Early Child Care Seminars and Consultations

Self-Concept and Self Efficacy - Applying and Encouraging Children's Evolution

Children’s Self–Efficacy and Self Concept – Theory, Development, and Meaning

by Ramona Randle / ChildcareTrainers.com

 

 

Teachers, caregivers, and parents need to positively encourage and grow children’s Self Efficacy and Self Concept. Self-efficacy is ones constructed judgment about their ability to accomplish certain things or obtain a particular goal. A belief in ourselves, that we can systematize and take to completion the paths necessary to control potential events. Self-concept, which is an overall self view of how one may see him or herself, striving to clarify how a person depicts and distinguishes their own individuality against signals they constantly and continually take in from exterior points of origin. Unlike self concept, self efficacy, actively playing the dominant function, is related to the judgment of a particular ability as it pertains to life or day-to-day task. You may sometimes feel and/or see children, and yourself, float between high self efficacy and low self efficacy.

 

 

Positive self-efficacy is a person who knows they will do well; sense of duty, conquering tough assignments, and rebounding quickly from defeats, the glass is half full type of person. You may feel like a can do type of person, willing to take on any job, get it done, with utmost optimism, exuding confidence, no matter the circumstances, which, in a way, are qualities exhibited by leaders. Negative self-efficacy is a person who refrains from demanding and difficult jobs, lacking confidence, referencing and believing in their negatives or potential for failure; glass is half empty type of person.

 

For instance, I have low or negative self efficacy about my spelling skills. I am not a good speller and I am in love with the spell check, auto correct and suggestions that are located in programs like Word and Outlook, or Search Engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo, because there features will not allow one to go with uncorrected spelling. Every time I type an incorrect word or phrase I would receive a green underline, red underline, auto correct, or suggestive correct spelling including definitions, and/or alternative spelling searches and results, depending upon which program I’m currently using.

 

On the other hand, I feel pretty good about my cooking skills. My husband constantly compliments my cooking, and he’s looking more and more like Santa Claus, I’ve created it, so I will have to put him on a diet, which will also be a fun cooking challenge. I like being creative and cooking is a great outlet. I have high or positive self efficacy toward cooking. And overall, as a person in this great big world, I feel good about me, so my self-concept is pretty awesome as well.

 

It is very important for young children to have a good self-concept as well. If children struggle with mastery of simple task, be a positive reinforcing helper, as they develop and grow, it is important for others to be encouraging in there development. They will never master every task but those who love and care for them must see to it that they feel good about themselves no matter what; their self-efficacy depends on it.

 

Lets Talk About It.........ramona@childcaretrainers.com   

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