Development of Self-Concept in Diverse Students

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An individual’s self-concept is the complex product of all life’s experiences (Christensen & Dahle, 1998). During the elementary and middle school years, students develop a sense of independence; they learn to cope with feelings of jealousy, fear, and aggression; and they form friendships and develop empathy (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soderman, 1998). Each of these social areas seems to be universal across cultures, although they may be expressed differently in various societies (Ekman & Davidson, 1994).

Independence and Responsibility

As elementary and middle school students develop cognitively and socially, they become better able to plan solutions to problems and to understand the social environment. They are more and more able to act independently. Students usually try to be independent when they find an opportunity to do so. Teachers reward positive attempts to be independent. When time is short, many teachers do not value student independence enough to provide the extra time needed for independent planning and decision making. Sometimes students’ attempts result in unsafe or disruptive behavior. When students’ independent attempts do not work, teachers assist them and guide them in learning from their mistakes (Macoby & Masters, 1970). But when help is given too quickly, it reinforces dependency, frustration, and sometimes aggression or withdrawal.

Students become independent when they are expected to be responsible (Quilty, 1975). For example, putting away materials when one is finished using them and keeping things in one’s own locker both demonstrate responsibility. Expectations of responsibility are best met when accompanied with reasons. A teacher might demonstrate the benefit of being responsible by saying, “The scissors and stapler you need are on that shelf. It’s nice that the last person who used them returned them to where they belong because now everyone can easily find them when they need them.” Students may work responsibly on a task, but they often start, then stop and attend to something else, then return to what they were working on, and so on. Teachers should recognize and reward efforts at responsibility. Independence and responsibility depend on one another. Students from various cultural backgrounds can be expected to display independence and responsibility differently. For example, students from Asian backgrounds often assume responsibility for tasks and carry them out well but might not be as likely to organize others to do a task unless the teacher indicates permission to do so (Scarcella, 1980). These students are demonstrating respect for the teacher in a manner they have learned through their personal cultural experiences. Teachers help students develop independence and responsibility by (1) planning carefully, (2) anticipating difficulties, (3) giving clear directions, and (4) providing outlines of suggested procedures. Expecting and encouraging responsibility and independent behavior show respect for students as individuals who are in the process of growing up.

Jealousy

Jealousy is a natural feeling that results partly from egocentrism, especially in younger students, who sometimes find it hard to accept another student being the center of attention even for a short while (Seifert & Hofnung, 2000). Reflecting on the learning cycle on sharing and negotiation, how much potential for jealousy is there in using this lesson’s development with first-graders? With fourth-graders? Even though jealousy in students is normal, it threatens their self-respect because it often means that a person is uncertain of the affection of another person in the presence of a third party.

Students express jealousy in several ways, including aggression, immature behavior, and boasting. When a student displays any of these behaviors much more frequently than is common among his or her peers, teachers may have cause for concern. Teachers who use peer behavior as their basis for comparing students’ behavior recognize that some behaviors are more common among certain groups of people than among others. Teaching that encourages students to discuss concerns and analyze their behavior, as suggested in the sample learning cycle, assists students in learning to cope with feelings of jealousy.

Contests resulting in winners and losers foster jealousy and reduce self-respect (French, Brownell, Graziano, & Hartup, 1977). Instead, an emphasis should be placed on each student performing as well as possible. Cooperative group efforts at completing a project are effective replacements for contests. Each student contributes personal strengths, gains in self-respect, and is less likely to be jealous of others. A closely related problem occurs when a teacher identifies one student as a model and tells others they should emulate this model. Students should examine historical situations, current events, and fictional situations whose development may have been influenced by jealousy and evaluate how people respond to jealousy. Teachers ask questions to help students do so, as in these examples:

• How much do you think jealousy influenced racist attitudes toward the baseball player Jackie Robinson?
• Students who work hard on their assignments and do well are being insulted by others. Why is this happening? Could some students who are making insulting comments be jealous of the success these students are having in their classes?
• Were Cinderella’s sisters jealous of her beauty? Do you think this was why they were mean to her?

Fears

Fear is part of life. Fear can produce wariness, anxiety, suspicion, dread, dismay, anguish, and panic (Kostelnik et al., 1998). Students often have fears that are not reasonable. Very young children develop fears frequently between ages 2 and 5. As they mature, their ability to interpret observations and events develops; fears weaken and students become more realistic. Teachers should remember that because students’ thinking processes are immature and their personal experiences are limited, students think their fears are reasonable. Students usually grow out of their fears as they mature. Adults who use threats to enforce discipline, such as telling a child to eat her food or the police officer will make her eat it, may cause children to develop fears.