Self‐Assessment, Self‐Esteem and Self‐Acceptance

Abstract

Teachers are often troubled by the difficulty of enhancing their pupils’ self‐esteem, particularly in the case of students who are especially weak and whose low self‐assessment is justified. Dewhurst suggested (JME, 20(1), pp. 3‐11) that these students can be helped by bringing them to accept themselves, since self‐acceptance is compatible with realistic low self‐assessment. Dewhurst's thesis is criticised and it is suggested that self‐acceptance is inseparable from an improvement in one's self‐assessment. Thus, the improvement of self‐assessment is a necessary condition for enhancing self‐esteem. If cases exist where this reformation of self‐image is unattainable, that is, cases where the self‐assessment of the student cannot be improved, it is doubtful whether there is anything we can do about it.