Determination of Students Self-Esteem Levels at Pamukkale University

Abstract

Self-esteem is a psychological, social and partly physical emotion that starts at birthandchanges during the life events which occur in the lead up to and during adulthood. Recent research shows that education and the educational period have a huge effect on a student's self-esteem. Research alsoshows that there is a direct relation between a student's self-esteem and how successful they are. The aim of this research is to determine the self-esteem levels of students from the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences and theFaculty of Education at Pamukkale University. Data was collected through questionnaires and we used the Stanley Cooper smith Self-Esteem Scale. A random sample method was used. Assessment of the students' self-esteem levels was done using non-parametric tests, the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskall-Wallis test. The research found there to be differences in levels of self-esteem among groups of different demographics and educational periods. A student with high self-esteem has better physical health, takes pleasure in social relations, feels free and is successful both with their education and in their social life. In conclusion, a student's social relations can be improved by doing more activities which involve with group interaction and by joining school clubs. In addition, various educational activities can be organised to increase a student's self-esteem level. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.