The influence of self-concept on academic achievement

Students with a good self-concept, better at school?

Since Howard Gardner unveiled his theory of multiple intelligences in 1993 and Daniel Goleman published his book "Emotional Intelligence" in 1995, a new paradigm has opened up in research aimed at studying which factors are really related to the level of academic performance.

Leaving aside the traditional conception of the early twentieth century on the value of IQ as the only predictor of intelligence in schoolchildren, let us analyze what science has to say about the link between the nature of self-concept and school results.

Academic achievement: what is it and how is it measured?

Academic achievement is understood as the result of the student's internalized response and learning capacity derived from the confluence of several factorsas can be deduced from the majority of constructs in the field of psychology or psycho-pedagogy.

Among the internal factors, motivation, the student's aptitudes or self-concept stand out, and among those external to the individual are the environment, the relationships established between the different contexts and the interpersonal relationships embedded in each of them. In addition, other aspects such as the quality of the teacher, the educational program, the methodology used in a given school, etc., can also be decisive in the learning acquired by students.

How can the concept of academic achievement be defined?

There are various definitions provided by authors in this field, but there seems to be a consensus in qualifying the concept of academic achievement as a concept of achievement. there seems to be a consensus in defining achievement as a measure of the knowledge obtained and the knowledge assimilated by the student.and thus becomes the ultimate goal of education.

For example, the authors García and Palacios give a double characterization to the concept of academic achievement. Thus, from a static point of view, it refers to the product or result of learning obtained by the student, while from a dynamic point of view, performance is understood as the process of internalization of such learning. On the other hand, other contributions suggest that performance is a subjective phenomenon subject to external evaluation and is ascribed to ethical and moral goals in accordance with the social system established at a given historical moment.

Components of academic performance

1. Self-concept

The self-concept can be defined as the set of ideas, thoughts and perceptions that the individual has of himself/herself.. Therefore, self-concept should not be confused with the "I" or "self" as a whole; it is only a part of it.

Self-concept and self-esteem are not the same thing

On the other hand, a distinction must also be made between self-concept and self-esteem, since the latter also becomes a component of the former. Self-esteem is characterized by its subjective and evaluative connotation on the self-concept and is shown by behavioral manifestations congruent with the values and principles of each person.

On the other hand, a more recent meaning, such as that of Papalia and Wendkos, contemplates the link between the individual and society, understanding self-concept as a construct based on the relationships that each subject maintains with his or her environment and the social beings that the latter includes. that the latter includes.

Self-concept from a cognitive dimension

On the other hand, Deutsh and Krauss, contribute a meaning of cognitive organization system to the self-concept, which is in charge of ordering the individual with respect to the relationships with his interpersonal and social environment.. Finally, Rogers differentiates three aspects of the self: the evaluative (self-esteem), the dynamic (or force that motivates the coherent maintenance of the established self-concept) and the organizational (oriented to order hierarchically or concentrically the multiple descriptions of the elements with which the subject interacts and also those corresponding to his individual self).

Thus, it seems to be accepted that there are various external factors that can determine the nature of each individual's self-concept: interpersonal relationships, the subject's Biological characteristics, educational and learning parental experiences in early childhood, the influence of the social and cultural system, etc.

Factors for developing a good self-concept

The contributions of Clemes and Bean indicate the following factors as fundamental so that the development of self-esteem and self-concept to be carried out adequately:

• The attachment or the manifest feeling of belonging to the family system in which demonstrations of concern for the well-being of the other, affection, interest, understanding and consideration, etc., are observed.
• Singularity related to the feeling of knowing oneself to be a special, unique and unrepeatable individual.
• The power referred to the capacity to reach one's own goals in a satisfactory and successful way, as well as the understanding of the factors that have intervened otherwise. This will allow learning for future experiences and emotional self-control in adverse and/or unexpected situations.
• A set of guidelines that establish a stable, safe and coherent framework of behavior, with positive and encouraging role models who encourage the appropriate aspects and who know how to reason the causes that motivate the modifications of this behavioral framework.

Correlation between academic performance and self-concept

The research carried out and presented in the text leads to the following conclusions regarding the relationship between self-concept and academic performance: the correlation between both elements is significantly positiveThe correlation between both elements is significantly positive, although three types of relationship between both concepts can be differentiated.

• The first possibility is that performance determines self-concept, since the evaluation made by the student's closest significant people has a great influence on how the student perceives himself in his role as a student.
• Secondly, it can be understood that it is the levels of self-concept that determine academic performance in the sense that the student will choose to maintain qualitatively and quantitatively the type of self-concept by adapting his performance to it, for example in terms of the difficulty of the tasks and the effort invested in them.
• Finally, self-concept and academic performance can maintain a bidirectional relationship of mutual influence, as proposed by Marsh, where a modification in one component leads to a change in the whole system to reach a state of equilibrium.

The role of family education

As indicated above, the type of family system and the dynamics established on educational guidelines and values transmitted from parents to children and between siblings becomes a fundamental and determining aspect in the construction of the child's self-concept. As reference figures, parents should dedicate most of their efforts to teaching appropriate and adaptive values such as responsibility, autonomous decision-making and problem-solving skills, the sense of effort invested, tenacity and work towards achieving goals, as a priority.

Secondly, it is very important that parents are more oriented to offer recognition and positive reinforcement for appropriate behavioral actions positive reinforcement for the appropriate behavioral actions performed by the children, rather than focusing on criticizing those aspects that are more negative or could be improved; positive reinforcement has a greater power than punishment or nagging reinforcement with regard to the acquisition of behavioral learning. This second point is decisive in the type of attachment established between parents and children, since the application of this methodology facilitates a deeper affective bond between both parties.

The third element lies in the promotion of social relations with peers (friends) and other people in the interpersonal environment, as well as the and other people in the interpersonal environment, as well as the structuring and balance in the use of leisure time so that it is enriching (based on the variety of types of activities) and satisfactory in itself; being understood as an end rather than as a means. In this aspect, parents have limited room for maneuver, since the choice of the peer group should come from the child. Still, it is true that the type of environment in which the child interacts and develops is more subject to more conscious choices and preferences, so parents may take a relative side in selecting one type of context over others.

As a final important factor, knowledge and the establishment of a set of effective study patterns that facilitate the student's academic performance should be taken into account.. Although it seems more frequent than expected that the decrease or alteration of school results derives from factors other than this one (such as all those mentioned above), the fact that parents can transmit and enforce certain rules in the child's study habits is of vital importance in obtaining adequate qualifications (establishment of a fixed study schedule, the creation of an adequate work environment at home, encouraging active autonomy in the solution of school tasks, reinforcement of achievements, having the support of the teaching staff, being consistent in the indications transmitted, etc.). ).

By way of conclusion

The previous lines have shown a new conception in reference to the aspects that determine the achievement of good results at school level. Research has incorporated elements other than intellectual ability extracted from IQ as possible predictors of academic performance.

Thus, although there is no clear consensus on the exact relationship that exists between self-concept and students' qualifications (which phenomenon causes the other), it seems to be clear that the link between both constructs has been validated by different expert authors in the field.. The family, as the main primary socializing agent in childhood, plays a very important role in the formation and development of the image that the child elaborates about himself/herself.

Thus, priority should be given to the application of educational guidelines that facilitate the achievement of this goal, such as those that have been presented throughout this text.

Bibliographical references:

• Gimeno Sacristán, J. (1977). Self-concept, sociability and school performance. Madrid: MEC.
• Andrade, M., Miranda, C., Freixas, I. (2000). Academic achievement and modifiable variables. Revista de Psicología Educativa, Vol. 6, No. 2.
• Elexpuru, I. (1994). How can teachers favor their students' self-concept in the classroom? Comunidad Educativa, No 217.
• Galileo Ortega, J.L. y Fernandez de Haro, E (2003); Enciclopedia de la educación Infantil (vol2). Málaga. Ed: Aljibe