THE IMPACT OF SENSE OF SELF IN GENDER AND EDUCATION

THE IMPACT OF SENSE OF SELF IN GENDER AND EDUCATION

CHAPITER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND

Adolescents confront a variety of specific developmental obstacles, such as adjusting to abrupt physical changes, controlling their sexual desires, establishing novel types of relationships, and making plans for their futures in education and employment. However, how people handle each of these difficulties depends on their gender. Gender differences affect teenagers’ body image and self-esteem differently for male and female gender due to variances in gender roles and physical development that begin at a very young age. The varied roles and expectations that teenagers have learnt may partially explain these discrepancies; for instance, parents may believe that using aggressive and confrontational coping mechanisms is acceptable for males but not for girls.

Teenagers’ self-understanding is greatly influenced by their self-esteem, which is dynamic and subject to both internal and external factors during adolescence. Adolescents’ self-esteem is influenced by gender roles. Although self-confidence is a stereotypically male trait, girls displaying it is seen as a violation of conventional gender roles. The fact that boys report having better self-esteem than girls is not surprising. Girls are more likely to experience intimate, self-disclosing, supportive, and co-ruminative circumstances than boys, who are more likely to be in situations that promote competitiveness, conflict, power, and excitement. Boys typically experience emotions associated to externalizing problems, but girls typically experience emotions related to internalizing problems. Teenage girls are more likely than boys to express unhappiness with their bodies, which can be explained by taking into account the ideal male and female forms (muscular and slim). Unhealthy emotional, psychological, and physiological implications can result from body dissatisfaction. Girls tend to be more susceptible than boys during adolescence to the detrimental consequences of stress on their mental health; they exhibit much higher levels of adaptability, depressive symptoms, and eating disorders. According to Baron AS, Schmader T, Cvencek D, and Meltzoff AN (2014), boys frequently exhibit externalized behavioral disorders such hostility, antisocial conduct, and delinquency. Six components make up the self-concept: the physical, moral, social, personal, academic, and family components. Self-concept is a complex belief system in which one evaluates oneself in relation to the surrounding circumstances. According to researchers, having a bad self-concept leads to poor health, an increase in psychological disorders, and eventually more social problems.

Self-concept extends beyond a person’s outward appearance. In addition to the criteria by which they assess their own worth, it also includes spatial and temporal continuity (Stout J, Tamer B 2016).Researchers contend that maintaining internal consistency of the self is crucial for determining an individual’s interpretation of their experiences and their level of expectation. As a result, academic instructors must reintegrate this into the learning environment in order to help students achieve their academic objectives.

Statement of the problem: 1.2

A notion called “sense of self” describes how a person sees themselves. However, environmental, biological, and psychological variables govern this. High levels of self-esteem are a sign of a positive sense of self, whilst low levels of self-esteem might result from a negative sense of self. An adolescent’s education may be impacted by several factors. When a student lacks confidence in their intellectual prowess, they restrict their potential and are unable to achieve academic success. On the other side, a student may be able to excel in their studies if they have a high sense of self-worth. It is sufficient to remark that gender differences affect one’s sense of self to varying degrees. Due to the biological changes that occur throughout puberty, research has revealed that males have a higher overall sense of self-worth and self-concept than females during the adolescent stage.

However, developing a sense of self is comparable to developing self-knowledge. An individual builds their self-concept by improving their body image and self-esteem. As a result, it is necessary to incorporate sense of self into educational pedagogy. Therefore, these studies are designed to investigate the effect of sense of self based on this premise.

1.3 STUDY’S OBJECTIVE

This study’s primary objective is to investigate the effects of gender and educational factors on sense of self. It is specifically set

1. To determine whether students’ sense of self is impacted by biological changes from childhood to adolescence.

2. To look into additional elements that may have an impact on a student’s feeling of self

3. To assess how gender identity and role influence students’ self-esteem.

4. To determine whether a student’s sense of self has a substantial impact on their education and academic success.

1.4 RESEARCH PROBLEM

The study is guided by the following research questions.

1. Do you believe that adolescents’ sense of self is impacted by biological changes from childhood to adolescence?

2. What variables can affect the student’s sense of self?

3. To what extent do students’ gender identities and roles influence their self-esteem?

4. Do you believe that a student’s sense of self has a big impact on their education and academic success?

1.5 RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER STUDIES

Parents, teachers, counselors, and curriculum designers will all find this study to be useful. The study will educate parents on the necessity of enhancing their parenting practices in a way that fosters the self-esteem of their kids. The study will help school counselors identify children who, for a variety of reasons, have a negative opinion of themselves and will support them with their professional skills in psychology to instill and enhance those students’ sense of self.Teachers will learn from the study about the importance of paying close attention to their students in order to identify those whose academic performance is poor owing to low self-esteem and how to help them. In general, the study will add to the body of literature and serve as a resource for academics and students conducting similar research.

1.6 THE STUDY’S SCOPE

5. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between gender and education and sense of self. The impact of biological changes from childhood to adolescence on students’ sense of self will be investigated. It will look into additional elements that may have an impact on a student’s sense of self. The degree to which gender identity and role influence students’ self-esteem will be determined. The study, however, is only applicable to one particular local government in Plateus State.

Limitations of the research

The following considerations could impede this research’s ability to proceed.

Financial restraint: A researcher’s ability to collect data (through the internet, a questionnaire, and interviews) and locate relevant materials, literature, or information is often hindered by a lack of funding.

Time restraint: The researcher will do this investigation together with other academic activities at the same time. As a result, less time will be spent on the research project.

1.8 TERM DEFINITION

When referring to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones, gender is defined as the state of being male or female.

Self-concept: Your self-concept is how you view your actions, skills, and distinctive qualities.

Self-Esteem: A person’s subjective assessment of their own value is known as their self-esteem. Self-esteem includes one’s self-perceptions as well as emotional states including joy, anguish, pride, and shame.

Education: Facilitating learning, or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, morals, beliefs, and habits, is the process of education.

Adolescent: From the time of puberty to the age of legal adulthood, adolescence is a phase of transitional physical and psychological development. Although adolescence is typically thought of as occurring during the teenage years, its physical, psychological, or cultural manifestations can start earlier and last longer.