Harter, 1988
Harter, 1988
Harter, 1988
achievement has received increasing attention. It has been declared that high self -esteem
can lead to high academic achievement. The Self-esteem can be refered as person's global
variety of tasks. Moreover, this comparison between the perceived self and the ideal self
diversified job of developing and challenges of their own age. Hence, development of
In general, high self-esteem help individuals to view themselves as active and capable
persons to promote changes through effort and set higher goals which cause learning new
things. Intresestingly, numerous researchers have demonstrated that the best way to
Research has also documented that high self- esteem plays an important role in academic
achievement, social and personal responsibility (Redenbach, 1991). Those who have
higher academic achievement tend to feel more confident in contrast those who lack
Additionally, gender is the important factor which influence on the growth, emerges and
demonstration of self-esteem. Numerous differences have been found between males and
females in their level of self-esteem during adolescence because they tend to adopt to
boys and girls. It has been reaveled that girls do better in school, get higher grades and
can graduate from high school at a higher level than boys (Jacob, 2002). Previous study
showed the other influential factors in academic achievement ( Kara and Kahraman,
2008). However, the present study revealed the important role of self-esteem in academic
achievement. In other words, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship
between self-esteem and academic achievement as well as gain insight into the
differences in self-esteem and academic achievement between boys and girls. This study
strategies to prevent imbalance in academic achievement and self -esteem between male
Based on Alam (2013), students who reported to have higher self-esteem had higher academic
performance com-pared with students who had lower self-esteem, and there was a negative
relationship between test anxiety and self-esteem of students (Alam, 2013). Moreover, according
to Arshad et al. (2015), there is a strong positive correlation between self-esteem and academic
achievement among uni-versity students (Arshad et al., 2015: 161). However, there is
controversial evidence regarding the role of self-esteem of high school students, especially
related to academic achievement; Booth and Gerard (2011) found that when societal expectations
do not match with their actual perfor-mance, self-esteem may be affected. Therefore, culture and
social context have also been found to be factors that inter-fere with interpretations of self-
Academic achievement is used as a standard to the quality of education which isone of the prime
indicators to evaluate the education (Chapman & Adams, 2002).It is the degree of academic
learning outcomes by students that indicates the extent to which one has accomplished the
desired goals those are the focus of activities in instructional environments. It is used to measure
the stated goals of students, teachers, or institutions. It is not only indicator to the effectiveness
of the program but also a major determinant for the future of students and a nation also.
Academic achievement covers wide range of educational outcomes, so definition depends on the
indicators which are used to measure it. All criteria of academic achievement represent the
determine how well one is able to assimilate, retain, recall, and communicate one’s knowledge
that has learnt (Audu,Jekwu, & Pur, 2016). Academic achievement has become a phenomenon of
interest to all because excellent grade of students is always expected. Over the years,
psychologists, researchers, teachers, administrators have tried to reveal the non-cognitive factors
those influence students’ academic achievement. The non-cognitive factors are included self-
esteem of the students, their study habit etc. The self-esteem, one of the influential factors those
have effect on students’ academic achievement, has received increasing attention in education
research in present days (Aryana, 2010). It can be referred as one’s subjective judgment of
competency regarding one’s self-worth. It is a set of attitudes and beliefs through which we
positively or negatively evaluate ourselves. On a long term, such evaluation may influence the
development of cognitive and affective traits (Anastasi& Urbina, 1997). It is internal belief that
every person possesses to make of his ability to face, understand, and solve challenges of life to
achieve happiness which is the sum of self-confidence and self-concept. In academic level, self-
esteem can be defined as evaluative appraisal of experience of being capable to meet academic
challenges (Olanrewaju & Joseph, 2014). It is a student’s view about how he compares his
academic ability with other students. Past studies suggested significant relationship between
students’ self-esteem and their academic achievement (Aryana,2010; Colquhoun & Bourne,
2012; Das, & Pattanaik, 2013; Diseth, Meland, &Breidablik, 2014; Olanrewaju & Joseph, 2014;
Arshad, Zaidi, & Mahmood, 2015;Audu et al., 2016). In their study Alves-Martins, Peixoto,
Gouveia-Pereira, Amaral,and Pedro (2010) found significant differences between the successful
and unsuccessful seventh grade students’ self-esteem. They also found that students with low
levels of academic achievement attribute less importance to school-related areas and reveal less
favorable attitudes towards school. Giofrè, Borella, and Mammarella(2017) found that self-
esteem mediated by intelligence to influence the academic achievement. However, very few
studies have conducted to examine the direct effect of self-esteem while controlling other
variables (Giofrè et al., 2017).Some studies suggested self-esteem not significantly influences
academic achievement (Demo &Parker, 1987; Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, &Vohs, 2003).
Studies also suggested gender differences in self-esteem as boys have higher self-esteem
(Brutsaert, 1990;Kling, Hyde, Showers, & Bruswell, 1999; Quatman & Watson, 2001, Diseth et
Tertiary education is the third level of education, degree or diploma, that follows schooland high
(Gaˇsevi´c et al.,2016) and by using academic success scales (Ainin, Naqsh-bandi, Moghavvemi,
& Jaafar,2015).Several factors related to tertiary academic success have been identified in studies
in-cluding gender (Anderton et al.,2016), self efficacy (Trigwell, Ashwin, & Millan,2013),high
school success (Smith & White,2015), and less use of internet (Mishra, Draus, Goreva,Leone, &
Caputo,2014). This review paper analyzes these factors within the ecologicalmodel presented by
Dalton et al. (2007). The original Ecological Model was outlined byBronfenbrenner (1979) in
context. To study the dynamics of community, Dalton et al.(2007) have made some advancement
distal systems which comprise five ecolog-ical levels of analysis:1. individuals,2. microsystem
(where one directly and personally interacts, e.g. family, peers),3. organizations (which are
formally structured and larger than microsystems, e.g. in-stitutions),4. localities (geographical
locations, e.g. rural or urban areas), and 5. macrosystem (cultural environment within which one
Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger & Vohs, (2003), investigated that Self-esteem has become a household
word. Teachers, parents, therapists, and others have focused efforts on boosting self-esteem, on the
assumption that high self-esteem will cause many positive outcomes and benefits—an assumption that
is critically evaluated in this review. Appraisal of the effects of self-esteem is complicated by several
factors. Because many people with high self-esteem exaggerate their successes and good traits, we
encompassing people who frankly accept their good qualities along with narcissistic, defensive, and
conceited individuals. The modest correlations between self-esteem and school performance do not
indicate that high self-esteem leads to good performance. Instead, high self-esteem is partly the result
of good school performance. Efforts to boost the self-esteem of pupils have not been shown to improve
sometimes related to self-esteem, although the correlations vary widely, and the direction of causality
has not been established. Occupational success may boost self-esteem rather than the reverse.
Alternatively, self-esteem may be helpful only in some job contexts. Laboratory studies have generally
failed to find that self-esteem causes good task performance, with the important exception that high
self-esteem facilitates persistence after failure. People high in self-esteem claim to be more likable and
attractive, to have better relationships, and to make better impressions on others than people with low
self-esteem, but objective measures disconfirm most of these beliefs. Narcissists are charming at first
but tend to alienate others eventually. Self-esteem has not been shown to predict the quality or
duration of relationships. High self-esteem makes people more willing to speak up in groups and to
criticize the group's approach. High self-esteem does not prevent children from smoking, drinking,
taking drugs, or engaging in early sex. If anything, high self-esteem fosters experimentation, which may
increase early sexual activity or drinking, but in general effects of self-esteem are negligible. One
important exception is that high self-esteem reduces the chances of bulimia in females. Overall, the
benefits of high self-esteem fall into two categories: enhanced initiative and pleasant feelings. We have
not found evidence that boosting self-esteem (by therapeutic interventions or school programs) causes
benefits. Our findings do not support continued widespread efforts to boost self-esteem in the hope
that it will by itself foster improved outcomes. In view of the heterogeneity of high self-esteem,
indiscriminate praise might just as easily promote narcissism, with its less desirable consequences.
Instead, we recommend using praise to boost self-esteem as a reward for socially desirable behavior
and selfimprovement (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger & Vohs, 2003). Lane, Lane & Kyprianou (2004),
and academic performance among a sample of 205 postgraduate students. Participants completed
measures of past performance accomplishments, self-esteem, and self-efficacy at the start of a 15-week
course. Each student's average grade from modules studied was used as the performance measure.
Correlation results indicated significant relationships between self-efficacy and self-esteem. Multiple
regression results indicated that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between performance
accomplishments and academic performance. Findings lend support to the predictive effectiveness of