Professorn i utbildningsvetenskap Markku Niemivirta är upprymd. Han ger oreserverat beröm till sitt MoLeWe-forskningskollektiv, med vilket han har haft möjlighet att utforska viktiga aktuella teman ur en mängd olika perspektiv. På senare tid har det tvärvetenskapliga kollektivet studerat perfektionism bland gymnasie- och universitetsstudenter och dess koppling till välmående, samt kopplingen mellan elevers upplevelser av pandemin och distanslärande med deras välmående.

"Att studera perfektionism blir allt viktigare. Till exempel går elever idag igenom gymnasiet i en situation där prestationspress och ork påverkas av både antagningsprovsreformen och en global pandemi. På egen hand har båda förändrat eleverna avsevärt ' lever."

Situationen är prekär, särskilt för elever som är benägna till perfektionism, som tröttnar och känner en känsla av otillräcklighet även i normala studiesituationer.

"I Finland är studier om perfektionism hos unga få och långt mellan och såvitt vi vet har dess samband med studenternas välbefinnande aldrig studerats tidigare i Finland. Det finns med andra ord ett tydligt behov av den här typen av forskning."

Data som erhållits från studierna kan användas när man beaktar de strukturella faktorer som ökar stressen bland studenter och utvecklar studentvården.

Elevers fyra perfektionismprofiler

Perfektionister är elever som sätter extremt krävande personliga mål på sig själva samtidigt som de är väldigt missnöjda med sin egen prestation.

Studenter som anses ambitiösa sätter också sina personliga mål högt, men de kännetecknas inte av det ständiga missnöjet, oro och känslan av otillräcklighet över sina ansträngningar som är typiska för perfektionister.

"Ambitiösa studenter blir inte heller utmattade av sina studier på samma sätt som perfektionister."

Utöver dessa två grupper har studier också identifierat berörda och icke-perfektionistiska studenter.

"Bekymrade studenter har en mer cynisk inställning till sina studier än andra studenter och upplever lika mycket trötthet och otillräcklighet som perfektionister, även om deras mål är mycket lägre."

En förvånansvärt stor andel av gymnasieeleverna hamnar i den berörda gruppen.

Icke-perfektionistiska elever kännetecknas i sin tur av både låga perfektionistiska ambitioner och få bekymmer.

"Så många som var sjätte gymnasieelev kan ha perfektionistiska tendenser, medan de ambitiösa och icke-perfektionistiska grupperna representerar ungefär var fjärde elev och den berörda gruppen så många som en av tre", säger Niemivirta.

Bland universitetsstudenterna var fördelningarna på något sätt jämnare. Jämfört med gymnasieelever var andelen elever med perfektionistiska och ambitiösa tendenser högre, medan oroliga elever var mindre vanliga.

"Utifrån studien kan man inte säga att perfektionismen har ökat under pandemin, oavsett eventuell ökad stress orsakad av distansinlärning. Cirka 60 procent av universitetsstudenterna upplevde distansinlärning och självständiga studier mentalt krävande, medan drygt var tredje har inte."

According to Niemivirta, the share of students affected by the situation reached its peak during the autumn of the pandemic's first year and has since returned to levels at the start of the pandemic.

External expectations also often at play

Niemivirta tells that while ambitious study goals are not in and of themselves harmful, dissatisfaction and a worry about one's own inadequacy are the factors that cause stress and exhaustion in perfectionists.

"It seems that external expectations are also often at play in the background. For example, parents' high expectations are often reflected in the student in the form of ambitious goals and a greater sense of concern. This puts pressure on the student to achieve something great."

Sensitivity to punishment can also influence how perfectionist tendencies are formed. Sensitivity to punishment means a person's susceptibility to experience and interpret various threats in their environment.

"Sensitivity to positive social feedback, such as praise or other attention, also seems to be linked to dissatisfaction with one's own achievements."

In other words, those prone to perfectionism often place great importance on "what others think of me."

An encouraging atmosphere permits mistakes

Niemivirta considers the results of the study extremely important even though they alone do not offer a ready guide on how schools and universities should deal with students with perfectionist tendencies, for example.

"It is essential that teachers understand and encounter the differences between learners. Differences in temperament, motivation and enthusiasm are also strongly linked to learning. Understanding these underlying factors already helps teachers encourage studying and the joy of learning in the classroom."

It is also clear from previous studies that the risks of boredom, exhaustion and even depression are higher among performance-focused students.

"For this reason, perfectionists in particular are at risk of exhaustion. Our message as researchers to schools and especially upper secondary schools is that the emphasis on performance should take a back seat."

Instead of focusing on performance, it should be impressed on students that they can always take joy in their achievements and accept failures without self-blame.

"Students are better off in an encouraging learning environment where mistakes are permitted. Naturally, adequate student counseling and welfare services that support the well-being of students are also important."

Distance learning not the only reason behind student exhaustion

Recently, public debate has revolved around the excessive stress and feelings of exclusion experienced by university students. According to Niemivirta, the discussion has partly veered off on the wrong path.

"The debate is pretty heated at the moment, and distance learning is universally considered the main cause of student exhaustion. However, while our study shows that just over 40 percent of university students feel exhausted, more than one in three say they consider distance learning a positive thing."

In other words, students' experiences of distance learning are extremely divided. Only a small minority of students has no clear opinion on distance learning.

"For this reason, it is unfortunate that public debate is fairly lopsided right now. We are given the impression that as of this moment, all university students are stressed and depressed because of distance learning."

Niemivirta points out that in any case, not all exhaustion is due to distance learning, but that certain trends that cause stress were visible already before the pandemic.

"Of course, the pandemic has increased stress on top of any existing problems, and it is not my intention to downplay its impacts. Still, I hope that as we gradually return to normal, certain things won't go back to the way they were."

Distance learning has been proven to have many positive aspects, and there are students who wish to study remotely at least partly even after the pandemic.

"The better we understand the factors behind exhaustion and stress, the better we are able to distinguish between the positives and negatives of distance learning. I hope we will be able to learn from this period of time and retain its positive aspects as an alternative in the future."