Outline the main ideas about self esteem/self concept e.g. where it comes from, what it means, how it affects us, how it develops and summarise the relevance to an educational context Self-concept and self-esteem are complex constructs that are closely related, so much so that the terms are often used interchangeably (Ireson and Hallam, 2001). This essay will explore the definition of self-concept, where it comes from and how it develops and then mirror this structure with self-esteem. Once self-concept and self-esteem have been discussed, their relevance to education and the implications that arise because of this will be considered. Woolfolk, Hughes and Walkup (2013) describe self-concept as the knowledge that one has in regards to their thoughts, attitudes and feelings. Lewis (1990) proposes that there are two types of selfconcept, the existential self and the categorical self. The existential self is recognised from a few months old and is where one becomes aware that they are separate from others. An individual begins to understand that the world is interactive, they can make things happen. An example of this would be the individual reaching out to touch a mobile and then seeing it move. Following the existential self, the categorical self develops between 18-30 months old. Once an individual understands that they are separate from others, they can appreciate that classifying themselves on traits such as gender and age is possible. They begin to see themselves as an object, which is a key theme in Rosenberg s (1979, p. 7) definition of self-concept which refers to having reference to himself as an object. Whilst age has an influence over the development of self, culture similarly has an impact (Kim, no date). Asian cultures have been found to have more of a collective concept of self, placing more emphasis on fitting in, and harmonious interdependence (Markus and Kitayama, 1991, p. 224). Relating to the categorical self, this would mean that people classify themselves on social traits such as family, friends and groups e.g. I am a daughter. In contrast to this, Western cultures tend to place more importance on the individual which leads to a person categorising themselves on unique qualities such as their personality traits e.g. I am kind (Cousins, 1989). Considering this, it could be Page 1 of 7
assumed that self-concept is grouped broadly by culture, with interdependence and independence being two distinctive divisions. The cause of variations in self-concept between cultures is not explicitly known but it could largely be down to experience. Rogers (1959, p. 200) believes that selfexperiences are the raw material of which the organized self-concept is formed. As cultures have distinct values, traditions and beliefs, this will lead to an individual having differing experiences and therefore could be used to explain the varying self-concept by culture. Rogers (1959) suggests that self-concept is formed from three components; self-image, self-esteem and our ideal self. These three components could be viewed as a balancing act with self-image and ideal self at opposite ends (Buckler and Castle, 2014). If an individual s ideal self is higher than their self-image, then they may have low self-esteem which can be exhibited in an individual by being withdrawn and having a negative attitude. This is because their aspirations are above how they currently view themselves and are therefore the scale is unbalanced. If an individual s ideal self and self-image are similar and the scale is balanced, then they may have high self-esteem which can be displayed in an individual through having a high level of self-belief and positivity. So, self-esteem could be defined as the extent that to which the individual believes himself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy (Coopersmith, 1967, p. 4). In other words, self-esteem is how individuals feel about themselves. Neiss, Sedikides and Stevenson (2002) believe that an individual s genetics influence their selfesteem, whether it be high or low. From this, one could assume that self-esteem is outside of their control and is simply down to their genetics much like their hair colour. However, some researchers would argue that although genetics have an influence over self-esteem, it is not a direct influence. For instance, Wolpert (2011) agrees that genetics are linked to self-esteem but believes it is in an indirect way. An example of this is a person with low self-esteem may show an increased sensitivity to stress or have poor social skills, this means that they could be more likely to feel stressed or develop depression which are both associated with low self-esteem. It is not that they are Page 2 of 7
genetically programmed to have a low level of self-esteem but how they react to situations, both physically and mentally, which have an influence. However, researchers (Wang and Jiang, 2016, p. 29) have found that parents' warmth and understanding was significantly correlated with selfesteem. This suggests that self-esteem is influenced by factors such as relationships with our parents and peers. In contrast to the research presented earlier about genetics, this put forwards a different view that self-esteem is influenced by others and not by the individual. With the world becoming more technological, the media is now playing a bigger role in influencing self-esteem than ever before (Giant and Beddoe, 2012) with the media s portrayal of celebrities often not being representative of the general population. This leads to individuals, especially children, having unrealistic ideas about body image, leading to unreachable aspirations. Therefore, they will have a higher ideal self than actual self thus low self-esteem. To address this, schools can promote different body image through embedding it into the curriculum through Personal, Social, Health and Emotional Education (PSHE). Ofsted (2015) published example of good practice detailing a school s exemplary practice in promoting body image in primary education. Each year group in the school looked at body image, with Year 4 focusing on how images are changed in the media. This helps promote positive self-esteem as the children will begin to celebrate differences and understand that people that they see in the media often have been digitally enhanced. Through understanding that the images they see have been changed, they may not aim to look like the images as they are unrealistic. Therefore, their ideal self will not be unreachable and self-esteem will be higher. Failure is a natural part of life and can help an individual realise where they went wrong and improve, however individuals with low self-esteem may focus on themselves and the intrinsic reasons why they failed (Brockner and Hulton, 1978 cited in Baumeister and Tice, p. 465). For example, they may think that they are incompetent and worthless. Relating this to an education context, children in schools may be faced with failure in regards to their written work or Page 3 of 7
examinations. Due to this, Paton and Knapton (2014) believe that work should not be marked as a fail but should receive a not yet mark. This is because by thinking that they have failed something, it could cause the individual to blame themselves, focusing on intrinsic reasons, and therefore lower their self-esteem. By using the phrase not yet it encourages a more positive mind set. They have not yet grasped what they are being marked on, they have not failed. This promotes the idea that learning is a continuous process and encourages higher self-esteem as individuals realise that they can develop their understanding further in the subject instead thinking they have failed and that is the final mark. Classroom set ups in the United Kingdom can consist of grouping students by their ability. In the primary classroom, this often is within the classroom with children of a similar ability level sitting closely together whilst secondary schools tend to group ability in classes. However, Woolfolk, Hughes and Walkup (2013) believe that being grouped by ability can have a damaging influence on self-esteem. This could be because the students in the lower ability group may begin to see themselves as stupid and incompetent compared to their classmates, consequently lowering selfesteem. This could then lead to the students becoming disruptive and not liking school (Finn, 1989 cited in Houtte, Demanet and Stevens, 2012, p. 74). To address the issue of self-esteem, educators should be considerate when grouping students by ability that so that students do not become labelled as unwise, therefore becoming demoralised. Other options such as peer tutoring, flexible grouping and cooperative learning should be considering alongside or instead of ability grouping (Gomez, 2007) to improve self-esteem. Whilst it is important to remember that an educator s pedagogy can influence an individual s selfesteem, an individual may already be exhibiting behaviours due to their self-esteem that may affect their learning. A learner with low self-esteem may be withdrawn, lacking self-confidence and insecure (Guindon, 2009). Due to this, a learner may not actively engage with the class as they are scared of getting the answer wrong due to their insecurities. To help individuals overcome this, Page 4 of 7
educators should create a safe environment using techniques to promote high self-esteem such as the methods suggested by Gomez (2007). In conclusion whilst self-concept and self-esteem are often used interchangeably, self-concept is often used to describe the knowledge that one has about themselves and self-esteem is how a person feels about themselves. Although self-esteem and self-concept can change and develop throughout an individual s lifetime, childhood is where an individual s categorical self begins and the basis of an individual s self-concept is formed. Due to this, it could be believed that this is where environmental factors such as relationships with family and peers have the most influence and could be used to explain how cultural differences arise. With this is mind, educators need to be aware that they are an environmental influence and can affect an individual s self-esteem and thus self-concept. Through adopting practices that help promote higher self-esteem such as using not yet in their marking instead of failure, not grouping on ability level and exploring issues such as body image in PSHE, educators can help individuals embrace differences and failure in both educational contexts and life itself, leading to a positive mind sets and more confident learners. Word count:1633 Page 5 of 7
References Baumeister, R. and Tice, D. (1985) 'Self-esteem and responses to success and failure: Subsequent performance and intrinsic motivation', Journal of Personality, 53(3), pp. 450-467. doi: 10.1111/1467-6494.ep8970306 Buckler, S. and Castle, P. (2014) Psychology for Teachers. London: Sage Coopersmith, S. (1967) The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co. Cousins, S.D. (1989) Culture and self-perception in Japan and the United States, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56(1), pp. 124 131. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.56.1.124. Houtte, M., Demanet, J. and Stevens, P. (2012) Self-esteem of Academic and Vocational Students: Does within-school tracking sharpen the difference?, Acta Sociologica, 55(1). pp. 73-79 Giant, N. and Beddoe, R. (2012) Surviving Girlhood: Building positive relationships, attitudes and selfesteem to prevent teenage girl bullying. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Gomez, L. (2007) Research on effects of ability grouping and tracking position statement on ability grouping and tracking. Available at: http://dlti.us/doc/researchabilitygrouping.pdf (Accessed: 1 November 2016). Guindon, M (ed.) (2009) Self-esteem accross the lifespan: Issues and interventions. United Kingdom: Routledge. Paton, G. and Knapton, S. (2014) Teachers told: use 'not yet' in place of 'fail' when marking. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10696334/teachers-told-use-not-yet-inplace-of-fail-when-marking.html (Accessed: 31 October 2016) Ireson, J. and Hallam, S. (2001) Ability grouping in education. London: SAGE Publications. Page 6 of 7
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