By
TAIWO OLUFUNMI ADERINTO.
ABSTRACT
This paper is titled, ‘Teacher’s intervention in curbing low self-esteem among college students.’ The paper discusses the concept, causes and effects of low self-esteem among college students and provides practical interventions teachers can employ to curb the ugly effects low self-esteem have on college students. Therefore, the paper looked at the biblical and theological views on self-esteem, highlighted the varying causes and signs of low self-esteem especially as presented by male and female students of ages 16-24, characterized by identity crisis. The paper posits that teachers’ ability to identify the causes of low self-esteem in the students and providing needed emotional supports while encouraging creativity in the classroom so as to help students develop coping skills without neglecting acknowledgement of students’ achievement can help college students curb low self-esteem. The writer recommends that teachers the curriculum content in colleges should emphasize the value of self-love and that Christian educators should place high premium on teaching and exemplifying the love of Christ as an evidence of a new identity – God’s children.
Introduction
Teachers in any formal human learning setting are indispensable because they are generally expected to provide guidance and leadership needed for the students and pupils under their care. This view indicates that teachers are important for the effective teaching-learning process. Thus, teachers have roles in the character formation of students. The writer as a teacher observes the challenge of low self-esteem among college students, which has effects on their academic performance and relationship with other individuals in their environment. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need for self-esteem occupies the fourth step, prior to the need for self-actualization. A healthy self-recognition and positive approval of others can motivate achievement in life and vice versa. The emotional state of the learner is germane to learning. Therefore, educators seek to enhance students’ self- esteem because they generally believe that doing so will enhance students’ academic achievement, though the reverse may not be so. This paper discusses the concept, causes and effects of low self-esteem among college students and how teachers can intervene in curbing this destructive vice. In this paper, college students are male and female learners between ages 16 to 24, characterized with a sense of identity crisis and who tends to form their self-image by their abilities and what others think about them.
Concepts of Self-Esteem
In discussing the issue of self-esteem, one must consider the issues of self-concept, self-perception and self-image. Self-concept and self-image refer to the pictures one has of oneself. They include a description of one’s character traits, strengths, weaknesses, and physical features. These psychological terms also include the thoughts, attitudes and feelings one has about one self. But self-esteem refers to the evaluation that an individual makes of his or her worth, competence and significance (Collins, 1980). While self- image and self-concept involve a self-description, self-esteem involves a self-evaluation. This term means something slightly different. Santrock (2011: 92) states that self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall view of himself. It depicts self-worth or self-image. However, these terms overlap and influence one’s thoughts, feelings and action. Though these terms sometimes change as a result if one’s experiences, yet some individual maintain their personal views of self-image and self-concept, the obvious changes notwithstanding. For O’Donnell and Reeve (2013: 404), self-esteem is trust applied to oneself. It is a self-evaluation that one is worthy of a positive rather than a negative evaluation.
Essentially, self-esteem falls within conceptions of the self. The development of self can be viewed as a process of becoming more aware of personal characteristics, feelings about self, and the effect of attainment levels (Lawrence, 2006). Feelings of self-worth and self-esteem increase from perceptions of where an individual is in relation to others and those who are influential in their lives. Likewise, self-esteem is borne out of self-perception. It reflects the image, considerations or judgments about one’s attitudes and limitations usually held by an individual not only for projecting himself before others but also for estimating his self in his eyes. Famous psychologist, H. J. Eysenek (1971) defines it as “The totality of altitudes, judgment and values of an individual relating to his behavior, abilities and qualities may be referred to as his self-concept” (Eggen and Kauchak, 2013). That is, what one thinks of himself may be referred as his concept about his self. The formation of self-concept is also the result of the interaction of his self with the environment surrounding him. Such interaction loaded with past & present experience may make a college student have a judgmental value related to his strengths and weaknesses, personalities, personality trait and behaviour patterns etc. Self-perception is actually the judgment about one self, drawn from his own experiences and interaction with his environment. Therefore, the past of a college student related with his infancy and childhood intermingled with his present experiences become a deciding factor of self-perception, hence, his self- esteem.
Furthermore, college students have a lot of care and love for the phenomenon self. They develop a strong sense and feeling regarding their self-esteem. This consciousness and awareness about their self makes them appraise their strengths and weaknesses and this appraisal, in turn, may result in the development of a sense of self-esteem. If they perceive that their strengths outweigh their weaknesses, their level of self–esteem may go higher and vice versa. Thus, the identification and news held by them in terms of their self-concept may lead to excitement or despair in accordance with the levels of their self–esteem. Every adult tries to defer his phenomenon self and self-respect at any cost. They show lots of sensitivity and may get annoyed by a simple remark or incident causing damage to their self-concept, self-respond or self–respect (Eggen, 2013:153). It is essential that adults are treated with the utmost respect.
Developmentally, a child advances from a global, undifferentiated self-concept and self-perception in pre-school to a differentiated, complex and multidimensional self-concept and self-perception by college. As children grow, their self-concepts continue to differ in at least three distinct areas- social, academic and physical; and sometimes into other areas-relationship with parents, relationship with peers, physical abilities and physical appearance. O’Donnell and Reeve (2013: 116) assert that a child’s level of self-esteem is a mirror of how much or how little warm and care the child receives. Thus, emotionally secured students have higher self-esteem than do insecurely attached ones. Eggen (2013) posits that as students move into adolescence, self-concept interacts with a developing sense of identity, which influence self-esteem. One goal of education is to promote in students a healthy sense of self, that is, healthy self-concept and self-perception that will help them have a healthy self-esteem, which is a desirable educational goal in its own right. This is essentially necessary because self-concepts become more realistic as interactions with others give students more accurate measures of their performance compared to their peers. A low self-esteem will spill over other valued educational goals such as academic achievement. It could also translate into other more serious problems like low achievement, depression, eating disorders, delinquency or even death (Mangel, 2002). This can be avoided through providing a steady stream of praise or positive self-concept.
Biblical and Theological Views of Self-Esteem
Human beings were created in the image of God (Gen 1:26,27). Man and woman were created with individuality, power and freedom to think and to act (Gen 1:26-28; Deut 30:19; Ps 8:6; Eph 2:10). They are not machines set in motion and left to function mechanistically. Human beings were created different from animals (Gen 1:26-28; Ps 8:6-8; Matt 10:29-31), with the ability to communicate with God (Gen 3:8-13; 18:16-32; Ex 33:11; Matt 6:5-13; Acts 27:23-25). They were also created in God’s image, free, with an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit (Gen 1:26; 1 Thess 5:23; Rom 12:1,2; Matt 10:28; 1 Cor 7:24). They were created completely dependent upon God for life and breath and everything else (Gen 2:7; Acts 17:25,26,28). For the Christian, all true identity comes from the person’s relationship with God (John 15:4-6). Only in that relationship can we attain perfection through Christ (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 4:13; James 1:4). Without God, the self is incomplete. (https://www.biblestudytools.com/html#)
Arguably, the Bible gives the best teachings and correct perspectives about human worth. All through, the Scriptures readily affirms that human beings are valuable in God’s sight. Man is created in God’s image with intellectual abilities, the capacity to communicate, the freedom to make choices, a knowledge of right and wrong and the responsibility to administer, and rule over the rest of creation (Collins, 1980). After the Fall, the Bible still describes man as a little lower than the angels and one crowned with honor and glory. Afterwards, God sent his own Son to pay for own sins and make redemption back to our relationship with God possible. Also, the Bible teaches that all people are sinners and condemned because of sinful natures and behavior. Sin leads to inner conflicts, self-justification, passing of blames, emotional problems, tension and guilt feelings. All of these influence ones’ self- perception and self-concept, leading to low self-esteem. Though sin breaks man’s relationship with God, it does not destroy how God views man. Human beings remain the apex of creation, hence man is still of immense worth and value. A teacher who has acquire this right self-image will be able to help students curb low self-image that could impede their academic performance.
In the same vein, the Bible teaches that believers in Christ are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Affirming a more glorious call, Jesus called us his friends. And in relation with God, Jesus says we are no longer slaves but sons. After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians describes the believers’ present positions in Christ. As forgiven sinners, we now sit with Christ in the heavenly places, far above ugly pasts and present challenges (Collins, 1980). Also, the Bible indirectly teaches self-love. Though, there is a tendency to view self-love as self-will or self-centeredness but self-love means to see oneself as a worth-while creature of God, loved and valued by Him. Every person can love themselves because God created, loves and redeemed man, without necessarily overestimating abilities, not totaling denying inadequacies. Although, Nihinlola (2012: 115) presenting the position of Augustine, states that self-love which is substituted for the love of God is the essence of all sin. Yet, a biblical view of self-love is the basis of a healthy self-esteem because one cannot maintain a positive and redemptive view of oneself without self-love based on the love of God.
More specifically, a theology of self-esteem is the theology of the salvation of the soul (Schuller, 1982: 151). Salvation is the rescue from shame to glory, from fault to pride, from fear to love, from distrust to faith, from hypocrisy to honesty. It is salvation by grace through faith and it is experienced when one encounters Christ. Hence, the stronger one’s relationship with Christ, the richer the self-esteem, the stronger the sense of sin, the more glorious the joy of salvation and self-esteem. Despite man’s depraved state, Christ needs and wants us. Affirming this position, Collins (1980: 349) states that an undue emphasis on human depravity can posit self-esteem as pride. Low self- esteem is not the opposite of pride. Pride is an arrogant, highly estimation of oneself in relation to others. It is an overly evaluation of oneself with disregards to other people. In contrast, a humble person accepts their imperfections and failures but yet acknowledges their God-given gifts and achievements.
Generally, theological response to low self-esteem includes an understanding of some concepts as sin, salvation, and repentance (Schuller, 1982:98). To be saved means to be permanently lifted from sin and its psychological self-abuse with all its consequences and shame to a healthy self-esteem. To be saved means to know that Christ forgives and redeems man to become somebody worthwhile and who can do something for God and my fellow human beings. If the goal of salvation is to glorify God, then the solution must result in restoring self-respect, self-esteem, self-worth and a noble pride in person. And the self-deviatory person who by his actions wraps himself in a blanket of shame or allows a distorted religion to envelope this perceived personality in a contrived blanket of shame offers no joyous blossom of glory to God, his heavenly Father. This is a correct self-image. Low self-image does not depict humility but a humble evaluation of what God has done for and through one’s life leads to a healthy self-esteem.