Self - esteem of primary school students

V magistrski nalogi sem raziskovala samopodobo učenk in učencev v osnovni šoli ter ugotavljala kakšne razlike se pojavljajo med posameznimi dimenzijami samopodobe med spoloma. Na začetku sem opredelila obdobje mladostništva in opisala temeljne značilnosti in težave s katerimi se mladostniki srečujejo v tem zahtevnem obdobju. Dalje sem predstavila šolo in opisala stiske in težave povezane z njo ter izpostavila podporno vlogo šolske svetovalne službe, kot nepogrešljiv del vsake šole. V nadaljevanju sem se osredotočila na definicijo samopodobe in njeno pomembno mesto v življenju posameznika. Mladostnikova samopodoba se šele razvija, zato se mi zdi ključno, da se zavedamo, s katerimi dejavniki lahko nanjo dobro vplivamo in s katerimi ji lahko škodimo. Bistveno se mi je zdelo poudariti njeno multidimenzionalno strukturo ter pojasniti značilnosti oblikovanja samopodobe v mladostništvu. Osvetlila sem tudi dejstvo, da je zelo pomembna za učenčevo trdnost in odnos do samega sebe ter drugih. Posebej sem se osredotočila tudi na povezanost samopodobe s socialno sprejetostjo v razredu, učno uspešnostjo in pristope za razvoj ustrezne samopodobe v obdobju osnovnega šolanja. V raziskovalnem delu sem predstavila rezultate raziskave, ki je bila izvedena marca 2021 na Osnovni šoli Primoža Trubarja Laško. V vzorec je bilo zajetih 142 učencev 5. in 9. razreda. Pri raziskovanju sem uporabila vprašalnik samopodobe SPA in ga za potrebe raziskave nekoliko priredila. Raziskava je pokazala, da imajo ženske v primerjavi z moškimi malenkost višjo splošno samopodobo. Izkazalo se je tudi, da imajo ženske višjo čustveno samopodobo v primerjavi z moškimi enake starosti. Nato me je zanimalo kakšne razlike se pojavljajo pri splošni samopodobi pri različni starosti. Ugotovila sem, da je povprečje splošne samopodobe starejših učencev (9. razred) višje od splošne samopodobe mlajših učencev (5. razred). Rezultati kažejo, da je povprečje akademske samopodobe pri učencih 9. razreda malenkost višje od povprečja akademske samopodobe učenk 9. razreda. Med tem ko se pri 5. razredu rezultati ravno obrnejo, saj imajo ženske višjo akademsko samopodobo kot moški. Prišla sem do spoznanja, da učenci, ki imajo nižji socialno ekonomski status, nimajo nižje splošne samopodobe v primerjavi s tistimi, ki prihajajo iz družin z boljšim socialno ekonomskim statusom. Preverila sem tudi povezanost učnega uspeha z akademsko samopodobo ter z izračunom dokazala, da imajo učenci s slabšim učnim uspehom višjo akademsko samopodobo. Vzorec je bil sicer majhen, vendar verjamem, da predstavlja pomemben prispevek k osvetlitvi samopodobe osnovnošolskih otrok. Skrb za ustrezno samopodobo spada med temeljne vzgojne in izobraževalne cilje, zato menim, da bi bilo dobro ta pojav v prihodnosti še nekoliko podrobneje raziskati.In my master’s thesis, I researched the self-esteem of primary school students and identified the differences that occurred between individual dimensions of self-esteem between genders. At the beginning, I defined the period of adolescence and described the basic characteristics and the problems that adolescents face during this challenging period. Further on, I presented the school and described the hardships and problems associated with it and highlighted the supportive role of the school’s counselling services as an indispensable part of every school. Further on I focused on the definition of self-image and its important place in the life of an individual. The self-esteem of the adolescents is only just evolving, so it seems crucial to me, to be aware of which factors can have a positive and which can have a negative influence on it. It seemed essential to me, to emphasize its multidimensional structure and explain the characteristics of self-image formation in adolescence. I also highlighted how important self-esteem is, for student’s strength and attitude towards oneself and others. I also focused specifically on the connection between self-esteem and social acceptance in the classroom, learning performance and approaches to developing an appropriate self-image in the period of primary schooling. In the research work, I presented the results of a survey conducted in March 2021 at Primary school Primož Trubar Laško. The sample included 142 students attending 5th and 9th grade. In the research, I used the SPA self-image questionnaire and adjusted it, so it was more fitting to the research itself. Research has shown that women possess a slightly higher self-esteem compared to men. It also turned out that women have a higher emotional self-esteem in comparison to men of the same age. After that I wondered what the differences in the general self-esteem at certain ages are. I found that the average general self-esteem of students attending the 9th grade is higher compared to the students attending the 5th grade. The results show that the average academic self-esteem between students attending the 9th grade is slightly higher than the average academic self-esteem of students attending the 5th grade. While in 5th grade the results are just the opposite, as women have a higher academic self-esteem than men. I came to the realization that students with lower socioeconomic status do not have lower general self-esteem compared to those, coming from the families with a better socio-economic status. I also examined the association of learning success with academic self-esteem and with the help of calculations proved, that students with poorer learning success have a higher academic self-esteem. Although the sample was relatively small, I believe it represents an important contribution to illuminating the self-image of primary school children. Concern for proper self-esteem is one of the fundamental educational goals, so I believe, that there are only benefits to researching this phenomenon further on in the future and in a little more detail