"Self-esteem of junior schoolchildren. From work experience"

Self-esteem of younger schoolchildren article on the topic

Self-esteem of junior schoolchildren.

Merkuryeva Irina Mikhailovna

Methodological association

primary school teachers.

26.03.2014.

1. What is self-esteem and how does it develop in primary school age.

Self-esteem is a person’s assessment of himself: his qualities, capabilities, abilities, and characteristics of his activities. Self-esteem reflects the characteristics of a person’s awareness of his actions and actions, their motives and goals, the ability to see and evaluate his capabilities and abilities.

At the initial stages of development, the child evaluates primarily his physical qualities and capabilities (“I am big,” “I am strong”), then practical skills, actions, and moral qualities begin to be recognized and evaluated. Self-esteem begins to act as the most important regulator of human behavior, his activity in learning, work, communication, and self-education.

The formation of self-esteem is associated with the child’s active actions, self-observation and self-control. Games, activities, communication constantly draw his attention to himself, put him in a situation where he must somehow relate to himself - evaluate his ability to do something, obey certain requirements and rules, demonstrate certain personality traits.

Two factors have a decisive influence on the formation of self-esteem: the attitude of others and the child’s own awareness of the characteristics of his activity, its progress and results. And this awareness will not appear automatically: parents and educators need to teach the child to see and understand himself, teach him to coordinate his actions with the actions of other people, and coordinate his desires with the desires and needs of others.

In each age period, the formation of self-esteem is predominantly influenced by the activity that is leading at this age. At primary school age, educational activity is the leading activity; It is precisely on its progress that the formation of a child’s self-esteem depends to a decisive extent; it is directly related to his academic performance and success in learning. Teaching, as a leading activity, begins to correct the formation of personality literally from the first months of a child’s arrival at school. Moreover, psychological research shows that the self-esteem of younger schoolchildren is still far from independent, but is subject to the assessments of others, primarily the assessments of the teacher. The way a child evaluates himself is a copy, an almost literal copy of the assessments made by the teacher. This means that we must teach the child to control his actions at any time, evaluate them correctly, and be attentive to every stage of his work, to any of its intermediate results. This will immediately affect academic success, which will objectively create new foundations for self-esteem for a student who is not very confident.

It is also necessary to help the child express himself - to realize his capabilities in the area in which he has shown particular success. This will help him earn the respect of his teacher and comrades. Psychologists say that there are no incapable children; everyone has special inclinations for something. One is good at drawing, another is a craftsman, and the third has a living corner at home. Parents can help their child reveal his best side to his friends. Younger schoolchildren, especially those who have difficulty learning, are very sensitive to external assessments and sensitively perceive the attitudes of others. Therefore, any outside support and praise are especially important for them. A child who is confident in himself is not afraid of difficulties, does not give in to them, and finds the strength to overcome them.

2. Self-esteem of younger schoolchildren with different academic performance

Successful students develop high, often inflated self-esteem, while weak students develop low, mostly underestimated self-esteem. However, lagging schoolchildren do not easily put up with low assessments of their activities and personality traits - conflict situations arise that increase the child’s emotional stress, excitement and confusion. Weak students gradually begin to develop self-doubt, anxiety, timidity, they feel bad among classmates, and are wary of adults.

A different set of personal qualities begins to take shape in strong students due to high self-esteem. They are distinguished by self-confidence, often turning into excessive self-confidence, and the habit of being first and exemplary.

Children who experience significant difficulties in mastering program material most often receive negative grades. A student becomes underperforming at some stage of his studies when a certain discrepancy is discovered between what is required of him and what he is able to accomplish. At the initial stage of the lag, this discrepancy is not sufficiently realized, and most importantly, is not accepted by the student: the majority of underachieving children in grades I and II overestimate the results of their educational activities. By fourth grade, a significant contingent of lagging children with low self-esteem are already identified, and we see an increasing tendency from class to class for underachieving students to underestimate their already very limited successes.

Both underestimation and overestimation of one’s strengths and capabilities is far from a harmless phenomenon for a student. The habit of a certain position in the class group - “weak”, “average” or “strong”, which sets the tone for learning - gradually leaves its mark on all aspects of the child’s life.

3. Self-esteem of younger schoolchildren as a means of increasing academic performance

The teacher’s task, first of all, is to increase the motivation of learning and its effectiveness, and adequate self-esteem of the student helps to solve this problem quite effectively. The only difficulty is to achieve adequate self-esteem in each student. For this purpose, already in the 1st grade it is necessary to begin to form such self-esteem. The control and evaluation system also sets us an important social task: to develop in schoolchildren the ability to check and control themselves, critically evaluate their activities, find errors and ways to eliminate them.

The level of self-esteem determines the activity of the individual, his desire for self-education, his participation in the life of the team. It is customary to distinguish between adequate (or real) and inadequate (inflated or underestimated) self-esteem. These definitions appear in comparison with the real capabilities of a primary school student. Self-esteem does not remain stable; depending on success in activities and age characteristics, it tends to change.

The greatest influence on the development of self-esteem is exerted by school assessment of academic performance; it is essentially an assessment of the personality as a whole and determines the social status of the child, therefore it is necessary to distinguish between assessment of activity and assessment of personality and not transfer one to the other. Younger schoolchildren perceive negative feedback about their work as an assessment: you are a bad person. The teacher's assessment is the main motive and measure of their efforts, their aspirations for success, so there is no need to compare him with other children, but show him the positive results of his own work before and now. Using the technique of comparison to show the student his own, even if very small, progress compared to yesterday, we strengthen and raise confidence in ourselves and our capabilities. To develop adequate self-esteem, it is necessary to create an atmosphere of psychological comfort and support in the classroom.

4. Introduction of self-assessment rules for the technology of assessing educational success

The authors of the educational system “School 2100” have developed rules for the technology of assessing the educational success (educational achievements) of students. A short list is presented in “Testing and control work” on the surrounding world (E.V. Sizova, N.V. Kharitonova).

Rule 2: “Self-esteem”

The grade is determined jointly by the teacher and student.

If the assessment is carried out immediately after the student has presented his solution (for example, an oral answer in class), then the teacher and student determine the assessment (if required, a mark) in a dialogue (short or extended)
If the assessment is carried out after submitting a written assignment to the teacher, for example, a test, then the student has the right to argue with reason the mark assigned to him, in dialogue with the teacher, giving an assessment of his work.

To implement this rule, the student must master the procedure for self-assessment.

Self-assessment algorithm (questions to which the student answers)

1st step. What needed to be done in this assignment (task)? What was the goal, what was needed

what was the result?

2nd step. Did you manage to get the result? Found a solution, answer?

3rd step. Did you do it completely correctly or with a minor error (what, in what)?

4th step. Coped completely independently or with someone’s help

(who helped, with what)?

From 2nd grade, after teaching children to use the table of requirements (see 4th rule), a new step can be added to this algorithm.

5th step. What skill did you practice while completing this task?

Self-esteem in primary school lessons

One of the main directions of development of general education is the transition to a new federal state educational standard of general education. This is the most significant systemic innovation in recent years, including for the primary level of general education. The fundamental center of primary general education is the achievement of qualitatively new educational results, including the formation of universal educational activities that allow the development of a socially active personality that realizes its abilities.

The main features of the second generation standards require changes to the assessment system, which acts not only as a teaching tool, a regulator of the educational process, but also as an independent element of content, a means of increasing the effectiveness of teaching and learning. The assessment system is built in such a way that students are included in control and evaluation activities, which is an ongoing process naturally integrated into educational practice. Only with this approach, skills and habits of adequate self-esteem and mutual assessment, considered as meta-subject results, are acquired and formed.

What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is a person’s assessment of himself: his qualities, capabilities, characteristics of his activities. The task of the school is to teach the child self-assessment of his actions, desires, actions, joint actions, since this is a universal competence that a person needs not only in educational activities, but throughout his life.

The main factors influencing the formation of self-esteem in children of primary school age are the evaluative behavior of teachers, parents and their attitude towards educational activities. Constantly faced with evaluations of his academic work and the work of his classmates, the younger student begins to understand his own strengths and educational capabilities.

What should a student do to adequately assess his results, and therefore maintain psychological and physical health? After all, a person’s relationships with others, his criticality, self-demandingness, and attitude towards successes and failures depend on correct self-esteem. Junior schoolchildren have adequate, low and high self-esteem. This is also reflected in the educational process. Children with low self-esteem often do not check their own work to correct mistakes. They are confident in advance of a negative result. Children with high self-esteem are often convinced that their work is infallible and also do not check their work, but strive to hand it over to the teacher as quickly as possible.

In order for the development of self-esteem to be effective, the following conditions must be met:

Joint development by teacher and students of clear assessment standards for each specific case;
Creating the necessary psychological mood for students to analyze their own results;
Ensuring the situation of independent free reference assessment by students of their results;
Comparison and conclusions about work efficiency;
Students draw up their own program of activities for the next stage of training, taking into account the results obtained.

What forms of self-esteem exist?

Speech.
Iconic written (numbers, emoticons, etc.).
Sign external (assessment using fingers, various cards, etc.).
Scales.
Tables.

In our work we use the following methods of self-assessment and self-control:

1. Verbal techniques.

2. Sign written.

1) Charts

An option for organizing work on self-assessment of one’s own activities.

We organize self-assessment during the lesson of learning new material in stages, for this we use the “Ladder of Success”, students during the lesson climb up the stairs, and next to the numbers they make a stage-by-stage self-assessment of their own activities in the lesson.

2) Drawings

1. "Traffic light".

In first grade, children are encouraged to light colored lights in their notebooks. If the work in the lesson was successful, the student worked actively, did not experience any difficulties in learning new material, all the tasks were clear, then he draws a green circle in the margin: “You can move on.” If there were minor difficulties, you didn’t always cope with the task quickly, or something remained unclear, then a yellow circle is drawn in the notebook: “Need a little help.” If there were significant difficulties, the student was unable to cope with the new task on his own, then he draws a red circle: “Stop! I need help!" It should be noted that children enjoy using this technique throughout all years of primary school.

2. “Talking drawings”

If you are satisfied with yourself, everything worked out for you, then draw a smiling face.

If at times it was difficult for you in the lesson, not everything worked out, then draw such a “CALM” face.

If it was difficult for you in class, a lot of things didn’t work out, then draw a sad face.

3) Symbols

We use this technique especially in first grade, when children do not yet know how to write. This technique is also used in grades 2, 3, 4 along with other techniques.

4. “Doubt Card”

+ - “I understood everything”;

— — “I didn’t quite understand it, I doubt it”;

? - "Didn't understand".

During lessons on reading and the surrounding world, when working independently with the text, students make notes:

V - ALREADY KNEW THIS

+ — NEW

? — I DON’T UNDERSTAND, I HAVE A QUESTION

0 — THOUGHT DIFFERENTLY

5) “Student’s portfolio”

A portfolio is one of the means of self-assessment of the student himself and a tool for recording his individual achievements; it implements one of the main provisions of the Federal State Educational Standards of General Education of the second generation - the formation of universal educational activities.

The main goals of maintaining a portfolio: creating a situation of success for each student, increasing self-esteem and confidence in one’s own capabilities; maximum disclosure of the individual abilities of each child; development of students’ cognitive interests and formation of readiness for independent learning; formation of an attitude towards creative activity and creative activity skills, development of motivation for further creative growth; formation of positive moral and moral qualities of the individual; acquiring reflection skills, developing the ability to analyze one’s own interests, inclinations, needs and correlate them with available opportunities (“I am real”, “I am ideal”); formation of life ideals, stimulation of the desire for self-improvement.

6) Self-assessment sheet

Self-assessment sheet No.1

My success in class

Type of work	Sign (!?)
1
2
3
4
5
6

Have we achieved our goal?

Why do we need the material studied today?

Self-assessment sheet No.2

My success in class

Type of work	Sign (!? ᴖ)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Final score

During the lesson I worked actively/passively
I am satisfied/dissatisfied with my work
The lesson seemed short/long for me
I'm not tired/tired during the lesson
My mood has gotten better/worse
The lesson material was clear/incomprehensible to me

Useful/useless

Interesting/not interesting

Homework is easy/hard

Interesting/uninteresting

Useful/useless

Have we achieved our goal?

Why do we need the material studied today?

3. Iconic external

"Tree of Success."

The results of the day can be summed up on the “Tree of Success”. After lessons, the children attach a fruit, flower or leaf to a tree (a poster is drawn): an apple - everything worked out, a flower - it worked well, but something didn’t quite work out, a leaf - it didn’t work out today, but I don’t despair.

In the form of signal cards of different colors.
Self-assessment using cards.
Self-esteem using fingers.

4. “Magic rulers” scales

“Magic rulers”, described by G. A. Tsukerman, are a harmless and meaningful form of marking. This ruler reminds a child of a measuring device. With rulers you can measure anything. This assessment:

‒ allows any child to see his successes (there is always a criterion by which a child can be assessed as successful);

- helps to avoid comparing children with each other (since each of them has an evaluation line only in their own notebook).

After self-assessment, it is time for teacher assessment. Having collected the notebooks, the teacher puts his pluses on the rulers. The coincidence of children's and teacher's assessments (regardless of whether the child rated his work low or high) means: “Well done! You know how to evaluate yourself." In case of overestimated, and even more so underestimated, self-esteem by the student of his work, the teacher once again reveals the assessment criteria to the child and asks him to be kinder or stricter to himself next time.

5. Tables

An option for organizing work on self-assessment during a lesson on systematization and consolidation of knowledge. Lesson topic. Spelling vowels at the end of adverbs 4th grade.

Lesson of generalization and systematization of knowledge.

Knowledge Card + —

Knowledge Map	Start of the lesson	Reflection
I know what an adverb is
I know what the adverb means
I know what questions an adverb answers when it depends on a verb
I know what questions an adverb answers when it depends on a noun
I know what questions an adverb answers when it depends on an adjective or other adverb
I know what part of a sentence an adverb can be
I know how an adverb is related to other words
I know how adverbs are formed
I know the rule for writing vowels at the end of adverbs

This technique helps to separate known material from unknown, formulate the topic and purpose of the lesson, gives an idea of what material has been learned by students, and with whom individual work needs to be done.

Thus, self-assessment accompanies the entire course of educational and cognitive activity, either anticipating the execution of actions and operations, determining the quality, or rechecking already completed actions and operations in order to establish their correctness. The stronger the evaluative component in the child’s educational and cognitive activity, the more this component with heightened properties of doubt and control is dynamic in the entire process of solving a problem and accompanies this process, the more successfully the child will learn and acquire the ability to be truly independent in learning. The evaluative component becomes an internal symbol in the educational and cognitive activity of the student, instills in him confidence and optimism in overcoming difficulties, and gives complex educational tasks the attractive power of cognition. The student begins to encourage himself, as he finds sources of stimulation within his learning activities.

If we want to develop a socially active personality that realizes its abilities. If we want to help our children become independent, we need to teach them freedom of decision and responsibility for their choices.

Literature:

Vygotsky L. S. Pedagogical psychology. — M.: AST, 2008–399 p.
Dubrovina I.V. Individual characteristics of schoolchildren. / I.V. Dubrovina - M., 2005–145 p.
Lipkina A. I. Criticism and self-esteem in educational activities. - M., “Enlightenment”, 1968–217 p.
“Beg. school +” 6. 2004 E. V. Ishmametyeva “Development of self-esteem in primary school age” - 40 p.
Tsukerman G. A., Ginzburg D. V. How does teacher evaluation affect children's self-esteem? — 105 s.