Self-concept refers to an individual's perception of themselves and is composed of self-assessments across various domains like academics, gender, and race. It is a multidimensional construct that is shaped by both internal and external factors. While related to self-awareness and self-esteem, self-concept is more general and presumes an internal model comprising evaluations of one's personality, skills, and other attributes. A person's self-concept may evolve over time as their self-assessments and perceptions change, sometimes leading to identity crises.

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Self-concept
Self-concept (also called self-construction or self-perspective) is a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to
any number of characteristics, such as academics (and nonacademics), gender roles and sexuality racial identity and many others. Each of these characteristics is
a research domain (i.e. Academic Self-Concept) within the larger spectrum of self-concept although no characteristics exist in isolation as one’s self-concept is a
collection of beliefs about oneself. While closely related with self-concept clarity (which "refers to the extent to which self-knowledge is clearly and confidently
defined, internally consistent, and temporally stable"), it presupposes but is distinguishable from self-awareness, which is simply an individual's awareness of
their self. It is also more general than self-esteem, which is a function of the purely evaluative element of the self-concept.
The self-concept is an internal model which comprises self-assessments. Features assessed include but are not limited to: personality, skills and abilities,
occupation(s) and hobbies, physical characteristics, etc. For example, the statement "I am lazy" is a self-assessment that contributes to the self-concept.
However, the statement "I am tired" would not be part of someone's self-concept, since being tired is a temporary state and a more objective judgment. A
person's self-concept may change with time as reassessment occurs, which in extreme cases can lead to identity crises.
The term self-concept is a general term used to refer to how someone thinks about or perceives themselves.
The self concept is how we think about and evaluate ourselves. To be aware of oneself is to have a concept of oneself.
Baumeister (1999) provides the followingself concept definition: "the individual's belief about himself or herself,
including the person's attributes and who and what the self is".
Self Concept is an important term for both social psychology and humanism.
Lewis (1990) suggests that development of a concept of self has two aspects: -
(1) The Existential Self
This is the most basic part of the self-scheme or self-concept; the sense of being separate and distinct from others and
the awareness of the constancy of the self”(Bee 1992).
The child realizes that they exist as a separate entity from others and that they continue to exist over time and space.
According to Lewis awareness of the existential self begins as young as two to three months old and arises in part due
to the relation the child has with the world. For example, the child smiles and someone smiles back, or the child touches
a mobile and sees it move.
(2) The Categorical Self
Having realized that he or she exists as a separate experiencing being, the child next becomes aware that he or she is
also an object in the world. Just as other objects including people have properties that can be experienced (big, small,
red, smooth and so on) so the child is becoming aware of him or her self as an object which can be experienced and
which has properties. The self too can be put into categories such as age, gender, size or skill. Two of the first
categories to be applied are age (“I am 3”) and gender (“I am a girl”).
In early childhood. the categories children apply to themselves are very concrete (e.g. hair color, height and favorite
things). Later, self-description also begins to include reference to internal psychological traits, comparative evaluations
and to how others see them.
Carl Rogers (1959) believes that the self concept has three different components:
The view you have of yourself (Self image)
How much value you place on yourself (Self esteem or self-worth)
What you wish you were really like (Ideal self)
Self Image
(what you see in yourself)
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.

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This does not necessarily have to reflect reality. Indeed a person with anorexia who is thin may have a self image in
which the person believes they are fat. A person's self image is affected by many factors, such as parental influences,
friends, the media etc.
SELF ESTEEM
Self esteem refers to the extent to which we like accept or approve of ourselves or how much we value ourselves. Self
esteem always involves a degree of evaluation and we may have either a positive or a negative view of ourselves.
HIGH SELF ESTEEM i.e. we have a positive view of ourselves. This tends to lead to
Confidence in our own abilities
Self acceptance
Not worrying about what others think
Optimism
LOW SELF ESTEEM i.e. we have a negative view of ourselves. This tends to lead to
Lack of confidence Want to be/look like someone else Always worrying what others might think Pessimism
Ideal Self
(what you'd like to be)
If there is a mismatch between how you see yourself (e.g. your self image) and what you’d like to be (e.g. your ideal self
) then this is likely to affect how much you value yourself. Therefore, there is an intimate relationship between self-
image, ego-ideal and self-esteem. Humanistic psychologists study this using the Q-Sort Method.
A person’s ideal self may not be consistent with what actually happens in life and experiences of the person. Hence, a
difference may exist between a person’s ideal self and actual experience. This is called incongruence.
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.

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Where a person’s ideal self and actual experience are consistent or very similar, a state of congruence exists. Rarely, if ever does a
total state of congruence exist; all people experience a certain amount of incongruence. The development of congruence is
dependent on unconditional positive regard. Roger’s believed that for a person to achieve self-actualization they must be in a state
of congruence.
COMMUNICATION SKILL FOR TEACHERS
*Dr. K. B. PRAVEENA
The word „communication‟ came from the Latin word „communicare‟, meaning „to share‟. The act of teaching and
learning is also an act of sharing the content, the skills and the attitudes.
Communication is defined in many different ways. Some explain it as an „art‟ – something creative, while others
say it is a science – a learned behaviour/skill. In a broader sense, communication is much more than an art. It
involves certain learnable techniques and psychomotor skills.
Communication is a process by which people create and share information with one another in order to reach a common
understanding.
Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves a sender
transmitting an idea to a receiver. Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or
idea that the sender intended to transmit.
Studying the communication process and practicing the communication skill is very important for a teacher because we
„facilitate‟, „teach‟, „coordinate‟, „guide‟, „counsel‟, „evaluate‟ and „supervise‟ through this process. It is the chain of
understanding that integrates all the members of an institution in all perspectives.
„Oral communication‟, „Written communication‟, „Visual Communication‟ and „electronic communication‟ are the various
forms of communication. Oral and Written Communications are classified into „Verbal communication‟ and „Nonverbal
communication‟.
Process of Communication (Communication Cycle):
Sender-Receiver Model
Sender:
Initiates a thought/feeling
Encodes it into words/body language and sends the message
Transmits it through channels
Receiver:
Decodes the message
Assigns thought/feelings to a response
Encodes a response
Sends a message back
VERBAL
COMMUNICATION
Verbal communication requires the use of
words, vocabulary, numbers and
symbols and is organized in
sentences using language. Mastering linguistic skill is not reserved for the selected few but is a skill that each and every one
should develop to improve relationships and interactions. Everyone's brain is forever having thoughts and they are primarily
with words. Words spoken, listened to or written affect your life as well as others.
COMPONENTS VERBAL COMMUNICATION FOR TEACHERS:
SIMPLICITY OF THE LANGUAGE
APPROPRIATENESS OF VOCABULARY
GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS
CONTINUITY OF IDEAS
LOGICAL SEQUENCE
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.

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NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal communication is sending and decoding messages with emotional content. Up to 93 % of communication is non-
verbal. Including tone of voice, eye movement, posture, gestures, facial expressions and more. The pressure of body
language can especially be felt in emotional situations. Body language usually prevails over words.
All communication methods are important in training but our emphasis will be upon the spoken word... since 70 % or all our
communication efforts are misunderstood, misinterpreted, rejected, disliked, distorted, or not heard (in the same language,
same culture)!
A research study identifies,
Words are 7% effective (Verbal Communication)
Tone of voice is 38% effective (Nonverbal Communication)
Non-verbal clues are 55% effective (Nonverbal Communication)
Components Nonverbal Communication
Kinesics (body language): Body motions such as shrugs, foot tapping, drumming fingers, eye movements such as winking,
facial expressions, and gestures
Proxemics (proximity): Use of space to signal privacy or attraction
Haptics: Touch
Oculesics: Eye contact
Chronemics: Use of time, waiting, pausing
Olfactics: Smell
Vocalics: Tone of voice, timbre, volume, speed
Sound symbols: Grunting, mmm, er, ah, uh-huh, mumbling
Silence: Pausing, waiting, secrecy
Posture: Position of the body, stance
Adornment: Clothing, jewellery, hairstyle
Locomotion: Walking, running, staggering, limp
A FEW SELECTED NONVERBAL COMPONENTS FOR TEACHERS:
POSTURES APPEARANCE
GESTURES AUDIBILITY
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS MODULATION
EYE CONTACT FLUENCY AND SPEED
SPACE PAUSE
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
There's an old saying that "a picture is worth a thousand words." Teaching-learning would indeed be difficult without
paintings, photographs, diagrams, charts, drawings, and graphic symbols. These are some of the reasons why SHOWING is
such an important form of communication. Visual communication is a form of nonverbal communication.
Most people understand things better when they have seen how they work.
Involved, complex ideas can be presented clearly and quickly using visual aids.
People retain information longer when it is presented to them visually.
Visuals can be used to communicate to a wide range of people with differing backgrounds.
Visuals are useful when trying to condense information into a short time period.
Visual aids--used imaginatively and appropriately--will help your audience remember more. Consider the following:
People think in terms of images, not words, so visuals help them retain and recall technical information.
Visuals attract and hold the attention of observers.
Visuals simplify technical information.
Visuals may be useful in presenting technical information to a non-technical audience.
COMPONENTS OF VISUAL COMMUNICATION FOR TEACHERS:
SUITABILITY TO THE CONTENT
COLOUR HARMONY
VISIBILITY (Letters, Pictures, Diagrams, Graphs, Charts, Maps Etc.)
DISPLAY
APPROPRIATE TIMING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written materials often bear the greatest burden for the communication of new ideas and procedures. Effective writing is the
product of long hours of preparation, revision and organization.
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for
the same reasons that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not
that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that EVERY
WORD TELL.”
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.

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Clear, vigorous writing is a product of clear, vigorous thinking. Clarity is born of discipline and imagination. Kirkpatrick
gives the following guidelines for using written communication:
Use Written Communication When:
The sender wants a record for future references.
The receiver will be referring to it later.
The message is complex and requires study by the receiver.
The message includes a step by step procedure.
Oral communication is not possible because people are not in the same place at the same time.
There are many receivers.
A copy of the message should go to another person.
The receiver prefers written.
Advantages of Written Materials:
Highly technical topics can be presented using words and diagrams.
Written material provides a permanent record that can be referred to from time to time or passed on to others.
Written material can be duplicated in large quantities or distributed on the Internet relatively inexpensively.
It is fairly easy to distribute written material to many people, but this practice is getting increasingly expensive and its
effectiveness questionable.
Written material is preferred when it is desirable to get the same information to a group of people.
Written records and reports are sometimes useful in legal matters.
Written material may be useful for documenting the success or progress of some project or activity.
COMPONENTS OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION FOR TEACHERS:
CONCISENESS ( BREVITY) LOGICAL PRESENTATION
COMPLETENESS LANGUAGE SIMPLICITY
CLARITY/SPECIFICITY GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS
ACCURACY
BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION
Barrier with Senders and Receivers
Lack of rapport Ambiguity/confusion
Poorly defined objectives Background and experience
Problem of Language Selection of wrong medium
Excessive verbalism Choosing an unsuitable time
Socio-Psychological Barriers
Aptitude, attitude, interest, motivation etc.
Tension, frustration, anxiety etc
Emotional State
Fear of change, denial
Defensiveness
Permanency of attitude/Prejudice/bias
Domestic or social problems
Lack of incentives
Poor employment opportunities
Self centred attitudes
Self image
Rank/Status/Power
Superiority and Arrogance
Resistance to change
Closed mind
Day dreaming
Poor communication skills
Health status
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.

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External or Physical Barriers:
Poor infrastructure
Any type of external noise
Poor written or printed impressions
Poor maintenance of equipment
Substandard gadgets
Weak transmission
*****
*Dr. K. B. Praveena, Asst. Professor in Education (P.G.), Department Of Studies in Education,
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, Karnataka State, INDIA.