EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING AND SOLUTION FOCUSED BRIEF COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES ON SELF-CONCEPT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL UNDERACHIEVERS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Self-concept is the image that people have of themselves. This image is formed in a number of ways, but is particularly influenced by interactions with important people and events in their life. Many scholars described self-concept in different ways such as the perception or image of one‘s abilities and uniqueness. At first, one’s self-concept is very general and changeable… as one grows older, these self-perceptions become much more organized, detailed, and specific (Pastorino& Doyle-Portillo, 2013). According to Abdulkadir (2011), self-concept may be high or low. It refers to a man‘s nature or personality, image or the qualities that makes up the individual.Ajoku (1998) pointed out different terminologies used to represent self-concept such as self-esteem, self-image, self-identity, self-perception, self-acceptance and self-worth. In this study, self-concept comprises among others the above terminologies.

Research conducted by Marsh, (2004) has established that there is close relationship between self-concept and academic achievements of students. Students with high self-concept participate enthusiastically in the learning process. Such students are more confident, active and motivated towards learning and perform better in examination as compared to those students with low self-concept because self-concept is the significant tool that differentiates between academic achiever and underachiever students.The lower the self-concept, the lower the aspiration for academic success; because the lower the aspiration, the lower the achievement and vice versa. This situation occurs because the students‘ actions are influenced by their self-concept as it is the basis for all motivated behaviour(Ahmad, Zeb, Ullah, & Ali, 2013). Gender has also beenhighlighted to influence academic self-concept and academic achievement in various studies done on gender, self-worth, and academic achievement among students.A significant difference in self-concept was noted between males and females and in their

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academic achievements (Lanza, Osgood, Eccles, & Wigfield, 2002; Sar-Abadani-Tafreshi, 2006).

EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING AND SOLUTION FOCUSED BRIEF COUNSELLING TECHNIQUES ON SELF-CONCEPT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL UNDERACHIEVERS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS, NIGERIA