By its very nature the self-concept is so private and deep that it probably cannot be completely communicated to others.
Attempts are made, however, to disclose this core of the student’s personality so that guidance may be based on the individual’s ‘reality’.
The autobiography has been previously mentioned as a device for developing realistic self-pictures, but it is also used for disclosing the self-concept.
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Through these life stories the student may tell how he sees himself and how the world looks to him. This instrument has especial value because it can be adapted for use at nearly all grade levels.
Interview:
Perhaps the most useful method for disclosing the individual’s level of self-understanding is the interview.
If we give students a chance to talk in a non-threatening atmosphere, they will tell us much about themselves, and in the process they may be helped to clarify what they really think and believe. The feelings of the student will be expressed to his and our benefit if we take time to listen him.
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Scales and Check Lists:
There are a variety of scales and check lists on the market which are sometimes used to help teachers and counsellors understand the self-concept of their students.
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Teachers may want to construct their own lists of incomplete sentences to be completed by the student. Such ‘stubs’ as the following may be useful: I am …; People say that…; I get nervous when … These approaches should not be thought of as clinical tools but merely as stimuli which may help the student to clarify what he thinks about himself.
Lists of adjectives are also used for this purpose. The student is presented with a list of flattering and damaging descriptive terms and asked to underline the ones which he thinks apply to him. So used, devices of this kind may provide us with gross measures of the student’s concept of himself.