Self-concept and emotional competence among day students and boarders: A comparative study

Abstract

From times unknown students in India have been living at the house of their teacher while they receive education (the Gurukul system). Today they are called Residential Schools or Boarding Schools.Boarding schools are those which provide meals and lodging options for its students. With the advent of nuclear families and working mothers, boarding schools are more in demand. Many villages do not have adequate schooling facilities and this is another reason why parents opt for boarding schools.Residential education has demonstrated a capacity for bringing about change in the values, norms and actual behaviour, even among youth from a disadvantaged background (Kashti, 1979) Though the Boarding schools have their merits, parents are now questioning whether the children should be kept away from home at such an impressionable age.Adolescence is a difficult age to control, for parents and teachers and it is a difficult period for the adolescents as well. The onset of puberty brings about changes in various aspects; and as a result there is a change in the way they view themselves and the world. It is at this age that they begin to form a Self Concept.The present study was conducted to examine the difference in self concept and emotional competency of adolescent boarders and day-students and also of adolescent boys and girls. The two main traits that this study deals with are self concept and emotional competency.Variables and their operational definitionsSelf Concept: Self Concept has been referred by Lowe (1961) as one's attitude towards self. Saraswat and Gaur (1981) described self concept as the individual's way of looking at him/her. It is a dominant behaviour pattern.Emotional Competency: Emotions play a vital role in the individual behaviour. Emotional growth happens to be rapid during the early years and decreases throughout life (DiCaprio, 1974). Emotions as an impulse towards a definite form of behaviour (Drever, 1972) may arouse, sustain and direct activity and play an energising role (Coleman, 1970) in the undaunted expression of behaviour. How an individual handles his emotions whether competently or incompetently is a question of importance in explaining the growth of personality.According to Coleman (1970), Emotional competency is a blend of 5 competencies:* Adequate depth of feeling: This is the feeling of being confident or capable with all reality assumptions, specifically associated with effective j udgement.* Adequate expression and control of emotions: This refers to a tendency marked by adequate emotional expressiveness based on fulsome expression and control of emotions.* Ability to function with emotions: Emotional competency requires that the individual should develop a characteristic pattern of emotional reactivity which should not let him be influenced in his adequate mode of functioning that helps him perform daily functions* Ability to cope with problem emotions: this requires an understanding of the role of sensitivity and the detrimental effects of such emotions, and to handle them effectively.* Enhancement of Positive Emotions: this refers to the competency of the person to develop a predominance of positive emotions in the personality makeup of the person to ensure a meaningful and integrated life.The present study was conducted to measure the self concept and emotional competency of adolescents. The aim was to find out, how much factors like family, boarding and society affect the self concept and emotional competency of early adolescents.Hypotheses of the studyThefollowing hypotheses were proposedfor this study* There will be no significant difference in self concept and emotional competency between boarders and day-students.* There will be no significant difference in self concept and emotional competency between male and female adolescents.MethodParticipantsThe study comprised of adolescents from 13-16 years including both male and female. …