{"id":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","oai_identifier":"oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1162"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wilfrid-laurier/oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1162","repository":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","name":"Wilfrid Laurier University","base_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"An exploration of the relationship between school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls","abstract":"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.","abstract_html":"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.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kropf, Maureen Thoroughgood"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Social Work (MSW)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Social Work","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Carol Stalker"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1999,"date_issued":"1999-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1999-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z","subjects":["Educational Sociology","Family, Life Course, and Society"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/163","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"source_record":{"url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_etdms&identifier=oai%3Ascholars.wlu.ca%3Aetd-1162","prefix":"oai_etdms"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Carol Stalker"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kropf, Maureen Thoroughgood"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["1999-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Social Work"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Social Work (MSW)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Educational Sociology","Family, Life Course, and Society"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/163","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1162/viewcontent/MQ40339.PDF"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["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."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An exploration of the relationship between school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Carol Stalker"],"dc:creator":["Kropf, Maureen Thoroughgood"],"dc:date":["1999-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["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."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/163","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1162/viewcontent/MQ40339.PDF"],"dc:subject":["Educational Sociology","Family, Life Course, and Society"],"dc:title":["An exploration of the relationship between school setting and the self-esteem of grade-six girls"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Social Work"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Social Work (MSW)"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z"}