The influence of self-concept on academic performance

Since howard gardner make known his Theory of multiple intelligences in 1993 and daniel goleman published in 1995 his book «Emotional Intelligence», a new paradigm has opened up in research that aims to study which factors are really related to the level of academic performance.

Leaving aside the traditional conception of the beginning of the 20th century about the value of CI as unique predictor of intelligence in schoolchildren, let's analyze what science exposes about the existing link between the nature of self-concept and school results.

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

Academic performance is understood as the result of the ability to respond and learning internalized by the student derived from the confluence of various factors., as can be deduced from the majority of constructs in the field of psychology or psychopedagogy.

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

How to define the concept of academic performance?

There are various definitions provided by the authors of this field, but there seems to be a consensus in qualifying performance as a measure of knowledge acquisition and knowledge assimilated by the studentTherefore, it becomes the ultimate goal of education.

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

Components of academic performance

1. The self-concept

The self-concept can be defined as the set of ideas, thoughts and perceptions that the individual has of himself.. Therefore, the self-concept should not be confused with the "I" or with "the self" in its entirety; it's just a part of it.

Self-concept and self-esteem are not the same

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 self-concept and is shows from behavioral manifestations consistent with the values ​​and principles of each person.

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

Self-concept from a cognitive dimension

For their part, Deutsch and Krauss, provide a meaning of cognitive organization system to the self-concept, which is responsible for ordering the individual regarding relationships with their 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 (aimed at hierarchically or concentrically ordering the multiple descriptions of the elements with which the subject interacts and also those corresponding to his self individual).

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, biological characteristics of the subject, the parental educational and learning experiences of the first childhood stage, the influence of the social and cultural system, etc

Factors to develop a good self-concept

The contributions of Clemes and Bean indicate the following factors as essential for the development of self-esteem and self-concept is done properly:

• The link or the manifest feeling of belonging to the family system in which they are observed demonstrations of concern for the well-being of the other, affection, interest, understanding and consideration, etc
• The singularity relative to the feeling of knowing that one is a special, unique and unrepeatable individual.
• Power refers to the ability to achieve one's established goals satisfactorily and successfully, as well as the understanding of the factors that have intervened in the contrary case. 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 role models, encouraging in the promotion of the appropriate aspects and who know how to reason the causes that motivate the modifications of said framework of conduct.

Correlation between academic performance and self-concept

The investigations carried out and exposed in the text lead to draw the following conclusions in reference to the relationship between self-concept and academic performance: the correlation between both elements is significantly positive, although three types of relationship between both concepts can be distinguished.

• The first possibility contemplates that the performance determines the self-concept, since the evaluation made by the Significant people closest to the student greatly influence how he perceives himself in his role as 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, adapting their performance to it, for example in relation to 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, such as Marsh proposes, where a modification in some component results in a change in the whole system to reach a state of balance.

The role of family education

As previously indicated, the type of family system and 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 self-concept of the child. As role models, parents should dedicate most of their efforts to teaching appropriate and adaptive values ​​such as responsibility, autonomous capacity in decision-making and problem solving, the sense of invested effort, tenacity and work to achieve goals, in a way priority.

In second place, it is very relevant that parents are more oriented to offer recognition and positive reinforcement before the appropriate actions of behavior carried out by the little ones, to the detriment of focusing on the criticism of those most negative aspects or those susceptible to improvement; positive reinforcement has a greater power than punishment or negative reinforcement in terms of 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 parts.

The third element falls on the promotion of social relations with equals (friendships). and other people in the interpersonal environment, as well as the structuring and balance in the use of time of leisure so that it is enriching (based on the variety of types of activities) and satisfying in itself same; being understood as an end instead of as a means. In this regard, parents have limited room for maneuver since the choice of the peer group should come from the child. Even so, it is true that the type of environment in which it interacts and develops is more subject to choices and preferences. more conscious, so that parents can take a relative position in selecting a type of context ahead of others.

As the last important factor, the knowledge and establishment of a series of effective study guidelines that facilitate the student's academic performance must be taken into account. Although it seems more frequent than expected that the decrease or alteration of school results is derived from factors other than this (such as all those commented in previous lines), the fact that parents can transmit and enforce certain rules in the child's study habits is of vital importance in obtaining adequate qualifications (establishing a fixed study schedule, creating a suitable work environment at home, promoting active autonomy in solving their school tasks, reinforcement of achievements, having the support of the teaching team, being consistent in the indications transmitted, etc.).

In conclusion

The previous lines have shown a new conception in reference to the aspects that determine the obtaining of good results at the school level. The investigations have incorporated other elements different from the intellectual capacity extracted from the Intellectual Quotient as possible predictors of academic performance.

Thus, although there is no clear consensus on the exact relationship between self-concept and student qualifications (which phenomenon causes the other), It seems 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.

In this way, the application of educational guidelines that facilitate the achievement of said goal should be prioritized, such as those that have been exposed throughout this text.

Bibliographic references:

• Gimeno Sacristan, J. (1977). Self-concept, sociability and school performance. Madrid: MEC.
• Andrade, M., Miranda, C., Freixas, I. (2000). Academic performance and modifiable variables. Educational Psychology Journal, Vol. 6, no 2.
• Elexpuru, I. (1994). How can teachers promote the self-concept of their students in the classroom? Educational Community, No 217.
• Galileo Ortega, J.L. and Fernandez de Haro, E (2003); Encyclopedia of Early Childhood Education (vol2). Malaga. Ed: Cistern