Thoughts on a theory of constructive failure

Abstract

Failure is defined and distinguished from concepts such as learned helplessness, low normative feedback and low absolute feedback. The anti‐failure trend characterizing educational practices and programs of recent decades is examined in light of empirical evidence — some of which offers support for this trend and some of which poses a serious challenge to this trend. Finally, a set of factors predicted to be determinants of the facilitative and debilitating effects of failure is presented.