An exploration of the relationship between school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls

This study had three purposes: 1) to explore the relationship of school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls, with setting defined in terms of elementary (K-6), middle (6-8) and combined (K-8); 2) to explore the relationship of school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls, with setting defined in terms of urban and rural; 3) to contribute Canadian knowledge to the predominantly American research on the relationship between self-esteem of students and school settings and transitions. Two major theories from this literature emerge. The first, a cumulative change theory, suggests that the cumulative effects of developmental changes and the stress of making transitions are responsible for the drop in girls’ self-esteem. The second, a mismatch theory, points to the mismatch of middle school environments and practices with the developmental stages of youth as the cause of lowered self-esteem. Using an informal questionnaire and the standardized School Form of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, this study examined the self-esteem of 130 grade-six girls in samples across the three school settings in each of the rural and urban settings. The design used a single time-point assessment at the end of the grade-six year. Results of the statistical analyses did not support the hypotheses. However, a trend in the data did support the hypothesis that grade-six girls in the middle (6-8) school setting may have lower self-esteem than girls in the other two settings. This study suggests that further research including larger samples and multiple sources of data is indicated. A significant relationship was found between girls’ self-esteem and the experience of changing schools, as well as self-esteem and the employment status of girls’ fathers. There was also a significant relationship between school setting and girls’ reports of being in a couple relationship, although not in the direction expected.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Year dc:date

1999

Author dc:creator

• Kropf, Maureen Thoroughgood

Contributors dc:contributor

• Carol Stalker

• Educational Sociology
• Family, Life Course, and Society

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/163

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_etdms&identifier=oai%3Ascholars.wlu.ca%3Aetd-1162