Importance of self-worth

When students have feelings of self-worth at school, they feel capable and confident; proud of themselves and their abilities; and hopeful about having and being able to contribute to a positive future.

They like themselves and have good self-esteem. They feel a sense of self-efficacy, or able to achieve what they set out to do and to exert influence or have control over events that happen in their life (Bandura, 1994).

When children face disasters and traumatic events, they often lose their sense of self-efficacy, feeling that they do not have the ability to manage events that arise. This feeling can diminish one’s feelings of self-worth.

This negatively affects wellbeing, as students may lose confidence in themselves, feel hopeless about the future, and feel incapable of producing positive outcomes in their lives (Hobfall, 2007).

Schools can help elevate self-worth by encouraging students to realise they already have or can build the skills necessary to problem solving and deal with adversity. Having feelings of self-worth is also an important element of academic success. When students feel confident and hopeful, their academic performance will improve (Purkey, 1970).

Many teaching practices which promote feelings of self-worth, help students feel good about their abilities, and also target other elements of student wellbeing. Among these are treating all students equally, involving all students in class activities, displaying the names and the work of all students, and encouraging students to ask questions.

Next, you will review the practices of giving praise and encouraging goal setting, as well as reviewing recommended strategies for supporting and including every student and creating and assigning meaningful classroom tasks.