CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Pre-school by government agencies and private agencies with the purpose of

enhance the children potential in all aspects. Those objectives are also to enrich the basic
skills development among children besides to influence positive attitude which started
from born until 6 years old. However, it is not a requirement for further formal learning
at elementary school (Undang-Undang No. 20, 2003).
In line to the above, the Kindergarten Curriculum (2004) draws its objectives of
long life learning is to provide learning to children whose age between 4 to 6 years in
order to enhance the childrens potential in every development aspects; to develop
morale and religious value, social, emotional and self-concept, and language and
cognitive, physical and psychomotor and arts.
Moreover, in curriculum applied, it should involve every children has an equal
and independent chance, children centered, complete and cooperated approach, and
within united and gentle varies in application.
Childrens socio-emotion development is the basic of cognitive development. It
is based on the reason that the healthy children with the complete socio-emotion
development are able to interact actively with their environment which support their
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creative thinking and linguistic. It enables to care and understand their emotion; positive
emotional to enhance social skills and self concept confidently to sustain challenge in
the future.
(Kagen, More & Bredekamp, 1995) one aspect of socio-emotion is self-concept.
It is often become a field of local and overseas researchers to focus on and study
continuously. Most of them do research on the relationship between self-concept and
variety of aspects such as environment, learning process, academic achievement, gender,
ages, socio-economic status, and so forth. Most of the researchers believe that selfconcept is the basic development of emotion and social.
Self-concept is more than awareness. Polayni (1958) has demonstrated that
individuals may focus on seemingly isolated characteristics; such interrelationships may
be quite evident to others, quoted by Hattie (1992). According to Brazelton and
Greenspan (2001), self-concept is the most important element in early childhood
development for it is the basic or the formulation of self-awareness. Children are born
nature, own their awareness concept. Self-concept raises along with their experience.
Harr (1979) cited by Hattie (1992) The birth of the self occurs at the moment
at which the mother-child dyad is formed. Careful studies of the way mother speaks to
infants, suggest that much of the mothers speech serve to complete the infant by
attributing intentions, wants, and plans to him. She does for the baby what he or she
cannot presently do for him or herself, so that the baby is always part of a fully
competent, social individual. For example, the mother systematically and routinely
attributes cognitive states and operations to the infant on the basis of faint and
sometimes false cues, in the baby movement and expressions.

However, it is needed to sprout up and enhance through their surroundings. A

positive self-concept point a view is defined as a small discrepancy between self and
ideal self ratings (Jervis, 1959). Children who have positive self-concept believe that
they are needed, loved, and rewarded. They would be able to entrust the lack or
disadvantages and advantages of themselves, proud of their ability and actively try to
reach the better confidently and successfulness.
(Seng, 1993) self-concept is complex. Nevertheless, it is usually defined as the
characteristic of selfness whether it is positive or negative concept. It involves
individuality and self-assured. Self-concept is derived from the reactions and appraisal
of others towards him, feed back from others is crucial in determining self-concept. An
individual with stable self-concept accepts and perceives himself as better adjusted and
competent in dealing with the world.
Whoever owns positive self-concept; he is able to apply or behaves it in any
situations. They might able to adapt, to interact, and to communicate with others.
Moreover, they who have well social skills and positive self-concept are successful in
their future live can not be denied.

Research Framework

The present study employed the Ex Post Facto design that adopted from Borgs
(1981) who said that this design research is suitable for special study that firm or
impossible to manipulate subjects. The ex post facto has been chosen for the study with
the purpose of decision making in the relationship between the childrens participation in
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the classroom activities as the dependent variable and the self-concept of preschool
children as the independent variable. The correlation of each variable is shown in the
following:
Figure 1. The frame concept for correlation study of self-concept and childrens
participation in classroom activities

Participation
in
Classroom
Activities

SelfConcept

Gender

The study contains correlation between gender, self-concept and participation in

classroom activities.
Gender here differentiated between boy and girl with the purpose of finding the
difference of the two group children in analyzing t sample test.
Self-concept is the main factor of the study. It contains the six dimensions such as
physical

ability,

physical

appearance,

and

peer

relations,

parent

relations,

verbal/linguistic and mathematic. Every dimension evaluated the mean.

Participation in Classroom Activities, as the dependent variable of the study, it
calculated the mean as well. Moreover, its mean is correlated to the entire self-concept
dimensions mean in order to make the decisions of the findings.

Self Concept

Self-concept may be defined as the totality of a complex, organized, and dynamic

system of learned beliefs, attitudes and opinions that each person holds to be true about
his or her personal existence. Self-concept is different from self-esteem (feelings of
personal worth and level of satisfaction regarding one's self) or self-report (what a
person is willing and able to disclose). Fromm (1956) it was as beautifully clear as
anyone when he described self-concept as "life being aware of itself."
Super (1963), self-concept is the individuals picture of himself, the perceived
self with accrued meanings. Since the person cannot ascribe meanings to himself in a
vacuum, the concept of self is generally a picture of the self in some role, some situation,
in a position, and performing some set of functions, or in some web relationships. They
are self percepts which have acquired meaning and which have been related to other self
percept.
Bischof (1964) the convolution of the theme of the self-concept are woven
throughout her writings and although unclear they, nevertheless, constitute a major of
her theory. The word self is more difficult to define technically. The Englishes in their
extremely competent dictionary give the word self an extensive treatment and mention
that there must be nearly one thousand combination forms of self. Consequently,
because of the divergent general usage of the word and because of Horneys gradual
development of the concept of the self throughout her work, the ideas do not always
emerge as clearly as one wish.
Byrne (1966) it is presented that the self-concept defined in terms of self-asobject is an important aspect of personality and that individual differences along this
5

dimension are as meaningful as differences in attitudes, motives, and abilities, but no

more so. Some reservations exist, however, about the utility of self-as-process. To
conceptualize perceptual behavior, defensive behavior, expressive behavior, motivations,
and cognitions, for example, as manifestations of the self-concept does not add anything
to our description or explanation of the behavior in question.
In other words, it can be said that a given behavior is a manifestation of the self
does not seem to lead to any different or more accurate prediction of behavior.
Labenne & Greene (1969) stated that self-concept is generally used in the
professional literature. It is a group of feelings and cognitive processes which are
inferred from observed or manifest behavior. By way of a formal definition, self-concept
is the persons total appraisal of his appearance, background and origins, abilities and
resources, and attitude and feelings which culminate as a directing force in behavior. It
is, however, a persons conscious awareness, what he thinks and feels, is that which
primarily guides, controls, and regulates his performance and action.
A person who has negative self-concept can generally be described as one who
lacks confidence in his abilities, who despairs because he cannot find a solution for his
problems, and who believes that most of his attempts will result in failure. His
expectations, in terms of his own behavior and performance, are very low, because he
believes that he can only do few things well. On the other hand, a healthy self-concept
person feels that he is in a better position, creative, and has kind attitudes and accepts
himself as he is with all his faults and foibles.
Fleming & Courtney (1984), self-concept or self identity refers to the global
understanding a sentient being has of him or herself. It presupposes but can be
distinguished from self-consciousness, which is simply an awareness of oneself. It is
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also more general than self-esteem, which is the purely evaluative element of the selfconcept.
The self-concept is normally viewed as being composed of relatively permanent
self-assessments, such as personality attributes, knowledge of one's skills and abilities,
one's occupation and hobbies, and awareness of one's physical attributes. For example,
the statement, "I am lazy" is a self-assessment that contributes to the self-concept. In
contrast, the statement "I am tired" would not normally be considered part of someone's
self-concept, since being tired is a temporary state. Nevertheless, a person's self-concept
may change with time, possibly going through turbulent periods of crisis and
reassessment.
Any successes and failures that people experience in any areas of life are closely
related to the ways that they have learned to view themselves and their relationships
with others. It is also becoming clear that self-concept has at least three major qualities
of interest to counselors: (1) it is learned, (2) it is organized, and (3) it is dynamic. Each
of these qualities with corollaries is as follows.
Self-concept is learned. As far as we know, no one is born with a self-concept. It
gradually emerges in the early months of life and is shaped and reshaped through
repeated perceived experiences, particularly with significant others. The fact that selfconcept is learned has some important implications, such as:
1. It does not appear to be instinctive, but is a social product developed through
experience; it possesses relatively boundless potential for development and
actualization.
2. It relates to previous experiences and present perceptions, individuals may
perceive themselves in ways different from the ways others see them.
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3. It is individuals perceive different aspects of themselves at different times with

varying degrees of clarity. Therefore, inner focusing is a valuable tool for
counseling.
Any experience which is inconsistent with one's self-concept may be perceived
as a threat, and the more of these experiences there are, the more rigidly self-concept is
organized to maintain and protect itself. When a person is unable to get rid of perceived
inconsistencies, emotional problems arise.
Faulty thinking patterns, such as dichotomous reasoning (dividing everything in
terms of opposites or extremes) or over generalizing (making sweeping conclusions
based on little information) create negative interpretations of oneself.
Self-Concept is organized. Most researchers agree that self-concept has a
generally stable quality that is characterized by orderliness and harmony. Each person
maintains countless perceptions regarding one's personal existence, and each perception
is orchestrated with all the others. It is this generally stable and organized quality of selfconcept that gives consistency to the personality. This organized quality of self-concept
has corollaries.
Self-concept requires consistency, stability, and tends to resist change. If selfconcept changed readily, the individual would lack a consistent and dependable
personality. The more central a particular belief is to one's self-concept, the more
resistant one is to changing that belief.
At the heart of self-concept is the self-as-doer, the "I," which is distinct from the
self-as-object, the various "me's." This allows the person to reflect on past events,
analyze present perceptions, and shape future experiences.

Basic perceptions of oneself are quite stable, so change takes time. Rome was not
built in a day, and neither is self-concept. Perceived success and failure will impact on
self-concept. Failure in a highly regarded area lowers evaluations in all other areas as
well. Success in a prized area raises evaluations in other seemingly unrelated areas.
Self-Concept is dynamic. To understand the active nature of self-concept, it helps
to imagine it as a gyrocompass: a continuously active system that dependably points to
the "true north" of a person's perceived existence. This guidance system not only shapes
the ways a person views oneself, others, and the world, but it also serves to direct action
and enables each person to take a consistent "stance" in life. Rather than viewing selfconcept as the cause of behavior, it is better understood as the gyrocompass of human
personality, providing consistency in personality and direction for behavior. The
dynamic quality of self-concept also carries corollaries (Fromm, 1956).
The world and the things in it are not just perceived; they are perceived in
relation to one's self-concept. Its development is a continuous process. In the healthy
personality there is constant assimilation of new ideas and expulsion of old ideas
throughout life.
Individuals strive to behave in ways that are in keeping with their self-concepts,
no matter how helpful or hurtful to oneself or others. It usually takes precedence over
the physical body. In fact, individuals will often sacrifice physical comfort and safety for
emotional satisfaction. Self-concept continuously guards itself against loss of selfesteem, for it is this loss that produces feelings of anxiety. If self-concept must
constantly defend itself from assault, growth opportunities are limited (Purkey, 1988).

Childrens Self-Concept

Rogers (1969) defined self-concept as childrens personal roles which reflected

in the common values, goals, and interests that color all his roles. Each child comes to
regain consciousness about his roles. He concludes that he plays well, or poorly, or just
moderately well. For example, when a child says, Im a dumbbell, or Look it, Daddy,
how high I can swing! a brief glimpse of his or her way to see himself. It is the
projection of his dreams.
A healthy self-concept can be a childs greatest asset, whereas, a poor selfconcept can become a hammer-lock on his progress.
In the process, a child discovers some behaviors effective and practices them
until become his habits; in contrast he discards inappropriate to his goals. It becomes
increasingly refined and organized in ways to further the attainment of his deal. Thus a
childs self-concept develops a persistent core, which unifies his behavior, preventing a
chaos of traits.
Only few months after children are born, self-concept comes and they start to be
conscious of self-concept. At the first time, they understand of the concept, the children
aware if they are separated from surrounding and it is permanent, and (Howe and
Courage 1977).
At the age of 18 months, self-identification process makes him understand that
the image in the mirror is his property. While at the age of 22 months, a baby is able to
label image correctly.
Furthermore, Lewis (1983) referred it to the aspect as self-recognition and it is
as a result of Im exist or self-existence.
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Moreover, self category, as soon as the children aware of they are separated
from community, they try to accumulate to raise the self-concept. As human being,
children have skills and other special characteristic such as brave, beauty, clever, and
intelligent or able to run or to do and so forth. These are all the result of children
interaction in environment.
Marsh (1986a) described five operational definitions of general self-concept that
can also be applied to general academic self-concept: firstly, a hierarchical general
academic self-concept such as what appears at the apex of figure 1:

Figure 2: Marshs self-concept structure

The academic portion of Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton's (1976) original model (A)
and an elaboration of Marsh and Shavelson's (1985) revision that includes a wider
variety of specific academic facets. (S.C. = self-concept.)
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secondly, school self-concept scales that are relatively unidimensional and relatively
contents free, and typically could be reworded so as to apply to specific academic factors
are like those considered here; thirdly, an aggregate academic self-concept based on a
collection of academic-related self-report items that typically confound specific and
general components; fourthly, a discrepancy general academic self-concept that is based
on the difference between specific ratings factors (actual ratings) and ideal ratings; and
fifthly, a weighted-average, general academic self-concept in which specific factors are
weighted according to their salience, value, or importance.
Hartup (1992) early childhood educators have traditionally given high priority to
enhancing young children's social development. During the last two decades a
convincing body of evidence has accumulated to indicate that unless children achieve
minimal social competence by about the age of six years, they have a high probability of
being at risk throughout life.
He suggested that peer relationships contribute a great deal to both social and
cognitive development and to the effectiveness with which we function as adults. He
states that the single best childhood predictor of adult adaptation is not IQ, not school
grades, and not classroom behavior but, rather the adequacy with which the child gets
along with other children.
Children who are generally disliked, who are aggressive and disruptive, who are
unable to sustain close relation ships with other children, and who cannot establish a
place for themselves in the peer culture are seriously "at risk" self-concept development.
Furthermore, Mahmood Nazar (2000) explains that early self-concept
development starts to shape at the age of 2 till 6 years. At this age, children are going to

12

concept themselves as a shape of an object. Besides, they start to receive input about the
importance, ability, and skills, and the other unique of them. They are also able to
describe about their emotion and their belief. Unless the self-concept is not paid
attention at the stage, it will grow and develop either positive or negative. As a result,
when they are adult, it is resistant to change or ever rehabilitate.
Childrens self concept develops and influence along with their increasing
knowledge and abilities. The feature of self concept being focus at the early level
children and more real when they are growth and receive cognitive skills through the
development ability task. However, Stipek, Gralinski and Kopp (1990) discussed that;
preschool children self-concept is very limited to their cognitive, real verbal, and
specific.
Most of the children at this level are more characteristic concretely, observation
behavior, and outsider character, for example, physically or other special skill as
childrens self-description at this level is the demonstration behavior. In other words,
whatever

they

do

or

act

cannot

be

separated

from

what

they

think.

In conclusion, self-concept as childrens personal roles which reflected in

the common values, goals, and interests that color all his roles which comes to regain
consciousness about his roles, that can also be applied to general academic self-concept
as a hierarchical general academic self-concept, and typically could be reworded so as to
apply to specific academic factors are like those considered here, and an aggregate
academic self-concept based on a collection of academic-related self-report items that
typically confound specific and general components.

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It is discrepancy general academic self-concept that is based on the difference

between specific ratings factors (actual ratings) and ideal ratings; a weighted-average,
general academic self-concept in which specific factors are weighted according to their
salience, value, or importance.
Children who are generally disliked, who are aggressive and disruptive, who are
unable to sustain close relationships with other children, and who cannot establish a
place for themselves in the peer culture are seriously "at risk" self-concept development.

Self-Concept and Classroom Participation Activities

According to Rose-Krasnor (1997), a social skill refers to social interaction

proficiency and describe widely in as behavior adaptation and peers relation. Behavior
adaptation is usual categorized into two main parts; they are internal and external, which
is categorized as the performance of behaviors.
Internal is relevance to doubtful, anxiety, depression or hard to communicate,
and insomnia or somatic. While external aspect involves the performance of action or
aggressive behavior and disturbance.
In the early childhood stage, behavior aspect is usually at stable (Achenbach,
Edelbrock, 1984). Preschool children with behavior problem are often continuing when
they further their school to elementary level (Fagot and Leve, 1985), and as well at
upper secondary (Kovacs and Devlin, 1997) added. External behavior was found involve

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anti-social problem (delinquent) and pathology (Egeland, Kalkoske, Goltesman and

Erikson, 1990).
In line to this, Schneider and Leitenberg (1989), lack of social skills performs
low self-reward at the age of preschool. Waters, Noyes, Vaughn and Ricks (1985) also
supported it who expressed that self-rewards comes from social experience of the early
childhood.
Dealing with peers relationship, adaptive behaviors is usually performed
in the early childrens childhood level such as cooperation, sharing with others, and help
each other. Hogan, Scott and Bauer, (1992) identified that small childs adaptive
behavior involves social initiative, for example, help each other, empathy behave,
attention to regulation and alternate.
According to Houck and Spegman (1999), childrens self-concept can be
enriched through interactions involve stimulation, plays and other education programs.
Because all of those aspects depend on cognitive development portion, children need to
participative in any suitable curriculum activity, challenge and interesting that relate to
the development level such as individual concentration, playing, and groups
participation.
Taylor (1995) time for activities and time for taking rest, and the chance for
physical development, social development, and emotional development, moral and
intellectual development should be equalized. In line to those, attention must be paid in
order to help the every children reach their self-concept normally and gain their potential
completely.
In dealing with the above, social aspect here is related to the classroom activities.
As the branch of social skills it should be stressed here and taken into account as well. It
15

is considerably as the most important thing in gaining the excellent academic

achievement for the future living. Classroom activity is defined as whatever action in the
classroom is acted, involved, entangled by students, pupils, or children that affects and
influences their academic role. Classroom activity is childrens right. In fact, children
should be given chances to take parts of any activities. It, however, is volunteered but
not anxiety or compelled (UNICEF, 2001).

Aceh (Atjheh)

Aceh is a special territory (daerah istimewa) of Indonesia. Its full name is

Nanggre Aceh Darussalam. Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin.
Aceh is located at northen tip of sumatera Island. It is sorrounded by the Strait of
Malacca to the north and north Sumatera province to the east, as well as the Indian
Ocean to the south and west.
It was the entrance point of Islam to Southeast Asia carried predominantly by Arabian
and Indian Merchants in the thirteen century (Ali Hasjmy, 1976).
Aceh was the closest point of land to the epicenter of the massive
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which triggered a tsunami that devastated much of the
Indonesians, the overwhelming majority in Aceh, were killed or missing and 500,000
made homeless This event helped trigger the peace agreement between the government
of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka), mediated by
former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, with the signing of a MoU on August 15,

16

2005

(Marshall,

2007).

With the assistance of the European Union through the Aceh Monitoring
Mission (AMM) as of December 2005, the peace has held. Within the country, Aceh is
governed not as a province but as a special territory (daerah istimewa), an
administrative designation intended to give the area increased its autonomy from the
central government of the Republic of Indonesia in Jakarta.
Administratively, the province is subdivided into 18 regencies called (kabupaten)
and 5 cities (kota). The capital and the largest city is Banda Aceh, located on the coast
near the northern tip of Sumatra. Some local areas are pushing to create new
autonomous areas, usually with the stated goal of enhancing local control over politics
and development. The Acehs map is the following figure:
Figure 3: Aceh Map

Aceh is a diverse region occupied by several ethnic and language groups. The
major ethnic groups are the Acehnese (who are distributed throughout Aceh), Gayo (in
17

central and eastern part), Alas (in southeastern), Tamiang (in Aceh Tamiang) which is
located in the east of Aceh Province, Aneuk Jamee (concentrated in southern and
southwestern), Kluet (in South Aceh), and Simeulue (on Simeulue Island). There is also
a significant population of Chinese, who are influential in the business and financial
communities (Iwabuchi, 1994)
The Acehnese language is widely
spoken within the Acehnese population. This is a member of the Aceh-Chamic group of
languages, whose other representatives are mostly found in Vietnam and Cambodia, and
is also closely related to the Malay group of languages.
Acehnese has many words borrowed from Malay and Arabic and
traditionally was written using Arabic script. Acehnese is also used as local language in
Langkat and Asahan (North Sumatera), and Kedah (Malaysia), and once dominated
Penang. Alas and Kluet are closely related languages within the Batak group. The
Jamee language originated from Minang language (Padangnese) in West Sumatera,
with just a few variation and differences.

Aceh was once a meeting point for people from many nations, and among
the present da Acehnese can be found some individuals of Arab, Turkish, and Indian
descent. Before the tsunami, the region of Meureuhom Daya (Lamno) used to have an
unusually high number of people with fair complexions, blue eyes and blond hair, and
local traditions attributed to Turkish or Portuguese ancestry (McCarthy, 2006).
Since Islam came to the land, Islamic values became a guide for the Acehnese in
every sphere and aspect of their life. During the time, the Acehnese teungkus (scholars)
18

played a great role in carrying Islamic teachings daw, (propagation) not only along the
Sumatra Island but also to some regions of the Malayan peninsulas as Pahang, Kedah,
and Johor (Teungku Muhibuddin Waly, 1997).
Pertaining to trading, Aceh was one of powerful states throughout
Southeast Asia. In the nineteenth century, Aceh played an important role in Penang
and to other ports along the straits of Malacca until its turning down because of
Acehnese-Dutch war (Hans-Dieter Evers, 1991).
In 1949, after the province became part of Indonesia, many
Acehnese went to Penang, Perak, and Perlis in highly demand as laborers, traders,
instructors, and promoters of religion. They remained for longer periods in the regions.
To date, various activities perform by their clans (Zainuddin, 2001).
Hitherto, the network between Aceh and Malaysia is still in
operation. For example, many Acehnese teungkus from many mosques and
pesantren (Islamic Boarding schools) in Aceh province are engaged in Islamic daw.
Daw carried by the Acehnese teungkus to Malaysia since many immigrants in
Malaysia come from countries as diverse such as China, India, and Indonesia (HansDieter Evers, 1977).

Problem Statement

Early Childhood Education has always been considered important. Historically,

the children value and their education were regarded with the parent's educational

19

background and socio-economic status. Since in the ancient era, prenatal education for
nine months was especially emphasized to pregnant women to make sure having
physically, emotionally and mentally healthy babies that are necessary for a solid
foundation for upcoming education.
There are many bans and directives for pregnant women. For instance, not to eat
fruit neither is round nor ripe; avoid of having bad thoughts in mind; not to kill even a
small insect; should speak with nice words and be kind to others, etc. Generally it is
believed that if a mother treats others with respect and kindness and consumes food
selectively, the child will be born with good health and temperament.
They thought the parenting role to train and educate their children began even
before they were born and considered as the importance of optimal development early in
life and early childhood is the critical period to form appropriate habits that will affect
the rest of the child's life (Guang-Lae Lee, 1997).
The early first moment of preschool days would be very enjoyable for some
children. Day and day, they try to explore a bit and little of self and their world. They
introduce to each other and play varies of things, learn skills, and another new elements
with new environment. These are the early steps of how children interact.
The way of how children interact with peers is the most important socio and
emotion aspect for the further vary areas of behavior development such as the attitude
towards school, aggressive and disturbance, the probability of drop out and also included
the shape of self concept.
The shape of self-concept either positive or negative is the result of interaction of
peers that will effect childrens participation in classroom activities. If the children are
not able to interact with their peers or adapt to the surrounding, it will affect their
20

negative self-perception. The perception probably rejects them to participate to the

varieties of classroom activities that need them to interact with other classmates or peers.
It will effect their adaptation to the school environment (Buhrmester, 1990).

Objectives of the Study

There are two main objectives of this study such as general objectives and specific
objectives.

General Objective

This research is conducted in order to identify the relationship between preschool

childrens multi dimensions both academically self-concept and non-academically selfconcept and their participation in the classroom activities.

Specific Objective

The specific purposes of this study are to find out whether two academic selfconcept dimensions and four non-academic self-concept dimensions affect childrens

21

preschool participation in the classroom activities. The six academic self-concepts and
non-academic self-concepts are:
1. Physical Ability/Skills
2. Self Performance
3. Peers Interaction
4. Parents interaction
5. Verbal/Linguistic
6. Mathematic

Other objectives of the investigation are to find out whether there is any
significant different on preschool childrens self-concept among boys and girls or not.
And the last is to make conclusion of the representative samples as the complete test of
the study.
The writer hopes this research result will provide new issues for the formulation
of positive self-concept for the early childhood level. Thorough it will help preschools
teachers and preschools entrepreneurs in order to enrich or influence the strategy and
technique of formulation the preschool childrens self-concept characteristics.

Research Questions

The research is conducted in order to find out the answers for the following questions:
1. What are the levels of self-concept for the different dimensions?

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2. Is there any significant difference in self-concept between boys and girls

preschool children in general?
3. Is there any significant difference in self-concept between boys and girls
preschool children in 6 different dimensions?
4. Is there any significant relationship between preschool childrens self-concept
and their participation in classroom activities in general?
5. Is there any significant relationship between preschool childrens self-concept
and their participation in classroom activities in 6 difference dimension?

Location of the Research

Aceh has 18 regencies (kabupaten) and 5 cities (kota). However, this project
paper does not attempt to study all childhood centers and in all districts/regencies and
cities of Aceh Province. Rather, this project paper, offers more scope for detailed
information based on field research that focuses on six childhood centers in East Aceh
district.
East Aceh regency is consisted of 21 sub regencies called Kecamatan. However,
the present study has been limited to 5 sub regencies in East Aceh district only.

The considerations for choosing the area are:

The places where the childhood centers are familiar enough to the writer.

East Aceh district is affiliation with Malaysia.

The district is exactly where the writer was born and grown up.

23

The writer is able to travel back and forth from Malaysia (University of Malaya)
to the location of research.

Schedule of Study

The study was conducted as shown in the following figure.

Figure 4: The Research Schedule

Activities

Times/Months
Marc
h

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

Pre-Consultation
Instrument Preparation
Observation/Research
Writing Report
Consultation Revision
Submission/Defense

Summary

This chapter includes the background of study, research framework which

consists of self-concept, childrens self- concept, self concept and participation in
classroom activities. Problem statements, research questions, and objectives of the study
that includes the general and specific objectives and location of the research are the next
factors discussed in the chapter, and the schedule of the study.
Research on self-concept and childrens participation in classroom activities has
been considered as necessary study due to the writer hopes this research result will
provide new issues for the formulation of positive self-concept for the early childhood

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level. Thorough it will help preschools teacher and preschools entrepreneurs in order to
enrich or influence the strategy and technique of formulation the preschool childrens
self-concept characteristics.

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