Page 245 - Štremfel, Urška, ed., 2016. Student (Under)achievement: Perspectives, Approaches, Challenges. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut. Digital Library, Documenta 11.
P. 245
s’ self-concept (cf. Illeris, 2007). The data collected so far points to a co-de- 245
pendence of individuals’ uncertainty about themselves, a low global self-con-
cept, a low academic self-concept and lower career aspirations with a greater
likelihood of dropping out of school (cf. Reid, 2000). Some examples will be
given below to explain the correlation and also to make connections to the
role played by schools and teachers.
For easier understanding, the basic characteristics of self-concept will be
described, while the definition of self-concept is provided in the footnotes to
the introduction. There are several self-concept models (Juriševič, 1999), how-
ever, in this paper, Bracken’s self-concept model will be used for illustration
purposes. Self-concept supposedly consists of several dimensions, including
academic self-concept, social self-concept, competence self-concept, body
self-concept, family self-concept and emotional self-concept.
Academic self-concept, in which this paper is particularly interested, rep-
resents how a person feels about himself or herself within a school or aca-
demic setting, or in relation to students’ academic progress. Factors that af-
fect academic self-concept include influences such as (Bracken, 2009: 92, 93):
‘1) successes and failures in the school curricula (subject specific self-concepts
can also be developed, such as a reading or math self-concept); 2) ease or dif-
ficulty with which information is acquired; 3) the student’s overall intellectu-
al or cognitive abilities (and comparatively, the abilities and achievement of
the student’s peers); 4) the student’s relationship with adults and peers with-
in the school setting (e.g., classroom, lunchroom, playground) and 5) accept-
ance of the student’s ideas, contributions, suggestions, and so on, by others in
the school setting.’.
The first question to be addressed is what influences adolescents’ self-es-
teem. From the self-esteem and education literature studied, Kenway (2004:
131) inferred the following premise by which this literature tends to be domi-
nated: ‘…that low self-esteem is a problem, that it is a problem for and of cer-
tain individuals, and that it prevents them making the best of their schooling
and their lives.’. Further, low self-esteem is attributed to individuals who belong
to those social groups which are least valued by and powerful in society. The
author also points out that the majority or related literature is far more con-
cerned with defining‘self-esteem’and explaining why it is a problem than with
exploring how it was developed in an individual in the first place and became
a problem. A high self-esteem, school performance and ‘the culture of success’
are highly intertwined and correlated. (ibid.).
What supposedly influences student achievement to the largest de-
gree are students’ competencies and motivation for learning (West and Pen-
nell, 2003). Teachers’ roles in relation to this is to foster interaction among stu-
dents within the class, as interaction has proven to be the factor related to
increasing and strengthening students’ self-esteem (Austin, Dwyer and Free-
student (formal) achievement through non-formal and informal knowledge
pendence of individuals’ uncertainty about themselves, a low global self-con-
cept, a low academic self-concept and lower career aspirations with a greater
likelihood of dropping out of school (cf. Reid, 2000). Some examples will be
given below to explain the correlation and also to make connections to the
role played by schools and teachers.
For easier understanding, the basic characteristics of self-concept will be
described, while the definition of self-concept is provided in the footnotes to
the introduction. There are several self-concept models (Juriševič, 1999), how-
ever, in this paper, Bracken’s self-concept model will be used for illustration
purposes. Self-concept supposedly consists of several dimensions, including
academic self-concept, social self-concept, competence self-concept, body
self-concept, family self-concept and emotional self-concept.
Academic self-concept, in which this paper is particularly interested, rep-
resents how a person feels about himself or herself within a school or aca-
demic setting, or in relation to students’ academic progress. Factors that af-
fect academic self-concept include influences such as (Bracken, 2009: 92, 93):
‘1) successes and failures in the school curricula (subject specific self-concepts
can also be developed, such as a reading or math self-concept); 2) ease or dif-
ficulty with which information is acquired; 3) the student’s overall intellectu-
al or cognitive abilities (and comparatively, the abilities and achievement of
the student’s peers); 4) the student’s relationship with adults and peers with-
in the school setting (e.g., classroom, lunchroom, playground) and 5) accept-
ance of the student’s ideas, contributions, suggestions, and so on, by others in
the school setting.’.
The first question to be addressed is what influences adolescents’ self-es-
teem. From the self-esteem and education literature studied, Kenway (2004:
131) inferred the following premise by which this literature tends to be domi-
nated: ‘…that low self-esteem is a problem, that it is a problem for and of cer-
tain individuals, and that it prevents them making the best of their schooling
and their lives.’. Further, low self-esteem is attributed to individuals who belong
to those social groups which are least valued by and powerful in society. The
author also points out that the majority or related literature is far more con-
cerned with defining‘self-esteem’and explaining why it is a problem than with
exploring how it was developed in an individual in the first place and became
a problem. A high self-esteem, school performance and ‘the culture of success’
are highly intertwined and correlated. (ibid.).
What supposedly influences student achievement to the largest de-
gree are students’ competencies and motivation for learning (West and Pen-
nell, 2003). Teachers’ roles in relation to this is to foster interaction among stu-
dents within the class, as interaction has proven to be the factor related to
increasing and strengthening students’ self-esteem (Austin, Dwyer and Free-
student (formal) achievement through non-formal and informal knowledge
