Free essay on motivation self esteem self concept

Motivation, Self Esteem & Self Concept

Motivation is a process which initiates, sustains and guides behaviors that are oriented towards achieving certain objectives. Motivation makes people do what they can to achieve what they desire. For instance, when an individual is motivated to gain knowledge, he will have the desire to read and learn until they gain the knowledge they had desired in the first place. Similarly, a thirsty individual will act in search of water to quench their thirst. Therefore, motivates directly affects how an individual behaves. There are two major classifications of motivation.

There is intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is inspired by the fulfillment obtained from doing the task. The individual does not rely on any external factors to gain fulfillment, instead, doing this task is the main motivation. Individuals enjoy doing the activity and are not inspired by the external benefits derived from doing the same. In an academic environment, students get intrinsic motivation through three ways. The students may be interested in mastering the subject instead of just learning for the sake of passing exams. Alternatively, the students could have self belief that the skills they gain from mastering the process will enable them achieve their other objectives. Intrinsic motivation could also be derived from autonomy, which are factors under the student’s control. Extrinsic motivation is the desire to accomplish something for the sake of the outcome. The motivation is derived from what will be gained from the results of the activity.

Self esteem is the self valuation of self worth of an individual. Usually, self esteem includes a person’s beliefs and emotions. When a person’s belies in themselves is negative, and then their self esteem will also be low. On the other hand, self concept is the manner in which an individual perceives themselves in terms of different characteristics like academic performance, sexuality, race and gender roles. Self concept and self esteem determine the performance of students in learning environments. This is because the students’ emotions have a direct impact on their performances and thinking.

Motivation is a very important factor for the success of students. This is illustrated in Appendix 1 where different students have different levels of desire to master what they are taught. In the spelling groups class, the first group of students that was tasked to look for words with letters ’oi’ struggled to find such words and also were very poor in spelling. Their group scored the lowest marks out of all the other groups. In Appendix 1, when student M answered the first question, he did it with little or no motivation. The first group had no motivation because when the group was asked a question, only one student- student M- answered. Furthermore, the student answered with little motivation. The teacher realized this motivation problem in the group and decided to help them by motivating them. The teacher’s motivation came in the form of examples and advice. Since they could not master even one example, the teacher took the initiative of motivating the group by giving them the first example. This was meant to stimulate the students’ minds to think of more examples to fill the activity sheet. However, the teacher’s motivation did not have a big impact on the students’ attitude. The students in group 1 still did a shoddy job. Their work was full of spelling mistakes.

The second group in Appendix 1, students looked motivated they had the desire to learn. As soon as they were handed their activity sheets and they tackled it straight away in a manner that demonstrated their desire to master the subject. When they were asked a question, they were able to answer it easily. Whenever they did not understand something, they went ahead and asked for clarification. They also took the teacher’s advice of using dictionaries when working on the activity. Therefore, these were motivated students because they had the interest in accomplishing the activity correctly and they adhered to teacher’s instructions.

During the mathematics class in Appendix 3, the teacher taught and asked questions about roman numbers. After giving demo questions, he gave out an activity to all students. Three students, M, K and G had different approaches. Student M in Appendix 3, who had no motivation at all in the previous class, did not even attempt doing the activity. Student K found the topic interesting after putting in effort to understand. Student G in Appendix 3 asked for help from the student next and understood the topic and successfully accomplished the activity. Student K may have had intrinsic motivation where they enjoyed understanding the topic and mastering it. Student G had extrinsic motivation because he tried to get help to understand the topic in order to get the activity right. However, student M did not have motivation to accomplish the task and did not even pay attention in class hence did not understand the topic on roman numbers.

Motivation is important for students because it helps them develop an interest in understanding, listening and accomplishing what they are taught. Extrinsic motivation in students is one that is created by the student’s desire to achieve good grades from learning. Student G looked for assistance to master the subject in order to finish the activity correctly. Student K had intrinsic motivation because she found the subject interesting and wanted to master it. However, students who are not motivated in any way would not have any interest in the subjects. Student M in Appendix 3 did not have any objective to accomplish hence; did not have the motivation to accomplish class activities.

In the Vitamin class in Appendix 1, Daniel is a student who has interest in the subject. The student seems to enjoy the class because he wants to master every concept. The student listened keenly in class, participated in class discussions and in the puzzle session fully. However, the student at some point could not listen to the teacher simply because he was focused on accomplishing the puzzle on time. The student had both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. He wanted to master the subject and wanted to finish the task correctly and on time.

In terms of self esteem and self concept, students require a sense of self worth in order to believe in themselves to perform well. In the reading class in Appendix 2, student R managed to master and answers all questions right and successfully finished the activity in time. The student probably had self belief and this boosted his mental state and self concept. On the other hand, student C did not manage to master the reading and could only look for help from student R during the activity paper. Even though he was not given the real answers, he was challenged by student R to seek answers from the reading. This means the student had a low self esteem since he could not believe in himself to give correct answers. This affects their mental state and their ability to remember the answers from the reading. Such a student requires motivation to regain their self concept and self esteem to perform well in class.

During the algorithms class, student R in Appendix 2 wanted to accomplish as many questions as possible. This was despite the teacher’s advice that students should only answer the questions they understand. The student finished the quiz and went ahead to challenge himself by attempting the difficult questions. This student has a high self esteem and self concept. He believes in himself and wants to achieve the best he can. The self concept and esteem make his mental and emotional state very positive that he feels he is capable of handling any problems presented before him as long as he gets the teacher’s advice.

In the writing groups’ class in Appendix 4, students were lively as they listened to the teacher’s questions and instructions. When the teacher asked questions, the class responded positively to all questions. This was a sign that they had understood the teacher’s instructions correctly. Different students were able to correctly answer the questions when asked. This was a sign that the class had students who were motivated and had a lot of interest in the subject. They had self esteem and self concept to believe in their own abilities to handle the questions. The self concept and esteem can be illustrated when the students went about their writing immediately. They even accomplished their work within a short time. The students in Appendix 4 also went to seek for feedback from their colleagues after reading them their stories. This means the students believed in their own work and were not ashamed to share it with other students.

References

Marzano, R. J. (2003). What Works in Schools: Translating Research Into Action (illustrated ed.). London: ASCD.

Moss, C. M., & Brookhart, S. M. (2012). Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding in Today’s Lesson. London: ASCD.
Purkey, W. W. (1970). Self concept and school achievement. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Schunk, D. H., & Pintrich, P. R. (2008). Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications (3 illustrated ed.). New York: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.