SELF-CONCEPT AND LEVEL OF EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATION AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Adolescents face a number of challenges in terms of the various physical, psychological, sexual, mental and 
emotional changes that they go through during this time. This could result in a poor self-concept, leading to graver 
problems like role-confusion, loss of identity, sexual or mental health problems etc. It is important that individuals 
possess a positive notion of the self since the very beginning. Especially for adolescents, self-concept is also a 
predictor of how aspiring they may be in terms of their education and career. Thus, the present study “Self-concept 
and level of educational aspiration among adolescents” was envisaged to assess the self-concept and level of 
educational aspiration of adolescents. The main aim of the study was to find out if self-concept has an impact on the 
level of educational aspiration of adolescents. The study was conducted in the Government and Private schools of a 
city in India. 300 adolescents in the age group of 13-18 years were selected and sampled according to the random 
sampling technique. Out of the total 300, 150 students were selected from Government schools and 150 from Private 
schools. The number was further divided on the basis of their gender i.e. 75 girls and 75 boys. Two tools, Self
concept Questionnaire (SCQ) and the Level of Educational Aspiration Test (LEAT) were used to carry out the study. 
Mean, standard deviation, chi-square and fisher exact test were used for the statistical analysis of the data. The 
major finding of the study was that the self-concept of adolescents had an effect on their level of educational 
aspiration. Other findings showed that there was only a slight difference in the self-concept and level of educational 
aspiration between adolescents studying in Government schools and those studying in Private schools. It also 
showed that mostly, girls have a better self-concept and level of educational aspiration than the boys. The study 
even proved that there is no association between the self-concept and level of educational aspiration among 
adolescents in the age group of 13-15 years and 16-18 years.