Low Moderate to Good
Achievers Nonachievers
Box 1 suggests the student with a high or healthy self-concept and high ability will be a high achiever or overachiever. The reason for this is that the student in Box 1 has high self-confidence because of the healthy self-concept and, combined with high ability, they can master almost any subject matter or content area. This combination of confidence and ability allows this student to be able to approach most academic and social arenas in school with self-assurance, confidence, skill, and competence. Other descriptive terms for this student might include the following: a go-getter; self-starter; an initiator; or a leader. These students will experience high achievement in the school system and many academic and personal rewards. They accomplish, succeed, and perform in many arenas. They rarely fail or fall down in any area of school. Of course these students are only a very small proportion of the student population. They are generally well-liked, respected, and receive much positive communication from their teachers.
Box 2 shows a student with a healthy or high self-concept and a low ability level. This student is still likely to have moderate to good achievement because of their high self-concept which gives them self-assurance and self-confidence. They are confident but have less ability than the students in Box 1, but they know that if they strive, work hard, and study, they can master many subjects and succeed in school. These students might also be called: I think I cans; the try, try agains 'till I get it right; the pluggers who plug away until they get it right; the stick to it students; the plodders who plod along until they get it right; or hard workers. These students will also experience good levels of achievement in the school system and many academic and personal rewards. They have high aspirations. They work hard, try hard, attempt to do things well, talk to teachers about how to improve, have high need to work and succeed and usually do succeed because of their dedication, determination, and confidence. While their ability is not as high as Box 1 (and they are well aware of their limited abilities), they succeed because they are driven to succeed by a strong, healthy self-concept. These students usually comprise a larger proportion of the student population than Box 1. They, too, are generally well-liked, respected for their tenacity, and receive much positive communication from their teachers.
Box 3 shows a student with an unhealthy or low self-concept and a high ability level. This student is not likely to achieve up to their ability level because they lack confidence and self-assurance. They are less confident in themselves than Boxes 1 or 2 because of their low self-concept or low perceptions of themselves. Their self-concept holds them back from achieving up to their ability level. These students are often seen as underachievers. These students might also be called: the low achievers; I can't students; or the frustrated ones. These students have the ability but their low self-concept is holding them back from
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academic achievement. Often teachers will say to this group of students "you should be doing better than you are, what's the matter?" This group has been defeated by their self-image and is easily discouraged in the classroom. Even when they do perform well in the classroom and get reinforced for it, they think it was luck, chance, or the instructor had pity on them. It takes a lot of teacher reinforcement to show them that they have the ability to do well. They give up easily, don't attempt new projects, and often become frustrated with school, which might lead to misbehavior problems. These students usually comprise the same proportion of the student population as Box 2.
Box 4 shows a student with an unhealthy or low self-concept and a low ability level. This student is not likely to achieve much in school. In fact they may become the mental and/or physical dropouts. They are not confident in themselves, have a very low opinion of themselves, and have low ability. These students are often viewed as nonachievers. These students might also be referred to as: the dropouts; the deadbeats; the lost ones; the lost souls; or I don't care group. These students are held back because they have low self-concepts and low ability. They are truly less in tune with school, less likely to attend school, and are often the mental dropouts. Many times these students will stay in school for social or legal reasons. They are often absent from school and have to be forced to attend school. They will often join antisocial groups and be susceptible to influence from the antisocial groups. School is not relevant so they find some group that is. These students do not enjoy the rewards that the school has to offer. In fact, teachers usually wonder why these students are in their classes. These students usually comprise the same proportion of the student population as Box 1.
In conclusion, it is clear student self-concept has an impact on student achievement, success, and learning. The students with the lower self-concepts are more likely to achieve less, learn less, and be frustrated more with school than students with the higher self-concepts. So then what do we do? First, we must nurture and make sure the students with the higher self-concepts in Boxes 1 and 2 continue to flourish in our systems. We don't want to assume that because they are self-motivated they can be ignored. At the same time we cannot spend all our time nurturing them while neglecting others. Second, we need to build or increase the self-esteem of students in Boxes 3 and 4. We must do this without neglecting the others in our classes. As suggested earlier, our jobs are not easy, but then again no one promised us teaching was easy. Before we move to communication strategies for enhancing students, self-concepts, we will review one of the primary explanations of learning and self-concept.