Enhancing low-ability mainstream students' academic self-esteem: Perspectives of a secondary teacher and her students

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore a teacher’s and her students’ perspectives on practices designed to enhance the self-esteem of students in an aided secondary school in Hong Kong. Interviews were conducted with a local teacher of English and her female students. The findings from the interview with the teacher support a view that teachers do play a vital and planned role in developing teenagers’ academic self-esteem. The teacher used a wide variety of methods inside the classroom, such as offering extrinsic rewards and facilitating the process of attaining goals. The students considered that among the teacher’s different practices, the facilitation of achieving social goals was the most effective for building their academic self-esteem in the long term. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for teachers to enhance students’ academic self-esteem inside the classroom.

是次研究的主要目的是從一位於香港津貼中學任職的教師 及其學生的角度，探討其教學方法對提高學生自尊的成效。 此研究是透過面談，訪問了一位教授英語的本地中學教師及 其十名女學生。從老師的面談結果中，顯示教師於發展青少 年的學業自尊過程裡，扮演著一個不可或缺的角色。該受訪 教師在課堂中使用多種不同的教學方法，如對學生提供外在 的獎勵、協助學生達成目標等。而學生們則認為，最有效建 立長期學業自尊的方法，則是老師協助自己實現社會目標。 根據調查結果，是次研究會為教師提供建議，以提高學生的 學業自尊。