General Self Esteem

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Explanations as to why low general self-esteem does not necessarily signal a poor academic performance and these are not incompatible with each other. It assume that self-concept is a multidimensional construct in which general and academic self-esteem can serve different functions (Marsh & O’Mara, 2008; Pullman & Allik, 2008). Firstly, it is possible that cognitively better developed and academically successful students have a more critical outlook on themselves. Secondly, students with more modest academic abilities compensate their academic deficiency by elevating their general self-esteem. Students with higher cognitive abilities and superior academic results seem more likely to reflect on and be aware of their own thoughts and feelings…show more content…
Academic achievement signifies “success in academic tasks as measured by external referents namely; teacher ratings, self-reported grades, grades from school records or standardized achievement tests (Wickline, 2003) Academic achievement manifests differing aspects of school performance (VanDeWeghe, 2007) Furthermore, emotional intelligence enriches academic achievement (Wilkins 2004; Holt, 2007) Individual aspire for different goals specifically in the realm of achievement. Their estimation of their intellectual capabilities influence the selection of the goal. Behavioral predispositions toward academic achievement are distinctively defined for each goal. It was theorized that individuals with ability goal have weak self-esteem as their estimation of worth depends on “external validation” and those with ability goal emphasize failure than success (Robin & Pals, 2002) Amidst failure, individuals with ability goal tend to engage in negative self-attribution which is linked with the mechanism called “learned helplessness” (as cited in Robin & Pals 2002). Indeed, research does show that underachievers are generally less confident…show more content…
Rahmani (2011) had a research about the relations between self-esteem, achievement goals and academic achievement among the primary school children. He believed that self-esteem and achievement goals orientation are the most important factors that effects on academic achievement among the students, and so he randomly chosen 100 girls and boys participants and made them answer two questionnaires which is Eysenck self-esteem questionnaire and Students' Achievement Goal Orientations check list. Results showed that there are significant differences between male and female students in scores of self-esteem and achievement goals orientation, but the results of research also revealed that self-esteem and achievement goals are affecting factors on academic achievement among the primary school students. Although subjects are primary school students, inference can be made that even in the starting point of an individual’s education, academic achievement already affects self-esteem. But then again, conflicting factors can affect this. Proven by a longitudinal research made by Orth, Robins and Trzesniewski,(2009) which they made a cohort-sequential longitudinal study design that significantly improved

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