The purpose of this research is to examine how self esteem is positively enhanced in a curriculum of social studies and/or science. The plan of the research will be to set forth the general context in which such research has occurred since 1980, and then to discuss specific areas in which the research has taken place.
Increased attention by social scientists and educational theorists to questions associated with self concept and self esteem has arisen from a desire to explore ways in which the educational experience can be enhanced on one hand and made more productive on the other. Accordingly, one decisive requirement is the determination of an appropriate definition of self esteem. Such definitional work is undertaken by Allen and Stevens, who cite six aspects of a favorable self concept and the self actualization that teachers and social science practitioners ought to attempt to elicit from elementary school students: affection, a sense of belongingness, evidence of task or thought competence, uniqueness vis a vis the group, usefulness to others, and influence over others (Allen, 1985, pp. 3 4). Related to the definition of self esteem is the process of facilitating a sense of accomplishment or fulfilling psychological needs. In this connection, Bridle and Frandsen found that the ability to gratify emotional needs is an important index of reinforcing an individual's sense of worth on one hand, and motivation toward higher educational achievement on the other. In particular, they suggest that the "consistency" theory, which is predicated of a basic human need to maintain a "steady state" of emotional control, is not necessarily an aspect of self esteem; rather, the emotional status of an individual appears more decisive (Bridle and Frandsen, 1983). Self Esteem and the Learning Process
Various researchers have postulated that low self esteem has a positive correlation with low level academic achievement, and the f...