Page 135 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 135
the student’s academic self-concept and its link with esl
– all shown in different studies to be important factors for preventing ESL
(e.g. Battin-Pearson et al., 2000; Lan & Lanthier, 2003).
Developing a healthy academic self-concept at school
At school, the teacher is an important adult for students. Students’ academ-
ic self-concept is built through the teacher-student relationship, thus the
teacher has an important impact on developing the students’ healthy aca-
demic self-concept that will support their academic development (Bean &
Lipka, 1986; Milivojević, 2004; Rutar Leban, 2011) and act as a factor pre-
venting ESL. It is hence important for teachers to understand their role in
developing students’ academic self-concept. Moreover, it is important they
learn how to efficiently and supportively give their students feedback about
their academic achievements in order to help them build a healthy academ-
ic self-concept (Milivojević, 2004).
Milivojević (2004) explains that to support the development of an ap-
propriate (academic) self-concept the child (student) must learn to distin-
guish between himself as a person and his/her behaviour, mistakes/failures,
successes etc. The child (student) needs to understand that mistakes and
failures are an inevitable part of life, but do not define the person. Students
must accept that mistakes are a necessary element of learning and that a
person makes mistakes throughout their whole life. He argues that the ver-
bal communication between the significant other and the child is absolute-
ly crucial in this process. He explains that when a child (student) makes a
mistake, the adult must target their criticism at the child’s (student’s) be-
haviour, not at them as a person. It is not the failure to achieve that produc-
es low self-esteem and a negative (academic) self-concept. As already stat-
ed, it is the way significant people in the child’s life react to such failure that
defines their (academic) self-concept (Pollard & Pollard, 2014).
According to Milivojević (2004), clearly distinguishing between the
child’s (student’s) behaviour and them as a person supports a positive and
productive (academic) self-concept even when the child’s (student’s) behav-
iour/achievement is not as expected. This is important for the child’s (stu-
dent’s) motivation. It is only if children (students) believe they are capable
of producing better behaviour/results/achievements (if they have a healthy,
positive and realistic self-concept) that they will be motivated to put greater
effort into changing their inappropriate behaviour or achieving improved
results (Milivojević, 2004). If they receive negative feedback addressed to
them as a person (e.g. “You are slow and inaccurate in multiplying”), they
135
– all shown in different studies to be important factors for preventing ESL
(e.g. Battin-Pearson et al., 2000; Lan & Lanthier, 2003).
Developing a healthy academic self-concept at school
At school, the teacher is an important adult for students. Students’ academ-
ic self-concept is built through the teacher-student relationship, thus the
teacher has an important impact on developing the students’ healthy aca-
demic self-concept that will support their academic development (Bean &
Lipka, 1986; Milivojević, 2004; Rutar Leban, 2011) and act as a factor pre-
venting ESL. It is hence important for teachers to understand their role in
developing students’ academic self-concept. Moreover, it is important they
learn how to efficiently and supportively give their students feedback about
their academic achievements in order to help them build a healthy academ-
ic self-concept (Milivojević, 2004).
Milivojević (2004) explains that to support the development of an ap-
propriate (academic) self-concept the child (student) must learn to distin-
guish between himself as a person and his/her behaviour, mistakes/failures,
successes etc. The child (student) needs to understand that mistakes and
failures are an inevitable part of life, but do not define the person. Students
must accept that mistakes are a necessary element of learning and that a
person makes mistakes throughout their whole life. He argues that the ver-
bal communication between the significant other and the child is absolute-
ly crucial in this process. He explains that when a child (student) makes a
mistake, the adult must target their criticism at the child’s (student’s) be-
haviour, not at them as a person. It is not the failure to achieve that produc-
es low self-esteem and a negative (academic) self-concept. As already stat-
ed, it is the way significant people in the child’s life react to such failure that
defines their (academic) self-concept (Pollard & Pollard, 2014).
According to Milivojević (2004), clearly distinguishing between the
child’s (student’s) behaviour and them as a person supports a positive and
productive (academic) self-concept even when the child’s (student’s) behav-
iour/achievement is not as expected. This is important for the child’s (stu-
dent’s) motivation. It is only if children (students) believe they are capable
of producing better behaviour/results/achievements (if they have a healthy,
positive and realistic self-concept) that they will be motivated to put greater
effort into changing their inappropriate behaviour or achieving improved
results (Milivojević, 2004). If they receive negative feedback addressed to
them as a person (e.g. “You are slow and inaccurate in multiplying”), they
135
