What is self-esteem?
Put simply, self-esteem is how someone thinks or feels about themselves. Our sense of self is formed through our relationships with others, and this can occur in what is presently being experienced, like feeling good about praise you received in a meeting you just had, or feeling bad about upsetting a friend in the past. These experiences of others’ responses and recognitions act to inform us of our sense of worth and highlights the importance of early relationships and connectedness. These early relationships and connectedness are key conceptions in the theory of attachment.
Why is self-esteem so important for healthy functioning and early intervention?
Low self-esteem is a risk factor for the development of mental health problems as outlined in risk models of early intervention. Over time, a young person with low self-esteem can begin a process of psychological defence building. This can involve removing themselves from activities and interactions altogether and building a negative worldview as a means of normalising how they are feeling and how they perceive their role in the world. This can make it much harder to communicate with a young person, therefore diminishing our abilities to support, assess for risk and guide them through difficult times in their lives.
What can teachers do improve self-esteem?
Since a young person cannot always predict what feedback they will get from those around them, teachers can step in and try to the promote a young person’s positive aspects. However, it is worth remaining mindful that whilst a young person might objectively recognise that they should be valued, they might not feel it about themselves.
3 top tips!
- Give young people achievable tasks so they can generate self-efficacy
- Talk about self-worth, what it is and how it can be self-generated
- Explain how resilience is created and how failure is part of learning
