The influence of self-concept on school adjustment: of what concern is it to the counsellors?

Abstract

This correlational study investigated the relationship between self-concept and school adjustment using a sample of 610 students drawn from a population of 1983 senior secondary school (two) students from Nembe town of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses were designed to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested at probability level of 0.05. The instrument for data collection was Self-concept and School Adjustment Scale. It was validated by the assistance of two experts in Measurement and Evaluation and possessed sufficient reliability indices to be used in the study. The data generated from the instrument were analyzed using SPSS (version 21). The results of the study showed that social self-concept and academic self-concept had high positive joint influence on school adjustment of secondary school students; the joint influence of self-concept on school adjustment is significant at 0.05 level of probability; social self-concept and academic self-concept each has a high positive and significant individual influence on the school adjustment of the students. Based on these findings, the conclusion drawn was that social self-concept and academic self-concept had joint and separate significant relationships with school adjustment of secondary school students in Nembe town. The counsellors should concern themselves on how to make the students believe in themselves; they should not be afraid of any subjects or tasks and that they can surmount any academic or life challenges by putting in adequate effort.

KEYWORDS: Social self-concept, academic self-concept, school adjustment, confidence, success, failure.