Labelling and self‐esteem: does labelling exceptional students impact their self‐esteem?

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to explore the existing relationships between main concepts associated with labelling exceptional students and impact on their self-esteem. The aim was to examine how these concepts are presented in the existing research literature, and what the implications are for educational practice of labelling exceptional students. This area of research is important for educators, researchers, practitioners, parents and advocates of exceptional students. By understanding the psychosocial and educational aspects of labelling and stigma, we can all contribute in different ways to address the unique particularities of exceptional students.

Peluang dan Tantangan Psikoterapi Islam

“…Sikap semacam ini pada dasarnya tidak salah. Hanya saja, apabila digunakan dalam konteks psikoterapi, sikap normatif yang berpotensi menyebabkan penghakiman dan pelabelan semacam ini dikhawatirkan memunculkan dampak negatif, misalkan jatuhnya harga diri klien (Thomson, 2012), ketidaksediaan klien membuka diri, dan susahnya klien untuk bersikap terbuka. Terlebih lagi, dalam paradigma psikologi Islam, abnormalitas kejiwaan sering kali dikaitkan dengan perilaku dosa sebagai penyebabnya (Mujib, 2017), sehingga dikhawatirkan psikoterapis selalu mengaitkan antara abnormalitas dengan perilaku dosa yang berakhir pada penghakiman dan pelabelan.…”

Psychological Well-Being of Intellectually and Academically Gifted Students in Self-Contained and Pull-Out Gifted Programs

“…Labels, which can be defined as attributes attached to an individual (Gove, 1980), may be negatively associated with students’ psychological well-being and social connectedness (Green, 2007; Walton & Carr, 2012). These labels can influence a student’s self-esteem (Thomson, 2012), willingness to seek mental health support (Moses, 2009), and general perceived well-being (Green, 2007). In addition to these negative impacts, labels can have positive impacts on a student by exposing the student to opportunities that are not accessible without the label, such as gifted education classes, and by enhancing the student’s sense of belonging to a group (Chambers et al, 2019).…”

“…Labeling theory is particularly relevant for research involving gifted students because giftedness is a label that carries a variety of stigmas and stereotypes (Baudson, 2016; Preckel et al, 2015) that are associated with anxiety and low self-esteem (Lam & Kirby, 2002; Thomson, 2012). Furthermore, gifted identification labels may lead to an in-group/out-group dynamic wherein gifted students are viewed as an out-group and therefore socially isolated from their nonidentified peers (Killen et al, 2013).…”

“…Yang et al, 2016). Third, all of the selected measures evaluated constructs that are particularly relevant to gifted students, such as loneliness (Cheng & Furnham, 2002;Ogurlu et al, 2018;Özbay & Palanci, 2011), self-esteem (Lam & Kirby, 2002;Thomson, 2012), math self-concept (Litster & Roberts, 2010;Marsh et al, 1995), and perfectionism (Rice & Ray, 2018;Stricker et al, 2019), or constructs that are able to provide summary evaluations of students' attitudes toward their program, such as school avoidance (Godor & Szymanski, 2017;Hutzell & Payne, 2012) and school liking (Honma & Uchiyama, 2014;Rönkä et al, 2017).…”

The relationship between self-esteem and academic performance of children aged between nine and twelve

“…Despite existing literature being inconclusive as to the influence of self-esteem on academic achievement, as is indeed true of the directionality of that influence, researchers and policy makers do agree on the desirability of positive self-esteem as a student attribute, and promote programs attuning teachers to enforcing an environment that enhances both academic achievement as well as a positive sense of self (Booth & Gerard, 2011;Helm, 2007). Thomson (2012) states that an effective educator needs to be aware of the "simple fact that children go to school for a living. School is their job, their livelihood, their identity" (p. 164), and that, therefore, special recognition of school's critical role in shaping a person's self-concept is mandated.…”