An incredible aspect of being human is having an immense awareness of one’s self. We define ourselves based on various characteristics and beliefs to separate who we are from the surrounding world. In Principles of Educational Psychology, Ormod, Saklofske, and Schwean discuss how students develop a sense of self. In the text, there are three main concepts involved in the development of sense of self: self-concept, self-esteem, and Self-Efficacy.

Self Concept: One’s perceptions of, and beliefs about oneself.

Self-Esteem: Judgements and beliefs about one’s own general value and worth.

Self-Efficacy: The belief that one is capable of executing certain behaviours or reaching certain goals (Ormod et al., 2010, p. 61).

Ormod et al. discuss how an individual’s self-concept and self-esteem can be influenced by many factors including: peers, parents, and teachers.

How has my self-esteem and self-concept been influenced?

From the time I was a pre-teen till the end of my teen years, I competed in Track & Field at a highly competitive level. After one important track meet my mom and dad compared me to another girl on my track team. They said things like: ‘if you worked harder you would have done just as well as her, if not better’. When my parents said this to me, my self-esteem was negatively impacted because I began to compare myself to my peers. I no longer saw myself as a capable athlete. After my self-esteem began to decline, my self-concept also began to change. I began to believe that I was not good at track and as a result, my performance declined.

Connections to Text

The authors of the text state that children with low self-esteem feel as if they have low value and little worth. After my parents compared me to my teammate, I began to feel as if my value and worth was less than my teammate’s. In addition, once my self-concept began to change (I no longer thought I was a good athlete), so did my self-efficacy. Once I began to think I was not a good athlete, I began to believe that I could not improve or reach any of my original goals. As a result of this, my enjoyment of the sport began to disappear and performance declined.

References

Ormod, J.E., Saklofske, D.H., & Schwean, V.L. (2010). Principles of educational psychology. Toronto, ON: Pearson  (pages 60-72).