CORRELATION BETWEEN SELF-ESTEEM AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT OF GRADE 12 HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES STUDENTS

Abstract

This research aimed to measure the correlation between self-esteem and academic engagement among Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences students at Immaculada Concepcion College for the 2023-2024 academic year. Students face a range of challenges, including high expectations, heavy workloads, competition, and cultural comparisons, all of which can impact their self-esteem and academic engagement. To address this, the researchers assessed the levels of self-esteem and academic engagement among the students and provided recommendations to enhance these factors, ultimately aiming to improve their learning outcomes. The researchers administered a two-part survey questionnaire via Google Forms, with a total of 245 respondents. The first part of the survey, adapted from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), was used to assess the students' level of self-esteem. It consisted of two sub-domains: (1) self-perception and (2) self-worth. The second part of the survey, which was researcher-made, aimed to identify the factors of academic engagement. This section included three sub-domains: (1) behavioral engagement, (2) emotional engagement, and (3) cognitive engagement. The findings revealed that the average level of self-esteem among the students was 2.83, which corresponds to a verbal interpretation of "Agree." Meanwhile, the average for the factors of academic engagement was 3.37, also interpreted as "Agree." These results suggest that students possess a high level of self-esteem and are highly engaged academically. Additionally, a significant relationship between self-esteem and academic engagement was found. This is supported by the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) of 0.16, which is greater than the critical value (0.11), and the p-value of 0.01, which is less than the alpha level of 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected, confirming a correlation between self-esteem and academic engagement. To enhance students' self-esteem and academic engagement, the following solutions are recommended:

Encourage participation in self-esteem workshops or counseling to help students focus on improving their self-esteem.

Implement interactive and engaging teaching methods that cater to diverse learning styles and interests.

Promote self-assessment activities or reflective journaling to help students gain insights into their self-esteem levels and academic engagement factors.

Provide teacher training to better support student self-esteem and academic engagement.

Offer parent workshops to foster the development of self-esteem at home.

Review and adjust school policies and activities to better promote self-esteem.

Encourage further research using the data collected in this study.