Self-Concept of Father-Absent Children in Middle Childhood

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Man's individuality embodies numerous traits and self-concept holds the predominant of these traits according to Rogers. It helps the person understand personality and social development, for it is through the developing self-concept that man form increasingly stable picture of their selves, partly, reflected by others in their surroundings (Craig;1996,p.367). As the person interacts with his environment, such as peer groups, school, community and most especially the family, these concepts are constructed. Many developmentalists believe that infants are born without a sense of self (Shaffer, 1989), therefore, we can say that we develop our self-image as we continuously grow.

Families are believed to be the first, the closest, and most influential social group in the child's life. They provide children with the definition of right and wrong, the patterns of behaviors, the expectations and the evaluations of actions on which children base their own ideas (Craig, 1996). It is in the family where a child spends a great portion of his life mainly during the formative years. It is from the family that he receives his earliest training in proper behavior. Thus, it is the family which plays the major role in the development of his self-image (Medina, 1991). As a child grow, he begins to realize who he really is and what he is and at the same time aware of his capability.

The person's general view of self is made up of other, more specific concepts, including the nonacademics sefl-concept, self-concept in English, and self-concept in mathematics. This self-concept evolves through constant self-evaluation indifferent situation (Shavelson & Bolus, 1992). Children and adolescents are continually comparing their performance with their own standards and with the performance of peer and also gauge the verbal and nonverbal reactions of significant people.

Moreover, a harmonious home environment can create confidence in ones own perspective of himself because it provides not only a place of residence but also an identity of mutual security and support (Sevilla, 1989). However, through the changing nature of the family structure, there are broken families and marital dissolution. Single parent families, usually are fatherless, continuously growing up which affect both their children's psychological health and intellectual development. Children commonly experience anger, fears, and phobias, loneliness, conflicts and shaken sense of identity (Henslin, 1992). With these, questions were raised whether the development of a fatherless child would affect their school performance. Whether self-concept can be associated with their academic achievement.

For this reason, the researcher aims to find out whether there is a relationship between the Self-concept and English with Reading and Language and Math Achievement of a Father-absent children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to know and correlate the Self-concept with the Math and English Achievement of Father-Absent Children in Middle Childhood of Two Exclusive Schools for Boys, namely: Ateneo Grade School and La Salle Greenhils.

Specifically, the researcher seeks to identify the following;

1. What is the Self-concept of Father -Absent Children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys?

2. What is the English Achievement of Father-Absent Children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys?

3. What is the Math Achievement of Father-Absent Children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys?

4. Is there a significant relationship between the Self-concept and the Math and English Achievement of Father-Absent Children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys?

Hypothesis

The researcher advances the alternative hypothesis that there is significant relationship between the self-concept and the Math and English Achievement of Father-Absent Children in middle childhood of two exclusive schools for boys, namely: Ateneo Grade School and La Salle Greenhills.

Significance of the Study

Children cannot escape the positive or negative implication of the twist and turns of family. They greatly affected by these changes they undergo. It may or may not be detrimental to them but the primary concerns here is how they would become in the future.

For this reason, the researcher was motivated to give rise to this kind of study that would enable parents to understand the effect of family environment to their children. They may learn to give importance in raising their child well to make them a better person in the future.

Teachers will benefit from this study especially those who teach in exclusive schools for boys because in one way or another they can foresee the effect of father-absence to students performance in class and how the development of the self-concept affect their academic achievement.

The date gathered from this study may greatly facilitate the guidance counselors job in determining whether the development of the self-concept of a child is a big factor in measuring the performance of students in class. In effect, they could develop a program on self-awareness to sustain the positive self-concept.

Finally, the subjects per se would identify their self-concept as well as their level of achievement and would help them strive harder for better improvement.

Theoretical Conceptual Framework

Freud describes middle childhood as a period he called latency. He believed that, for most children, the period from age 7 to 12 was a time during which family jealousy and turmoil was less important or latent. Consequently, most children could turn their emotional energies toward peer relationships, creative efforts, and learning the culturally prescribed tasks in the school or community.

Erickson, expanding on Freud's idea, believed that the central focus of middle childhood was the psycho-social conflict or industry versus inferiority. Erickson states that during this stage, much of the child's time and energy is directed toward acquiring new knowledge and skills. They are better able to channel their energies into learning, problem solving, and achievement. When children are able to achieve success, they integrate a sense of industry into their self-image. They realize