ABSTRACT
The psychological literature on self-concept and self-esteem has a long history, stretching back to the American work of James (1890), Cooley (1902) and Mead (1934). Self-psychology has been cast as an alternative, initially, to the dominant paradigm of behaviourism and, more recently, to the cognitive paradigm which has grown in strength from the influence of both information processing theory and Piagetian theory. Self-psychology found expression in various educational reform movements that emphasized the importance of human feelings and emotions (Jones, 1968), as well as the need for a holistic approach to schooling (Silberman, 1973). Given its oppositional stance, it is not surprising that self-psychology is part of the current attempts to reform educational opportunities for various disadvantaged groups, including girls.
