Esperanza Torres

Crawford

FoE- period 5

10 April 2017

Self-Concept and Academic Performance Part 1

Topic 1

Research has shown that a students self-concept and academic performance can be

influenced by experience, interests, aptitudes, family, culture, teacher behavior, teacher

attitudes, and peers. The first resource I used is found at the address:

https://prezi.com/ixxsjf5fyx16/factors-influencing-self-concept/ and this is a presentation about

how many different factors impact a persons self-concept. First, I found that culture can

influence a person through making them feel a sense of belonging, differently, or discriminated.

If a person feels like they do not belong in the culture of which they grew up, it could cause them

to have a lower self-concept. I also read that experiences have a great impact on a person. For

example, if a person that has been a victim of abuse tends to have a negative self-concept, as

opposed to a person who has never been a victim of abuse. This Prezi also goes in depth about

how a persons family plays a big role in the construction of self-concept. For example it listed

the effects of a good family relationship versus a poor family relationship. According to this site,

a good family relationship can lead to the sense of security and the feeling of being loved,

whereas a poor family relationship could lead to emotional insecurity, poor self-esteem, negative

self-image, lack of confidence, low self-worth, and poor relationship skills. The next source I

used for this topic was an online textbook found at the link: https://g-

w.com/pdf/sampchap/9781605255194_ch07.pdf and this chapter focused on elements of self-

concept and how they affect ones career. It talks about the role of interests in all of this. I read

that a persons interests can affect their outlook on life. For example if a persons interests align

with their job then they will have a more positive self-concept because they enjoy what they do.
This also relates closely to what the book says about aptitudes. It says that when ones

aptitudes positively go along with their career they are likely to have higher self-confidence and

happiness.

Topic 2

For topic 2 I used the website:

https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/opus/issues/2013/fall/gallagher this article mainly focused on

how a students academic success can be influenced on outside factors. It talked about how a

positive teacher/student bond can have a big impact on how that student behaves. An example

of this can lean to the presence of closeness, warmth, and positivity in a classroom setting. It

also talks about how this can teach students about socially appropriate behaviors, academic

expectations, and how to achieve said expectations. They also list examples of research proven

academic and motivation improvement as a result of strong teacher/student bonds.

Topic 3

I also used the same article for this topic as I used for topic 2. All I found is that students
with a positive self-concept are more likely to have more positive relationships with peers and
adults.