Roles of Sex and Parents’ Level of Education on Self-esteem
Chapter One
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the role of parents on child self esteem
- To ascertain the effect parent educational background on child self esteem
- To ascertain the relationship between sex and child self esteem
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Parental Autonomy Support and Self-esteem
Parental autonomy support is atmosphere created by parents emphasizing structure, order, and clear rules for children and adolescents while dysfunctional control or excessive control occurs when parents use behaviors that are highly restrictive dominating, or interfering in nature, without a corresponding emphasis on care and concern (Bush, et al., 2002) adolescent theorists have emphasized that parents should be fairly permissive with adolescents if the youth are to become autonomous and responsible. The more the adolescent feels that behaviors and decisions that affect him or her are under the control of the parent, the lower will be his/her self-esteem. Parents who force their choices on children, and the child fails to make up to the expectation of parents it becomes very demotivating and disappointing to the child (Roberts, 2013). According to Myers, et al. (2010) parents are supposed to act in ways that respect adolescent’s privacy and support their needs for independent expression and decision making. This conveys to adolescents that they are valued (thus valuable) and provide them with sense of healthy balanced boundaries. Parents who are harsh criticizers and ineffective disciplinarians, fails to create a home environment that promotes and supports healthy educational attainment. Research by Ryan and Deci (2001) on effects of parental support on Russian and US adolescents revealed that perceived parental autonomy support predicted high self-esteem. Russian adolescents who are considered to be from authoritarian families, which did not support autonomy, were found to have low self-esteem. Adolescents from US families, whose parents supported autonomy, were reported to have high self-esteem. This research dealt with adolescents in single schools and from two cultures. The research would hence not be generalized in all cultures. Njoroge et al (2000) on their research on autonomy support on Kenyan adolescent found that parental autonomy support did not predict self-esteem in adolescents. According to them, adolescents are expected to demonstrate absolute conformity to and respect for their parents, elders are expected to conform to adult wishes, and subordination of individual goals in favor of responsibility to others, and respect for family/group decisions (Lamborn & Mounts, 1991). The study drew a convenient sample from four schools from three provinces in Kenya and the results of the findings won’t be generalized. Branden (2010) asserts that proper aim of parental nurturing is to prepare a child for independent survival as an adult from a condition of total dependency. If upbringing is successful, the young man or woman will have evolved out of that dependency into a self-respecting and self-responsible human being capable of surmounting the obstacles placed in front of them.
Parental Competence Support and Self-esteem
Parental competence support refers to parental willingness to offer competence support to adolescents. Selfesteem comes from developing competence (Chapnik, 2013). To view themselves positively, adolescents must feel competent in domains they feel important. Perception of competence in domains that are valued by significant others contribute to overall self-esteem (Manning, 2007) According to Myers et al., (2010) the manner in which parents communicates is important in terms of fostering self-esteem. They should express confidence in their capabilities. This manner of communication helps convey to adolescents that they are competent and valued (thus valuable).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to roles of sex and parent’s level of education on self esteem
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information roles of sex and parent’s level of education on self esteem. 200 residents in Uyo of Akwa Ibom state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was roles of sex and parent’s level of education on self-esteem. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of roles of sex and parent’s level of education on self-esteem.
Summary
This study was roles of sex and parent’s level of education on self-esteem. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the role of parents on child self esteem, to ascertain the effect parent educational background on child self esteem and to ascertain the relationship between sex and child self esteem. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 residents of Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made married men, married women, youths and students were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
This study clearly shows that parental support is a key element in the parent child relationship. When parents support their children’s basic psychological need for autonomy, competence and relatedness, such support in the familial context is associated with a host of positive child outcomes. Adolescent reports of their perceptions of parental support are related to self-esteem benefits. Parental support is influenced by a host of factors and some are more malleable than others (e.g., parental beliefs vs. child temperament). Interesting to note, the degree to which parents trust that children have a natural tendency toward internalization and development (a central tenet of SDT) strongly influences their capacity to provide autonomy support.
Recommendation
- The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, School Administrators, Teachers, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs and other stakeholders need to identify and understand the unique needs of learners based on their backgrounds. It is also recommended that in developing policies for schools, parental support on adolescents be given more serious consideration. Educators should pay more attention to the relationship between parental support and adolescents’ self-esteem.
- There is need to compare levels of relationship between parental support and self-esteem by geographical location between urban and rural areas and using a larger sample, covering a larger geographical area and interviewing more participants like school counselors, administrators and parents so as to have representation of the population.
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