Relationship between self-concept and self-control compared to the academic performance of elementary school children

Abstract

In studies of school and learning difficulties, it highlights the importance of identifying what are the possible causes of not learning, and, among these, it is known that the affective-emotional aspect affects school performance. This study aimed to identify the relation between self-concept and self-control compared to school performance. The participants of this study were 35 children (19 females and 16 males), from 8 to 11 years old, who were studying in elementary school (from the 3rd to 5th grade) of a private school in an country town of São Paulo state. For the evaluation, the following instruments were used: Academic Performance Test (TDE); Women’s Self-control scale (EFAC) and Men’s Self-control Scale (EMAC); Self Concept Scale for Children and Youth (EAC-IJ). The results presented showed that, for the sample, the more knowledge a person had of himself/herself (self-concept), the higher was his/her self-control, and the greater was his self-control, the greater was his familiar self-concept, demonstrating the importance of the family in the emotional state of the child, the development of rules and behavior, and in self-control in general. Furthermore, the personal self-concept was directly related to learning (and performance in arithmetic) and the feelings and emotions of the child, as well as the social self-concept influenced school performance and arithmetic, meaning that, more the child knows about himself/herself, the better their school performance and their ability to deal with the daily situations will be.