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Charter School Students Exhibit High Self-Esteem
by Joe Savrock

University Park, Pa.— A recent study showed that students attending a charter school had a higher level of self-esteem than students attending a nearby non-charter public (NCP) school. The study of the Centre Learning Community (CLC) Charter School in State College was conducted by Malena Moore, a recent doctoral graduate of Penn State’s Instructional Systems program.

Recognizing the decline in self-esteem that is common in adolescents, Moore investigated the impact of the schools’ implementation of a systemic approach designed to build self-esteem in students. She measured self-esteem using the results of student testing conducted in October 2001 and again in January 2002.

Self-esteem scores of the CLC students were significantly higher than those of the NCP students and the national norms. "These findings could be used to speculate that a systemic program for nurturing self-esteem is effective," explained Moore. "A learning environment that is perceived as being more highly learner-centered and approaches the nurturing of self-esteem systemically will result in higher self-esteem scores." In a learner-centered environment, the student is given a voice in what is learned, how it is learned, and how the learning outcome is measured. The teacher assumes the role of facilitator.

The charter school students exhibited higher perceptions of learner-centeredness than the NCP students. Moore speculates that the degree of learner-centeredness is positively correlated with student self-esteem.

Unexpectedly, the degree of change in self-esteem that occurs during a student’s transition from elementary school to middle school was significantly higher in the CLC group. "It was predicted that students enrolled in a non-traditional middle school environment—such as the CLC—would have self-esteem scores that were more resistant to the decline in self-esteem," said Moore. "The scores for both the CLC and the NCP schools dropped; however, the drops in scores of the CLC were greater.

Despite the drop exhibited by the CLC, the mean scores were still significantly higher than both the NCP and the national norms. The greater CLC drop and the lack of a continued NCP drop might be attributable to regression toward the mean."

The research found no significant difference in scores between the October and the January testing of students who were in their first year at CLC. This result was expected, because the common drop in adolescent self-esteem might be offset by the fact that enrollment in a highly learner-centered environment has a positive effect on self-esteem, as found in previous studies.

The self-esteem change scores of first-year CLC students were not significantly greater than the change scores of returning students. In addition, within both schools, there was no significant difference across the four grades.

Moore uncovered a significant difference in perception of learner-centeredness between the CLC and the NCP schools. "The findings indicate that the students enrolled at CLC perceive their learning environment as being more learner-centered than do the students of the non-charter middle school," explained Moore.

"The learner-centeredness at CLC is significantly higher than both the NCP and the national norms."

The Centre Learning Community Charter School is in its fifth year of operation. A charter of the State College, Bellefonte, and Bald Eagle Area school districts, it serves about 100 students in grades 5 through 8. The school was originated by Kyle Peck, professor of education at Penn State, and Mark Toci, a graduate of the Instructional Systems program in Penn State’s College of Education.

Editor’s note: The Centre Learning Community Charter School currently has vacancies for students. Parents interested in enrolling their children can contact Winnie Bolinsky, chief administrative officer, at 814-861-7980.

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