This is a key implication of research by Professor Andrew Martin, from the Faculty of Education and Social Work, at the University of Sydney. His research on the little-studied area of academic courage is published in the current issue of School Psychology Quarterly.
The study looks at how the role of courage in the classroom can be linked to academic performance and engagement. It examined four approaches to schoolwork in high school - courage, confidence, avoidance, and helplessness.
Professor Andrew Martin explains, "Courage is defined as perseverance in the face of academic difficulty and fear. Confidence, by contrast, is perseverance without the presence of fear.
"On some important outcomes (including achievement in literacy and numeracy) courage was as effective an approach as confidence. On other outcomes, confidence was more effective, however, courage was a very close second. So, while we already knew that confidence is linked to positive educational outcomes, this study is significant because it shows that courage is also an educationally effective response - particularly in the face of fear and anxiety.
"The wonderful news for students, their teachers and parents, is that if students who lack confidence can be given strategies and the encouragement to persist, they can have good academic outcomes - indeed, matching that of confident students at the same level of ability."