Briefing: Failing to succeed: Why post‑secondary students need more room to mess up

University students are currently navigating a complex landscape regarding failure, receiving mixed signals from various sources about its role in the learning process.

Despite being told that failure is a normal aspect of education, many students find themselves in systems that impose strict penalties for mistakes, which can hinder their development.

This tension between the acknowledgment of failure as a learning tool and the punitive nature of educational policies creates significant implications for student outcomes and institutional practices.