Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, and Resilience Beccah Avraham, Matt Gold, and Jennie Hall

Self-Concept Who am I? How someone thinks about or perceives themselves or the collection of beliefs one has about themselves (ex) “I am funny…” (ex) “I am bald…” (ex) “I’m a fast runner…” Jennie

Based on this definition, what do you view as your most important self-concepts? Jennie Take a minute to think about how you define yourself, write down a few words that you’re comfortable sharing with the class Do you value these? Start thinking about how they might affect your self-esteem

Self-Concept as Psychological Development in Early Childhood Jennie Now we’re going to see how a group of individuals at a different stage developmentally might answer the same question I asked you

Developmental Implications Elementary – Middle School Individuals experience a decrease of self-concept Middle School – High School Self-concept grows as a result of increased freedom and opportunity to participate in activities competently Peer influence comes into play Individuals become aware of how others view their skills – begin to distinguish between effort and ability Begin to assess ability by comparing to others Parents influence does not diminish Jennie Decrease due to reaction to overly positive self-perceptions characterized of childhood and the lack of cognitive maturity to evaluate their abilities critically When you’re young your parents approval dictates your evaluation of your own skills… through development, peers gain influence but parents influence does not diminish Students must feel competent in areas that they value… for instance, if academics and behavior is valued messages of incompetence in these areas result in low self-concept (poor grades, public punishments) As a teacher, important to encourage focus on improvement, rather than comparison to peers (increase self-concept by reducing social comparison)

Parents vs. Peers In academic contexts, self- concept = personal belief in one’s academic abilities or skills PARENTS value behavioral and scholastic competence PEERS value social competence and physical appearance Self-concept influences behaviors, cognitive and emotional outcomes, including academic achievement, happiness, anxiety, social integration, and self-esteem Jennie When you’re young, your parents’ values have a greater influence on your self-concept but this becomes dangerous/confusing when you’re introduced to peer judgment, *important for parents to maintain strong values because their influence never diminishes despite peers becoming a greater influence… think about young individual’s exposure to the media… what is the media valuing? Physical characteristics etc. values must be placed elsewhere in order for learners to develop healthy self-concepts

Promoting Healthy Self-Concepts Peer tutoring and cooperative learning Appropriate and positive feedback Reducing social comparison cues in the classroom Encouraging focus on improvement rather than comparative learning Fostering caring academic environments Organizing school-wide interventions Eliminate bullying, promote healthy social values and self discipline

According to Maureen Manning from the National Association of School Psychologists, “Schools are most likely to support positive self-esteem by implementing strategies to promote learners’ self-concept.” Jennie and Beccah Unfortunatley This isn’t always the case… beccah will give you an example Beccah talks about kid who’s made fun of in class – sees himself as ugly and acknowledges that it’s a bad thing, lets it affect his academic performance

Self-Esteem Evaluation of one’s own self-concept The values that individuals place on their own abilities and behaviors Beccah Things that are not valued are not gonna affect our self-esteem (ex) if you don’t value school, you won’t be motivated to succeed in that area of life

Help us out! What do you value? Do you view yourself as having high or low self- esteem? Beccah matt, shoot him down Talk about matt’s reactions (won’t respond to second question) Jennie gives example from field experience

Motivation and Self-Esteem Positive self-esteem is related to more favorable attitudes toward school Perceived low self- esteem regarding a subject or school related issue negatively influences behavior and academic performance High self-esteem positively effects educational resilience and self-efficacy Beccah case study

Case Study: Apollo Academy Improving Self-Esteem in the Classroom The 4 A’s (based on Glasser’s Control Theory) Attention Acceptance Appreciation Affection Matt – define glasser’s control theory Give overview of creative solutions

Dumb and Dumber - Self-Efficacy Jennie

After watching this video and based on what you’ve learned about self-concept and self-esteem, what is self-efficacy? Discuss in groups of 3-4 Jennie

Self-Concept + Self-Esteem = Self-Efficacy Individual’s personal evaluation or confidence in his or her performance capability on a specific task Low self-efficacy = avoidance of activities they perceive beyond their capabilities Low self-efficacy = choice of easier tasks where chances of success are greater High self-efficacy = greater effort, persistence, and motivation, therefore improved achievement Matt

Goal Orientation Motivational Patterns (Learning vs. Performance Goals) “Helpless” response: challenging tasks avoided, performance diminished at onset of task difficulty Evaluation of abilities in comparison to others “Mastery” response: challenging tasks are sought and effort increases in the face of difficulty Interested in improving skills and attaining knowledge Subject matter is intrinsically rewarding Dear matt, make sure you lead into the discussion of resilience by mentioning how learners who have the “mastery” resopnse tend to be resilient… then say something like now beccah is going to go into more detail about resilience

Academic Resilience Academic success despite personal vulnerabilities and adversities brought about by environmental conditions and experiences Difficult life environments can negatively affect students’ lives and interfere with their learning (ex) Previous presentations Beccah Risk factors include family poverty Josh’s presentation, gender presentation ell’s

Risk Factors Family poverty Community violence Psychological differences Discrimination A lot of the presentations from over the past few weeks have touched on issues of race, gender, sexuality, and socio-economic status… all factors that significantly influence academic resilience in learners DO NOT define learning outcomes in all cases: educational resilience

Fostering Resilience High academic standards Incentives and rewards Feedback and praise Teacher’s modeling behavior Opportunities for students to be responsible and develop problem-solving and social skills What formal theories relate to these educational characteristics?

4 Recommendations for Education

Student-teacher Rapport Connections with teachers (building relationships that are caring and have respect and trust) Maintain a “can-do” attitude and emphasize effort and success Use student strengths and promote high self-esteem Class Climate Eliminate bullying and alienation Students need to feel a sense of belonging and responsibility Foster pride and accomplishment, identify and praise their achievements Give learners agency Encourage teamwork and safe interactions to reduce anxiety Instructional Strategies Cooperative learning projects and cross-age tutoring Student Skills Interactions in classroom provide opportunity to develop communication, social, interpersonal and literacy skills Extracurricular activities develop social skills, avoid negative behaviors Life transferrable skills: communicating, coping with stress, managing conflicts

References Byer, J. L. (2002). The consistency correlation between student's perceptions of classroom involvement and academic self-concept in secondary social studies classes. Journal of Social Studies Research, 26(1), 3. Downey, J. A. (2008). Recommendations for fostering educational resilience in the classroom. Preventing School Failure, 53(1), 56-64. Manning, M.A.(2007) Self-concept and self-esteem in adolescents. Principle leadership (middle-school edition). 7(6F), 5. Nichols, J. D., & Utesch, W. E. (1998). An alternative learning program: Effects on student motivation and self-esteem. The Journal of Educational Research, 91(5), 272.