Young people experience a lot of pressure to 'get the best out of themselves'. But does a child go to school to achieve maximum performance, or to learn new things? How do we ensure that children can develop at school into motivated and resilient young people, who are not weighed down by pressure to perform? These questions are central to the inaugural lecture by professor of Neuroscience Nienke van Atteveldt.
Connecting disciplines
To answer these questions, Van Atteveldt argues that we should seek connections between neuroscience, education and society. For example, to understand whether a child is focused on learning or performing, we need to understand the interplay between their brain development and their self-views.
Van Atteveldt: “But also whether the immediate environment is aimed at learning or performance. What message do parents and teachers give the child? And what is the influence of the current performance society? To find answers, different fields need each other. And to be able to connect these, we as scientists must also focus more on learning than on performance.”
The inaugural lecture can also be followed online. For more information, follow the link.