The verbal and nonverbal communication the student receives from teachers, school officials, peers, parents, and other significant persons may have a greater, more far reaching impact on realistic student self-concept than other variables. While many of our students enter our classrooms with some degree of a healthy or unhealthy self-concept, it is we (teachers) who probably have the greatest impact on student self-concept. It is teacher communication with the student that tells the student how he or she is performing in the classroom. While our students listen to their peer group and parents, we still have a major impact on their self-concept because we spend more time with them than any other group throughout their educational careers. Our verbal and our nonverbal communication with our students are some of the primary determinants of whether or not a student has a healthy self-image or an unhealthy self-image of her or himself in the classroom. All other explanations are peripheral to the development of student self-concept. In relation to self-concept development and teacher impact, Haim Ginott stated the following:
I've come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom...As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous... In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.
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With the understanding that communication is the key component in self-concept formation, we will move to discuss other factors that impact student self-concept development. Keep in mind that the other factors are all related to the communication in the classroom.
Many students enter our academic halls with a fairly healthy, positive view of themselves and then in a few short years they leave our academic halls with a less than healthy, perhaps negative view of themselves. How does this transformation happen? Again, it goes back to the communication the student encounters. He or she comes in bright, alert, expectant, energetic, and willing to learn. Then they begin encountering persons who tell them in verbal or nonverbal ways that they aren't very good at what they are doing. Some persons tell them they aren't very good persons. After several days, months, or years of this, the student has developed a feeling about her or himself as a student. It is this accumulation of data about oneself and one's performance from many teachers, school personnel, and others that confirms a student's self-concept.
Parents and other significant others have a major impact on a student's self-concept development. The communication given by significant others often influences a student's self-regard confirmation. Parents, grandparents, and teachers often feel they have no impact on a student after the first few grades are completed. This is completely untrue. Many times students still look to their parents, grandparents, and teachers for assurance and encouragement. If these significant others don't give guidance, assurance, or encouragement, the student may begin to feel unsure of him or herself. Students feel that if the people who are supposed to love and care about their needs, successes, and achievements think they are doing poorly, then perhaps they are. After extensive periods of less than positive communication from significant others, a student's self-esteem will be lowered. Even grown adults still place value upon what their parents think of them and what they do. So why shouldn't our students do the same?
As a student's positive or negative experiences multiply so does the perception of self develop. School is filled with many positive and many negative opportunities. Not all students can succeed in all academic challenges. However, given proper instruction, proper teacher/student communication, and a good classroom environment, all students should be able to succeed in most academic challenges. Public school was never designed for an elite few to do well. It was designed so all students could have an equal opportunity to learn, process information, perform, and achieve. However, many, many students never have a number of positive experiences, they have negative experiences that continue to multiply.
(See Figure 8.1 for an illustration of this idea.) When failures outnumber successes, a student's healthy self-concept may be in jeopardy. Often as failures mount, healthy self-concept decreases.
Stereotyping of a student can significantly heighten the likelihood that a healthy or unhealthy self-concept will follow. Often students become negatively stereotyped in their early years in school and this stereotype follows them throughout their academic careers. There have even been reported incidents of an entire group or family of children who were all perceived in a negative light by teachers and administrators. What chance does a child have to succeed if some negative reputation or stereotype precedes her or him?
Communicating Keyboarding Band
English Music Cheerleading
Behavior Asking Questions Math
Helping Teacher Home Economics Chorus
Social Science Speech Geology
Foreign Language Physical Education Psychology Multicultural Studies History Geography
Relating to Others Science Writing Playing with Others Lab Work Finance Working with Others Being Liked Health
Selected Fan Clubs Biology Literature
Computer Science Astronomy Listening Extracurricular Activities Answering Questions Talking
The above are several areas where a student can succeed or fail. When the failures outweigh the successes, the student will have a lowered student self-image. Figure 8.1 Potential Areas Where Students Can Succeed or Fail
Above are several areas where a student can succeed or fail. When the failures outweigh the successes, the student will have a lowered student self-image.
All too often in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, and school offices we hear killer statements made to or about our students. Killer statements are usually verbal message put-downs or negative statements made to a student or made about a student. They are usually generated by teachers and other school personnel. Often these statements may even be a part of a teacher's communication repertoire in the classroom. Many times these statements occur from frustration, tension, or stress in the classroom environment. Killer
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statements are hurtful comments that usually hit at the core of a student’s self-esteem. Some examples we have heard used by teachers are: "You're so dumb, a door knob looks bright." "You have a brain the size of a pea." "Where did you get such a stupid idea?" "Your parents must have had one good child, but it sure isn't you." "You’re just like your older brother, a failure." I think we can see from these examples that killer statements do not belong in our school setting. These types of statements can hurt any student of any age and damage their student self-concept.
Lastly, students will acquire some of the self-concept about whom and what they are by listening, watching, and modeling the behaviors and attitudes of the adults in their surroundings. For example, students often watch and model the nonverbal behaviors and spoken attitudes of their teachers. Students consider their teachers to be role models, so they model them. If we are not positive about ourselves, our profession, our school, our state, and the general state of education, the students may develop some of the same behaviors we display. Even the more mature students will begin to model us and speak like us. If we have a low self-concept, we are likely to have an entire room of nonconfident, insecure, timid students. If we have a healthy self-concept then we are likely to have an entire room of confident, secure, self-assured students.
In conclusion, all of the factors which contribute to the development of student self-concept may or may not be present in each student's environment. No one is sure exactly what variables or combinations of variables impact every student. But we do know each student is unique and different and their self-concept is influenced in unique and different ways. We also know that if a student receives much negative communication over long periods of time, her or his likelihood of having a lowered self-concept has been increased. To summarize, we don't know all the reasons why some students have higher or lower (realistic or unrealistic) self-concepts than others, but we do know that communication employed by significant others has a major impact on a student's perceptions of her or himself.