Mediation effect of locus of control on the causal relationship between students' perceived teachers' expectancy and self-esteem

Abstract

Introduction: Symbolic interaction theorists maintained that general self-esteem, defined as the way individuals assess themselves, is based on the individual's perception on the way others assess them (we are what we think other people think we are). Accordingly, studies in school settings indicated that students' perceived teachers' expectancy (PTE) affected students' self-esteem. In other words, evidence had shown that students who perceived that their teachers expected them to have high academic achievement would likely to have higher general self-esteem than students who perceived that their teachers expected them to perform low or to be involved in disciplinary matters. However, only handful of researches in school settings had focused on the role of locus of control (LoC) in the process of self-esteem development. Moreover, little research had focused on a school where only students with high-academic reports are accepted (High-performance schools), where they would not find lowachiever counterparts to be compared with. In the context of this study, students internal LOC was taken as a mediating variable between PTE and self-esteem. Method: Eight hundred participants were given three sets of questionnaires including Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale, Internal Control Index, and Perception of Teachers' Behavior Scale. In order to analyze the data, statistical method of One-Way ANOVA was employed. The software of SPSS was utilized in order to analyze and produce the result tables. Results: The results showed that the students' LoC mediated the influence of their PTE on their selfesteem. In other words, while symbolic interaction theory explained that self-esteem development among students is highly affected by PTE, findings of this research added that the contribution of PTE on self-esteem is mediated by LoC. Discussion and Conclusion: When students believe that their events are caused by their own effort (having internal LoC instead of external LoC), their PTE will not affect their self-esteem. While internal LoC is related to responsibility, it is possible to protect students' self-esteem from negative influence of PTE by improving their sense of responsibility, which then leads them to have internal LoC.Furthermore, follow-up research in improving internal LoC is suggested. Further practical implications of the findings are discussed at the end of the paper. © Education & Psychology I+D+i and Editorial EOS (Spain).