ACADEMIC STRESS AND SELF ESTEEM OF TRIBAL SCHOOL ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN KERALA

Abstract

An inclusive social, physical and emotional environment invites the marginalized and those divorced from normal life even with an opportunity for retaining whatever is indigenous to a certain extent. But a child from the marginalized group is prone to many psychological problems and dissatisfaction and academic stress has been identified as a major condition of the mind which demands a comfort zone in school, family and society.Disparity in educational attainment between scheduled caste and scheduled communities has beenThe Dream of India could never imbibe life if the marginalized group is not assured access to quality education in a safe environment, a safe academic environment.Disparity in educational attainment among scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities has been identified in Kerala context.Researches, policies, recommendations, programmes, schemes and discussions are plenty on the theme of tribal education in India, especially in Kerala, the land occupied by 4 lakh tribes of different groups.The dire need for a research on self-esteem and academic stress of scheduled tribe students who represent the most disadvantaged sections of the society could be felt from the exhaustive theoretical understanding and review of related studies.Recognizing the intervening effects of self esteem and academic stress on the overall educational process of the representatives of the future youth of the nation, a study on Academic Stress and Self Esteem of Tribal School Adolescent Girls in Kerala has been undertaken. The paper discusses the details of the survey study carried out among a stratified random sample of 120 tribe adolescent girl students with the objective to find out the correlation between their academic stress and self esteem, using the tools academic stress scale and self esteem inventory.