Sense of Self ~ Research Findings

At Hidden Villa, students are constantly asked to participate in challenging activities and then given the support they need to be successful. My research showed that these experiences increased my students' overall self-confidence and self-esteem. This was particularly true of students who had spent little time outdoors. Throughout the collaboration, I documented considerable evidence that connecting classroom academic schoolwork with their experiences at Hidden Villa increased students' self-image as successful learners. This was particularly true for my lower to struggling students.

Benefits:

• The benefits of these results are obvious. Students who have increased self-esteem and self-confidence are more likely to take on new challenges at school with a positive attitude. As academic work necessarily offers students a continuous stream of challenging tasks, this sense of self-confidence is necessary for students to be successful.

Evidence:

• Find out what kids have to say in their own words. Click on the image below see a short video of student quotes related to this topic. Or, go to the evidence page where you can read a selection of quotes from interviews, surveys and student writing. You can also find links to pages on the HV Classroom Kids website, which my students developed, designed and wrote together as a reflection on their relationship with Hidden Villa.