How to Help Your Child with School: SWOT Analysis Technique

Parents often worry about whether they are providing the right guidance and encouragement to their children. It is particularly difficult after your child receives a bad grade and becomes discouraged from a subject. But there are simple ways through which you can facilitate a growth mindset environment at home, such as teaching your child problem-solving techniques.

One such amazing technique that might benefit your child by developing self-awareness and working smartly towards reaching their future goals is conducting a SWOT analysis.

What is SWOT analysis?

SWOT analysis is a technique developed by a management consultant named Albert Humphrey at the Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s, frequently used for strategic planning. SWOT analysis is a top-rated tool used in business and the corporate world to identify the organization’s standing. However, in this article, we present a way in which students can apply it to assess and improve their academic performance.

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects from a students’ perceptions.

A SWOT can help your child better understand how to play to his/her strengths, manage his/her weaknesses, uncover growth opportunities and eliminate threats that could keep him/her from moving forward.

How to perform a SWOT analysis?

To prepare, you’ll need to draw up a SWOT Analysis quadrant with a 2x2 grid as shown in the diagram above OR download our free template by clicking below:

Mindworks SWOT Template.pdf

Download PDF • 216KB

Each of the squares will be representing the four aspects of SWOT. Moreover, we have divided the SWOT into 2 factors, internal and external. Personal strength and weakness are internal factors, while Opportunities and Threats are external factors.

Once the diagram is ready, sit down and talk to your child, or let him/her fill up the four quadrants accordingly. SWOT diagrams are straightforward, but the process of filling them out may not be so simple.

Here are some helpful tips to make the process effective:

1. First, be realistic about the current state of your child’s academic achievement.

2. Remember that SWOT analyses are meant to evaluate the present, not the past or the future.

3. SWOT charts should be straightforward, so resist the urge to add too much detail.

4. Use a SWOT analysis as a guide rather than a rulebook.

Guiding questions for each of the four quadrants:

Strengths (Internal) are the things your child does particularly well:

Here are some questions you can consider:

• Identify skills and capabilities that your child already possesses.

• How does your child’s education, skill and talents set apart from their peers?

• What positive characteristics does your child have? For example, is your child independent? Is your child capable of managing time with discipline?

• What is your child’s learning style? Read our article “What is My Learning Style? Maximise Your Learning with these Simple Study Habits” to know more.

• What type of subjects your child is strong in?

• What study resources does your child have?

Weaknesses (Internal) are the unique areas of improvement for your child:

To help with your child’s learning progress, we must first identify your child’s weaknesses for improvement. Identify what skills your child is lacking. It is important to remember that these weaknesses are related to the skills and mindsets that your child is able to develop over time. Make sure to have this discussion in a loving way, that ultimately aims to find effective solutions rather than assigning blame.

Possible weakness can be divided into 5 categories:

Opportunities (External) are things your child can leverage from his/her strength, for goal setting and also for your child’s future academic path selection:

For example, students with good mathematical skills and analytical skills may excel better in science, engineering, accounting in the future, while students with good memory skills, language learning capability may excel more in the medical field, law and much more. List down the opportunities your child has, so your child has a clearer picture to work towards his/her dream goal. Here are some questions you can consider:

• Are there opportunities to get a scholarship in the future?

• What ambition does your child have? What is his/her dream career?

• What options of college, university or any higher education path does your child have?

• What is the major, or subjects he/she is keen on?

• What resources or help your child can get to work towards his/her goal? E.g. Enrolling for extra classes, getting a mentor, or a good private tutor

Threats (External) are obstacles your child may face coming from the environment or surrounding:

Here are some questions to consider:

• Is your child lagging behind his/her peers because of the lack of educational resources and materials?

• Is your child not doing well, because of a lack of suitable guidance from a good mentor?

• Is your child having the correct network of friends, affecting his/her academic results?

• Are there any home habits that are restricting the child’s growth?

Consider asking for feedback from your child’s school teachers, trusted family and friends who know your child well. Be open to honest feedback. Use your child’s SWOT analysis to match his/her strengths with opportunities and take positive actions towards the goals.

You can use this information to eliminate weaknesses and convert them into strengths and threats into opportunity when possible. SWOT analysis is recommended to be done quarterly, or at least once per year for your child’s personal growth and changes.

As you may have noticed from this analysis, getting the right educational resources and guidance for your child is of utmost importance. For instance, getting a highly qualified private tutor might make the difference between your child getting into their dream university or not. This is why the team of highly dedicated Tuition Coordinators here at MindWorks Tuition work around the clock to search for the perfect tutor who meets all your needs. If you are looking for a private tutor who can guide your child as a true mentor, fill out this simple form and let us help you!

Happy Learning!