In a classic book on self-concept, Purkey (1970) set forth the following composite definition of self. He stated the self is "a complex and dynamic system of beliefs which an individual holds true about himself (or herself), each belief with a corresponding value" (p. 7). The definition of self has two primary characteristics: the self is organized and the self is dynamic. These characteristics will be discussed below.
Self is Organized
Purkey (1970) suggested the "self has a generally stable quality which is characterized by harmony and orderliness" (p. 7). For example, our students have perceptions or beliefs about themselves that have some order to them and are relatively stable across time. In addition, many of these closely held beliefs are difficult to change.
Each belief or concept has "its own generally negative or positive value" (p. 9). For example, most students make some evaluation of themselves as a student. Their evaluations are usually negative or positive. Often they will evaluate themselves in various subject areas as good or bad.
Another quality of the organized self is that "success and failure are generalized throughout the system" (p. 9). When one ability is important and highly valued and we fail at this ability, then our failure will lower our self-evaluation of other, maybe unrelated, abilities. On the other hand, when one ability is important and highly valued and we achieve at this ability, then our achievement might raise our self-evaluation of other, maybe unrelated, abilities. In essence, if a student succeeds in one area of school, then they might think they can succeed in other areas of school. For example, if a student thinks they are good at English and English is highly valued to her or him, repeated failure in English will lower the student's self-concept in other (perhaps unrelated) subject matter areas.
Self is Unique
Like fingerprints, no two people ever hold identical sets of beliefs about themselves. This uniqueness of the self, which makes for an infinite variety of personalities, helps to explain problems of communication" (p. 9-10). Because of this uniqueness, differences occur in how students see themselves, the classroom, and us. For instance, a Euro-American teacher in Oklahoma might view the classroom differently from a Hispanic student in Southern California.
Chapter Seven - 74 Self is dynamic
Purkey (1970) states that "each one of us is constantly striving to maintain, protect, and enhance the self of which he (or she) is aware" (p. 10). The self is dynamic in the sense that each person is constantly attempting to maintain balance between her/his beliefs and her/his behavior. The self is the vantage point from which students view the world. Purkey goes on to state:
Things are significant or insignificant, important or unimportant, attractive or unattractive, valuable or worthless, in terms of their relationship to oneself. We evaluate the world and its meaning in terms of how we see ourselves. Many students do poorly in school simply because what the school is doing seem irrelevant to himself (or herself) and his (or her) world. (p. 10)
With the self as the vantage point, it is often difficult to change a student's perception of her or himself. If the student sees her or himself as a poor student, it may take a large number of successes in school before you can convince them otherwise. Changing a student's view of her or himself does not happen overnight. However, even our best students can begin to doubt their abilities if a teacher gives them many unsuccessful or failure experiences. When a poor student experiences failure, he or she simply accepts it because they expected to do poorly anyway, no matter how hard they worked.
In general, the self resists change and attempts to strive for consistency. People feel uncomfortable with themselves when they are forced to change. This is why it is so difficult to change self-image. Occasionally people will shift their self-image. Situations like the first day of school, graduation, marriage, a new job, new friends, or retirement might cause a shift, but overall our self is resistant to permanent change.
Purkey states:
However, the self will change if conditions are favorable. If the child sees the educative process as meaningful and self-enhancing, and if the degree of threat provided by the school experience is not overpowering, then he (or she) is likely to grow in self-esteem and in academic achievement. Very few students want to be failures at learning, just as very few teachers want to be failures at teaching. (p. 12)
In conclusion, within the self is some personal, internal motivation to engage in some activity. This can be advantageous for us. Our students come to school with some personal, internal motivation. It may or may not be to engage in school related activities. We have to be able to engage them in experiences that will get them motivated in the direction desired by the school system. If we can tap into a student's internal motivation system, then we can turn her or him into a "a truly dedicated student with some self-assurance" so they can succeed in the school process.
The characteristics of self are highly related to student self-concept formation. It is these very characteristics which make it difficult to alter or change a student's self-image. When we talk about changing self-concept, we are talking about changing the way a person views her or himself. This is no easy task. It is not easy because these perceptions of self are formed early and often solidified early in life. Before we begin to discuss methods for altering self-concept and building a more realistic view, we must review the development of self-concept.