THE POLITICS OF SELF-ESTEEM

The notion of self-esteem resonates powerfully and is referred to freq uently in American culture. Rhetorical connections between self-esteem and desirable educational policy are ubiquitous; promoting students' self-esteem, particularly that of minority and poorly performing stude nts, is a prime concern. Is this focus desirable Before analysts can a ssess self-esteem as a goal for policy and practice, they must conside r the Ideological orientations of those who use the term and the cultu ral ?terms which shape the debate. The analysis and knowledge claims r egarding self-esteem made by psychologists and political philosophers are of some value in this regard, but explicit attention to the politi cs surrounding self-esteem is needed to understand and evaluate the us e of the concept in policy contexts.