Self-Esteem vs Self-efficacy

In my school, I lead a group of teachers in a professional learning community that we meet weekly to discuss our area of concerns in teaching and learning.

I have recently shared about the importance of self-efficacy when we compared how we had embraced self-esteem as a need for low self-esteem pupils.

From the above videoclip, some may be able to see that building self-esteem may give pupils a false impression of them being good at certain areas when too many praises that were meant as encouragement.

One with high self-efficacy faces failures with a more positive mindset. They view failures as challenges rather than threats that represent their defeats. They may look at new ways to overcome these challenges. Challenges become opportunities for growth.

As teachers, we have seemed our pupils who always faced successes in their early education but they lacked the resilience to face challenges and some may even develop suicidal thoughts.

As teachers, we should not only lead pupils to gain knowledge but we should develop the right learning attitudes.

Self-efficacy is one that we should cultivate and nurture in our pupils. Successes that come even after failures can last longer and develop individual in a greater way.