Effects of Mentoring and Assertiveness Training on Adolescents’ Self-Esteem in Lagos State Secondary Schools

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of Mentoring and Assertiveness Training on Adolescents' self-confidence in Lagos State secondary schools. A total of 96 adolescents (48 males and 48 females) drawn from three public schools randomly selected from three Education Districts in Lagos State constituted the final sample. The dependent variables for this study were self-confidence and gender. Descriptive survey and quasi-experimental design using the pre-test post-test control group design were adopted for the study. Two instruments used to generate data for the study were: Adolescents' Personal Data Questionnaire (APDQ) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Two research questions were raised and two corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The two hypotheses were tested using the one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 levels of significance. Hypotheses 1 was rejected while hypothesis 2 was accepted. The findings revealed that mentoring and assertiveness training were efficacious in raising adolescents' self-confidence. The study also found that the significant effect of mentoring and assertiveness training on adolescents' self-confidence was not due to gender. In the light of these findings, a number of recommendations were made, one of which is that teachers and schools' management should promote peer-mentoring programme in schools because of the numerous advantages it has over traditional mentoring.