Development of self-esteem in the early school years

This article aims to study the influence of age and sex on the self-esteem of children in the early school years. We administered the EVA (2015) self-esteem scale to 369 boys and girls of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of primary school, and we also asked their teachers what selfesteem they attributed to their students. The results show a slight decline with age in School Satisfaction, and also Social Acceptance diminishes as their school grade increases. In addition, girls have obtained a higher assessment in the Self-assessment factor, which includes how they value parents and how they are valued by parents, as well as physical self-evaluation. Boys, on the other hand, feel more accepted in games and less sad in general. Finally, the self-esteem attributions of teachers show correlations with children’s self-esteem scores. The educational implications of the results and the role of parents and teachers in improving children’s self-esteem are discussed.