Abstract
Starting from the general principles of the concept of positive discipline, the paper points out that schools and teachers can significantly contribute to the application of positive discipline to affect different aspects of a student’s personality development. The potentials of applying positive discipline in the school for developing adolescents’ self-esteem are particularly emphasized. Accordingly, this paper will present the results of a study that aimed to establish a correlation between assessing the presence of positive discipline in a school context and the level of adolescents’ self-esteem. The survey included a convenience sample of 195 high school students from three high schools - art, technical, and grammar school. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the scale for assessing the presence of positive discipline in the school were used to collect the data. The results showed that adolescents exhibit a high level of self-esteem, while their assessment of the presence of positive discipline in school is moderate. Also, it was found that with the increase in the assessment of the presence of positive discipline in school, the level of adolescents’ self-esteem increased, and the statistically significant moderating role of the measured variables was found only in the type of high school. The conclusion points to the need to sensitize teachers to manage the classroom according to the principles of positive discipline, as well as the importance of creating the conditions that, through the phenomenon of positive discipline, effectively raise the quality of schoolwork as a whole.
Highlights
Positive discipline, as an approach to upbringing, is based on the theoretical basis of individual psychology, which considers encouragement as a way of developing self-esteem and reinforcing the belief that the individuals are good enough just the way they are (Adler, 2009)
Based on the arithmetic value of the scale that is in the second half of the distribution, it can be concluded that adolescents evaluate the use of positive discipline as moderately present
When it comes to the type of school, the results showed that adolescents surveyed in all three high schools evaluate the application of positive discipline at a similar level
Summary
As an approach to upbringing, is based on the theoretical basis of individual psychology, which considers encouragement as a way of developing self-esteem and reinforcing the belief that the individuals are good enough just the way they are (Adler, 2009). The child and the adult need to be made aware of what doesn’t work in their relationship and how to repair it (Adler, 2009; Nelsen, 1979) Based on this belief, as well as on the integration of knowledge about children’s development, children’s rights, and effective educational practices, positive discipline becomes a contemporary approach to the upbringing that is based on understanding and respecting the personality of the children, individualized approach and up-bringing by personal example (Durrant, 2013). The paper starts from the view that, besides the family as a basic upbringing factor, the school represents a very important upbringing environment and that teacher as significant another person can significantly contribute to the application of positive discipline to affect different domains of student personality development, especially during adolescence
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