Encouraging Students to Compete Without Fear of Embarrassment

Competitions, when approached constructively, can offer valuable learning experiences, foster intrinsic motivation, and build resilience in students. However, one potential barrier to participation — especially for younger or less confident students — is the fear of embarrassment. This emotional challenge can inhibit engagement, limit skill development, and reduce the long-term benefits of co-curricular activities such as public speaking, sports tournaments, academic contests, and Quran recitation competitions.

This article explores the psychological and social aspects of embarrassment in competitive settings. It offers practical strategies and considerations to help educators, organisers, and stakeholders design competitions that encourage participation while reducing anxiety and fear of failure.

Understanding the Fear of Embarrassment in Students

Embarrassment is a social emotion arising when individuals perceive they have violated social norms or may be judged unfavourably by others. For students, especially adolescents, this concern is heightened due to a developing sense of self and increased sensitivity to peer evaluation.

Why Students May Feel Embarrassed

• Fear of Public Failure: Public mistakes or underperformance in front of peers can lead to feelings of humiliation.
• Social Comparison: Awareness of how one’s abilities rank compared to others may discourage participation, particularly if students perceive themselves as less capable.
• High Stakes Environment: When competitions are framed as make-or-break scenarios rather than learning opportunities, students may feel pressure to perform perfectly.
• Lack of Experience: Students unfamiliar with competitions may fear the unknown or feel unprepared for formal evaluation.
• Risk of Ridicule: In competitive cultures with insufficient empathy, weaker performances can attract criticism or joking from peers.

Understanding these root causes is essential for creating supportive environments that encourage participation without placing students at emotional risk.

Creating a Supportive Competitive Environment

An effective way to reduce embarrassment-related anxiety is by designing competitions to prioritise growth, encouragement, and constructive feedback over comparison and judgement. This can be achieved through thoughtful planning and facilitation before, during, and after the event.

1. Promote a Growth Mindset

Psychologist Carol Dweck’s theory of mindset differentiates between a “fixed” and “growth” view of intelligence. Encouraging a growth mindset can significantly reduce feelings of inadequacy or embarrassment during competition.

• Emphasise effort, improvement and resilience rather than natural talent.
• Highlight progress over time, using individual benchmarks rather than absolute measures.
• Celebrate learning from mistakes — reinforce that setbacks are an unavoidable and valuable part of development.

2. Frame Competitions as Learning Opportunities

Competitions should be presented not as tools to rank students but as opportunities to practise, receive feedback, and connect with a wider learning community.

• In pre-event communication, stress the educational goals of participation.
• Offer opportunities for all entrants to receive certificates, feedback or acknowledgement regardless of their competitive standing.
• Provide non-competitive versions or preparatory events to build familiarity.

3. Design for Inclusion and Accessibility

Ensuring all students feel welcome and supported involves removing barriers to participation that may contribute to self-consciousness.

• Allow flexible categories based on ability or experience level.
• Use anonymous or coded scoring to avoid public display of results.
• Maintain diversity in adjudication panels to reflect different accents, backgrounds and learning styles.

4. Train Staff to Support Vulnerable Participants

Teachers, mentors and organisers have a key role in identifying students who may be anxious and guiding them empathetically through the competitive process.

• Look out for behavioural signs of anxiety such as withdrawal, avoidance or perfectionism.
• Reinforce that participation is valued, not just winning.
• Provide brief reflection sessions after the event to address emotional responses.

Practical Examples Across Competitive Contexts

The principles discussed above can be applied in a wide variety of educational competitions, from science fairs and debates to Quran recitation challenges. Below are examples of how embarrassment can be mitigated in specific settings:

Quran Recitation Competitions

• Use confidential marking sheets: Judges can score using private digital or printed forms, reducing the visibility of scores.
• Provide pre-recorded participation channels: Allowing students to submit recordings for feedback can help build confidence before live appearances.
• Celebrate tajweed awareness and effort: Not all participants will have the same fluency level. Emphasising attention to rules, pronunciation and appropriate pacing can create a more inclusive range of success indicators.

Public Speaking Contests

• Run familiarisation sessions: Let students try the format with limited audiences before facing a wider group.
• Focus on verbal clarity and confidence: Judges should give feedback on progress, not just delivery outcomes.
• Include peer review components: Peers giving kind, measured, constructive feedback can help normalise vulnerability.

Academic Knowledge Challenges

• Offer team formats: Working in pairs or small groups distributes responsibility, reduces pressure and fosters peer encouragement.
• Segment questions by difficulty: This helps students build confidence by succeeding with foundational questions before advancing.
• Quiet reflection time before answers: Avoid rapid-response rounds that heighten pressure. A short calibration period improves recall and confidence.

The Importance of Peer Culture and Community Norms

Even well-designed competitions can become intimidating if community attitudes reinforce shaming, ridicule, or narrow definitions of success. Therefore, it is crucial to embed positive peer expectations within the wider learning environment.

Schools, learning centres, and organisations can consider the following practices:

• Establish codes of conduct: Define respectful behaviour for audience members, participants, and adjudicators.
• Create class narratives around bravery: Present participation in public events as a form of courage, especially when facing difficulty.
• Use inclusive language: Avoid labelling students with phrases such as “bad speakers” or “low ability.” Refer instead to developing or emerging skills.

Positive peer narratives help students understand that everyone starts somewhere and that improvement is always possible. This reduces the sense that one public mistake defines their potential or capability.

Long-Term Benefits of Normalising Participation

When embarrassment is reduced and inclusivity increased, more students are encouraged to engage in competitions, which in turn supports their academic and personal development. Benefits include:

• Increased confidence: Students learn to face judgement and recover from difficult moments.
• Better learning retention: Preparing for performance-based activities deepens commitment to material.
• Improved resilience: Accepting outcomes — both success and failure — builds emotional strength.
• Greater community cohesion: Events become opportunities for collaboration and shared identity.

Conclusion

Fear of embarrassment is a legitimate and significant deterrent for student participation in educational competitions. However, with thoughtful design, careful facilitation, and positive community culture, this fear can be substantially mitigated. The result is a richer, more inclusive environment that allows all students to experience the personal and educational rewards of competition — not just those who begin with natural confidence or public ability.

By focusing on growth, respect, reflection, and emotional safety, competitions can serve as a bridge between knowledge and lived learning, ultimately preparing students not only for academic challenges, but for life beyond the classroom.

If you need help with your Quran competition platform or marking tools, email info@qurancompetitions.tech.