The Formation of Self-Concepts in the Context of Educational Systems

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Abstract
On the basis of a longitudinal study of adolescents (age 12-16) we are investigating the input of school experiences on central aspects of personality formation. In this context the relationship between the evaluative system of the school and the self-evaluation of the pupils was assessed to test for the existence of an isomorphism. However, the results show only a weak relationship and make clear that the institutionally defined success and failure patterns of pupils in the German educational system are not isomorphically reflected in the generalized self-evaluation of the adolescents. But this does not mean that educational experiences are irrelevant for the formation of self-concepts. The educational system prestructures the latent problems which have to be interpreted and worked on individually and in the social context of peers and parents. Within the context of a psychological model we try to show how these problems are coped with and how this coping process crystallizes in a system of self-concepts.

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