positive outcome and involves trying to move towards that outcome, whereas an avoidance goal is focused on a bad outcome, or a threatening or fearful outcome that we’re trying to prevent. So, for example, a student might say, 'I want to pass my exam,' and another student might say, 'I don’t want to fail my exam'. The content of these goals is essentially the same but one goal is framed as an approach goal, whereas the other goal is framed as an avoidance goal.

"What our research shows is that if you focus your goals on the positive outcomes that you’re striving towards, it’s associated with promoting wellbeing. Whereas, if you predominantly set your goals in avoidant terms, it’s associated with increased anxiety. So how you set your goals can be important to how you feel."

Another goal-setting hack? Be specific (and have mini 'goal plans' leading to a larger goal).

"A student might say, 'I’ll try hard,'" Joanne says.

"It’s very general and it doesn’t actually give any cues on how to achieve that goal. Another student might say, at the 'goal plan' level, I’m going to set aside an hour from Monday to Thursday just to focus on my maths."

Being specific, Joanne adds, helps to keep you on track in pursuing your goals and allows you to monitor your progress, as well as adapt or change your 'goal plans' if need be.

Don’t get down if you fail to meet a goal.

It’s not uncommon to be hard on yourself if you don’t meet your goals, and we can be even harsher if we’re pursuing goals for extrinsic reasons (for example, not wanting to feel like a failure compared to peers, or not letting down significant others such as parents).

"It is better for your wellbeing to pursue freely chosen goals, because the goal is important, or for the fun, enjoyment, satisfaction or reward pursuing the goal will bring," Joanne says.

"Getting locked into negative self-evaluation and criticism when goal expectations are not met has been associated with increased anxiety and depression.

"Instead of self-critical thinking, once you get over that initial disappointment and upset, try turning your thinking to awareness and being mindful as this will help you to move forward. [Ask yourself] 'What happened? Were there things I could have done that I didn’t do to improve the outcome? Are there things I can learn from this experience, that I can take forward in the coming year?'"

However, if you do get caught in an ongoing cycle of self-criticism and feeling down, Joanne recommends that it may be helpful to talk to someone you trust, or to seek counselling to help you move forward and improve your mood.

The world is changing rapidly. Get ready to change with it.

"We’re in very unusual, very different times; it’s really important to be flexible and to adjust or reset your goals as you need to," Joanne says.

She also believes it’s important to have "a repertoire of goals in different [areas]" to ensure you’re finding fulfilment in varied arenas (especially if some goals don’t pan out).

"If all our goals are in one domain, and we don’t reach that aspiration, we are likely to take a bigger hit because we’ve got nothing to fall back on," she says.

"Hence, it is protective to pursue meaningful goals in a range of life domains."

Keep these tips in mind, and they'll help you meet the challenges and opportunities of 2021, and to maintain a sense of wellbeing.

This year has been a tough one for Year 12 students, with more uncertainties than usual about 'what happens next'. So, ECU wants to take one uncertainty away for you with the Early Offer Program. This pathway gives you a conditional offer of a place at uni before you start your exams. All you need to know is your predicted ATAR and/or provide us with a copy of your latest school results. Find out more.

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