February 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 18

Research Update
Freedom to Fail, Space to Grow
By Cait Wilson, Jim Sibthorp and Dan Richmond

hat role do failure and success play in youth recreation programming? We often take the easy route and say that it depends on the child and the context. While this is accurate, such
wisdom is rarely helpful to programmers and frontline staff
who have to facilitate recreational experiences for the kids who show up, rather
than those who might be " perfectly " aligned with what their programs offer.
Recent research from education, psychology, sport, leadership and business
is making its way into youth development circles and offers some insight
into how both failure and success can
be more effectively used in recreation
programming. Work by Carol Dweck
and colleagues makes a compelling
case that youth who view failure as a
growth opportunity, rather than a perpetual barrier to success, are most likely
to continue on productive developmental trajectories. Dweck defines children
who view failure as an opportunity for
further development and learning as
possessing a " growth mindset. "
What Is a Growth Mindset?
Growth mindsets are beliefs in the

16 Parks & Recreation

" Failure is only the
opportunity to begin
again, this time more
intelligently. "
- Henry Ford (1863-1947),
founder for Ford Motor
Company
malleability of abilities (e.g., cognitive, social, psychological, physical)
through practice and effort. Recent
research supports that growth mindsets help youth overcome obstacles
experienced with shyness, aggression,
depression, negative stress responses

| F E B R UA R Y 2 0 1 6 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

and weight gain. In contrast, a fixed
mindset implies that abilities or traits
are largely fixed and can't be changed
much through effort.
Failure is viewed fundamentally
differently through these two lenses.
Youth with a growth mindset do not
dwell on failure - they see failure as
a problem to be solved through additional learning and effort. Failure
represents an opportunity for youth
to analyze goals, adapt strategies and
advance their learning. Ultimately, a
growth mindset helps youth to effectively cope with obstacles and excel
in the face of adverse situations. Conversely, youth with a fixed mindset
interpret failures as inability and anticipate future failures. This interpretation leads to withdrawal and lack of
engagement with challenges. Children
do not want to risk putting themselves
in challenging situations since they
internalize failure as a result of their
unchangeable innate abilities and label themselves as inept.
This growth mindset perspective
of failure does not come naturally to
most children, especially if they have
come to associate failure with some
stable and internal aspect of themselves ( " I'm just not a good leader " ).
Most children learn pretty quickly
what comes easily and what does not,
and no amount of effort is going to
make every kid a professional athlete
or a musician. However, children often incorrectly attribute failure to a
lack of innate talent when, through
effort, success is not only possible but
likely. When children mistakenly link
failure with innate abilities, they deny
themselves further learning opportu-

February 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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