LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Identify their personal strengths as individuals and teachers.
- Explain the role of the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious minds in understanding the self.
- Describe and demonstrate different self-awareness strategies.
Module introductiON
Self-awareness is a critical component of children and adolescents’ personal growth and development. It enables them to understand and identify their unique characteristics, such as their values, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours, and how these influence their lives. Developing self-awareness during adolescence and young adulthood is especially important, as it is the time when individuals are most likely to be forming their sense of identity [1, 2].
Identity formation is a complex process that involves exploring and understanding various aspects of oneself, such as one's social roles, personal characteristics, interests and values. This process can be difficult for young people, as they face numerous challenges such as peer pressure, societal expectations, and internal conflicts [3, 4]. Self-awareness plays a crucial role in helping young people navigate these challenges and make informed decisions about their lives. It allows them to better understand their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, and helps them to identify and pursue their goals and aspirations [5].
The benefits of self-awareness do not stop in adolescence. As young people transition into adulthood, they will face a range of challenges and opportunities. The ability to reflect on themselves and their experiences can be a crucial asset in navigating this transition successfully. For example, young people who have developed self-awareness may be more likely to seek out work that is meaningful to them and aligns with their values. They may also be better equipped to handle conflict in their relationships and make choices that are in their best interests. [6, 7]. Additionally, self-awareness can help young people make more informed decisions about their education, career, personal relationships, and set realistic and achievable goals. Moreover, self-awareness can lead to greater self-acceptance and resilience, which can be especially important during times of uncertainty or setbacks [8, 9].
References
1. Hatano K, Luyckx K, Hihara S, Sugimura K, I. Becht A. Daily Identity Processes and Emotions in Young Adulthood: a Five-Day Daily-Diary Method. J Youth Adolescence. 2022 Sep 1;51(9):1815–28. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01629-x DOI: 10.1007/s10964-022-01629-x
2. Verhoeven M, Poorthuis AMG, Volman M. The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review. Educ Psychol Rev. 2019 Mar 1;31(1):35–63. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9457-3 DOI: 10.1007/s10648-018-9457-3
3. Zacarés JJ, Iborra A. Self and Identity Development during Adolescence across Cultures. In: Wright JD, editor. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition) [Internet]. Oxford: Elsevier; 2015 [cited 2023 Apr 3]. p. 432–8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.23028-6 DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.23028-6
4. Herman WE. Identity Formation. In: Goldstein S, Naglieri JA, editors. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development [Internet]. Boston, MA: Springer US; 2011 [cited 2023 Apr 3]. p. 779–81. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_1443 DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_1443
5. Taylor RD, Oberle E, Durlak JA, Weissberg RP. Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Dev [Internet]. Jul 2017 [cited 2023 Apr 3];88(4):1156-71. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12864 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12864
6. Subirana Vilanova M. Relational Awareness: A Stepping-Stone Toward Flourishing Organizations. In: Aristegui R, Garcia Campayo J, Barriga P, editors. Relational Mindfulness: Fundamentals and Applications [Internet]. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2021 [cited 2023 Apr 3]. p. 225–51. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57733-9_13
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-57733-9_13
7. Ferraro PJ. Know Thyself: Competence and Self-awareness. Atl Econ J. 2010 Jun 1;38(2):183–96. Available from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-010-9226-2 DOI: 10.1007/s11293-010-9226-2
8. Vago D, David S. Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience [Internet]. 2012 [cited 2023 Apr 3];6. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00296
9. Mind full of kindness: self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence as vehicles for compassion | BMC Psychology | Full Text [Internet]. [cited 2023 Apr 3]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00888-4 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-022-00888-4
KEY CONCEPTs
2.1 What is Self-Awareness?
In our first video, we will be exploring the concept of self-awareness and its importance in personal growth and development. We will define self-awareness and its three components, as well as examine the functions of self-awareness in our daily lives. Let’s begin exploring this intriguing topic!
2.2 Understanding Your Mind
In the previous video, we discussed the concept of self-awareness and its components and functions. Now, we will be learning about self-awareness in more depth by exploring the mind and its different layers. Understanding the contents of these layers and their influence on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours can be a valuable tool for developing self-awareness. So, let's find out what the three layers of the mind mean!
Recall and Review: Understanding Your Mind
Great job on learning about self-awareness and the mind! Now it's time to test your knowledge with a quiz. This quiz will help you recall and review the concepts that you have learned, and give you a chance to apply your knowledge in a practical way. Take your time and do your best. Remember, there is only one correct answer for each question. Good luck!
Congratulations on completing this quiz on self-awareness! Remember, self-awareness involves understanding your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and their impact on ourselves and others. Additionally, the mind comprises three layers that can be explored to develop greater self-awareness. Keep it up!
2.3 Learning Together: Exercises to Develop Self-Awareness
Now that you have learned about self-awareness and the different layers of the mind, it is time to put your knowledge into practice. In this section, we will be exploring practical exercises that can help you and your students practise and develop self-awareness. These exercises can help you identify your personal strengths and qualities, understand your beliefs, and explore your emotions and thoughts. It is important to note that there is no one correct or universal way to practise self-awareness. Different strategies can provide different outcomes, and it is important to find what works best for you. So let's get started and explore some fun and effective ways to cultivate self-awareness in yourselves and your students
Exercise 1: Journaling
Journaling is a common and helpful tool for developing self-awareness and gaining insight into our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It involves regularly recording our experiences, emotions, and observations in a safe and private space. While journaling is often associated with writing, there are many creative ways to practise it, including voice recordings, creating artwork, and more. In this activity, participants will be given prompts to guide their journaling and encourage reflection. Remember, there is no right or wrong way to journal – it's about finding a method that works for you and using it to explore your inner world.
As a facilitator, introduce to your participants journaling as a tool that can help promote self-awareness through encouraging the recognition and reflection on personal thoughts and emotions. You will guide participants through different prompts and exercises designed to help them explore their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. After the journaling session, you will lead a group discussion to help participants reflect on their journaling experience.
JOURNALING
1. Explain to your participants that journaling is a commonly used tool that promotes self-awareness as it encourages recognising and reflecting on personal thoughts and emotions.
2. Provide your participants with paper and pen or allow them to use their own writing materials.
3. Encourage your participants to journal based on the following prompts. Ensure that they are seated comfortably while they engage with this exercise and clarify that they will not be pressured to share their writing with others. Hence, they are encouraged to write their thoughts and feelings honestly and openly. Remind them that they can also return to their journal entries from time to time to reflect on their growth and progress.
● How has your day been?
● How are you feeling at this moment, and why?
● What is your strength as a teacher?
● What is the best part of your role as a teacher?
● What are your highs and lows this week?
● What are you grateful for today?
Group DEBRIEF
Debriefing your participants will allow them to share their insights and learnings from the smaller group conversations with the larger group. The debrief also provides an opportunity for you as the facilitator to clarify any misconceptions, address common themes or challenges, and reinforce key takeaways from the activity. After the smaller group discussions, bring the entire group back together for a debrief session. Encourage participants to share their thoughts, ideas, and reflections with the whole group. You can use the following prompt questions to facilitate this debrief:
1. How did you feel while journaling?
2. What did you find challenging about journaling?
3. How do you think journaling can help you become more self-aware?
4. Do you think you can incorporate journaling into your daily routine? If not, what method do you think will work better for you instead?
Exercise 2: Creating An ‘About Me’ Poster
In the following activity, participants will be creating an ‘About Me’ poster as a way to reflect on different aspects of their identity. Designed to take place over two sessions, this activity is designed by the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture and aims to encourage self-reflection and self-disclosure among refugee children while at the same time empowering them to control the level of personal information that they share. As a facilitator, you can demonstrate this activity with your participants by guiding them through each step of the activity.
Session One: Introduction to ‘About Me’ Poster
The poster exercise will take place over the following two sessions and involve each participant in making and decorating a poster featuring a photograph of themselves and other expressions of their identity. As well as providing a focus for exploring identity, the posters will be used for promoting discussion around past and present experiences and children’s aspirations for the future. The main purpose of this exercise is to encourage self-reflection, while placing the level of disclosure of personal information in children’s control. For this aim to be met, careful and intensive facilitation will be essential. This is dependent on there being a high facilitator-child ratio.
1. Ask each child to choose a coloured sheet of card.
2. Divide the large group into smaller groups of not more than four children (ideally three) and allocate a facilitator to each group.
3. Ask each child to paste their photograph on the sheet and to trace the outstretched fingers of both hands on the sheet in lead pencil. The outline can be gone over in coloured felt tip once it is complete.
4. Each child then pastes or staples their Polaroid photo (taken the previous week) on the sheet of card.
5. Ask the chlidren to write one of teh each on each digit of the first hand (facilitator to illustrate on the whiteboard).
● Their name
● Their age
● The country they were born in
● Their favourite food
● The language they speak at home
6. Facilitators spend time with the group to which they have been assigned, encouraging children to talk about the information they have written on their ‘hand’.
7. Re-form the larger group and ask each child to present their poster (respecting that some children may not wish to do so).
● While this has been designed as a relatively ‘safe’ exercise, facilitators should be prepared for the possibility that children may raise traumatic issues related to their experiences as refugees.
● Note that as many children are only just beginning to acquire English literacy skills, they may require intensive support to complete this exercise. Since their work is to be displayed on the wall and shared with their parents, most children will have a great deal of investment in the quality of their work. It is important that assistance is offered, particularly with writing tasks to avoid losing children’s engagement and interests. Teachers may be able to help in this regard.
Closure exercise
Form a circle. Using a soft, large, inflatable ball, possibly a globe, ask each group member in turn to say one thing about how they feel at the moment they catch the ball and to throw the ball to another person.
Equipment
● A3 card in a range of colours
● Black lead pencils
● Coloured felt tip pens
● Glue/staples
● Scissors
● A large soft or inflatable ball
Session Two: ‘About me’ exercise (continued from previous session)
This exercise follows on from the previous session. However, it represents a ‘turning point’, with the issues being explored becoming more personal and of greater emotional significance for children. In the context of completing the task, discussion may occur within the group that touches the losses involved in leaving one’s country.Facilitators need to allow these to be expressed in a supportive manner. This requires a subtle support role that encourages children to share their experiences with one another without dominating proceedings. Discussions involving the children’s home country may lead to the expression of feelings about being forced to flee. The sharing of these feelings assists in creating a bond within the group.
1. Ask children to sit at the tables (approximately three children per table) and assign a facilitator to work with each group.
2. Ask the children to work on the second hand of their poster, this time entering one of each of the following in the digits.
● What you like to do best
● A good thing about living in Malaysia
● A difficult thing about living in Malaysia
● Something you remember about your country
● What you would like to do when you grow up
3. In the time remaining, encourage the children to decorate their posters with borders, cut and paste, collage drawings, etc.
4. Let children know that their posters will be displayed on the wall of the parents’ meeting room. If possible, involve children in the design of the display.
● As the issues and concepts are more complex, it is likely that children will need more assistance with spelling and writing than they required when doing the first part of the exercise.
● Facilitators will need to be particularly attentive to ensure that discussion is fostered around significant issues raised in the course of the exercise. Expect that children may raise issues about which they have strong feelings (eg the loss of loved ones, grief for family members left behind, ransacking and destruction of their homes.
● Small groups, a high facilitator-child ratio and adequate time will be critical in meeting the objectives of this exercise. As was the case in the first part of this exercise, be sure that children requiring assistance are offered this.
● It is important to allocate sufficient time for decoration as this activity is particularly appealing for children in this age group and provides a good means of self-expression. Further, the supplies and equipment involved may be a particular novelty for refugee children, many of whom may have had no or limited access to materials of this nature in the past.
Closure exercise
Remind the children that now the posters are completed, parents will be invited to come to meet with the facilitators and see their children’s work. Parents will also be asked to help children choose a cultural object to present to the group. Ask the children to say goodbye in their own language. They may demonstrate with a partner if there is a particular parting gesture in their culture or say the word for ‘goodbye’ in their own or another language (eg a child may have been taught a parting gesture used in another country or culture). End by asking each child to say one word about how they are feeling right now.
Equipment
● Poster decoration materials (e.g. magazines, paint, textas, glitter, stickers, glue, scissors, lead pencils, rulers, erasers, coloured pencils, crayons, and sharpeners.
At the end of the training session...
Demonstrate care for your participants’ views
Your participants’ views about the topic and training are valuable and can inform how future training modules are delivered.
Conclude the training session by gathering verbal feedback – don’t forget to record these in writing!
● What did they learn during the training that they did not know before?
● In what ways do they think this topic will be useful for them in their work with students?
● What is their most valuable takeaway from the training?
Be sure to also collect your participants’ responses to the post-test and training evaluation form for more structured monitoring and evaluation!