Basis for self-assessment study

2.2.1 Definition of self-assessment A. Definition of assessment

Assessment is the process of gathering information and evidence of objects to evaluate and make judgments about the level of achievement under the criteria given or learning outcomes and job performance. Assessment may be quantitative based on numbers or qualitative based on opinions and values. Assessment is the judgment based on measurement which is always associated with the test. When making assessment, in addition to objective measurement based on test, it also bases on comments, remarks, subjective criticism to make judgments.

In ancient times, Greeks viewed "oikeiosis" as self-esteem or self-love; it is the final important goal and the idea of self-awareness was a way to learn about God. In the 16th century, in Oxford English Dictionary, the term "esteem" meant self-assessment.

Under normal circumstances in Vietnam, "assessment is clearly aware of the value of a person, a thing or an animal." With such content and meaning, assessment focuses on clarifying the value of a person, a thing or an animal. From psychological perspective, assessment contains "opinions, conclusions drawn from the evidence and speculated criticism about people and events."

There are many types of assessment such as employee assessment, result assessment, performance assessment, job assessment, difference assessment, program assessment, program assessment, its impact, self-assessment..., so self-assessment is a form of assessment.

In summary, from above points of view, assessment is to assess the value of a person, a phenomenon, or a certain thing.

B. Definition of self-assessment

In psychology, there are three main points of view defining self-assessment.

William James (1890) is a psychologist and a pioneering American philosophy. He is a leader in self-assessment such as capability.

Morris Rosenberg (1965) is a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland. He is a pioneer in viewing self-assessment as a value.

Nathaniel Branden (1969) is considered the father of self-assessment, including capabilities and values. In his point of view, self-assessment has two interrelated elements: a sense of self-implementation and a sense of personal value.

Because of different purposes and areas of research, different concepts are introduced by researchers to cater for their field of study. We'll learn more about the concept of self-assessment which researchers introduced.

According to Dang Hoang Minh, self-assessment is the process which individuals make judgment and evaluation about their performance, capabilities and personality."

Definition of Psychologist V.P. Levcovich (1973): "Self-assessment is an advanced stage of self-consciousness; it includes not only self-awareness but also right assessment of one’s effort and your ability, including the critical attitude towards them".

I.A. Polosova considered "self-assessment is a symbol of man about himself which has been formed in a sustainable way. It is a self-assessment process in which the symbol of one’s personality is born". Polosova stressed: "The symbol of one’s personality as the product of self-assessment is a process creating the conditions for another while forming unity".

In Vu Dung’s psychology dictionary: "Self-assessment is the value, the meaning that individuals identify themselves generally as well as individual aspects in personality, operation, behavior.”

Within the scope of the research, we apply the definition of self-assessment as follows: Self-assessment is one individual’s views and attitudes towards his capacity, ability, personality qualities and critical attitude towards himself.

2.2.2 Theories of self-assessment

When people are born, they are not aware of themselves as a separate individual and therefore there is no self-assessment. Gradually, when they grow up, they interact with people around and begin being aware of their existence. Then they make their self-assessment: appearance, learning tasks, work, sport activities, relationships...

Though self-assessment is not much researched, researchers have great interest.

Based on different views, researchers have pointed out various features of self-assessment.

A. Self-assessment has relevance:

Some researchers suggest that elements within each individual are the basis for their self-assessment. Shower (1992) said that the merger between positive thought and negative thought is the factor that affects self-assessment. Laurence Steinberg (1993) suggests that, for women, when they enter puberty, their body’s changes affect their self-assessment. Self-assessment reflects an actual image of the object assessed and is considered appropriate if that statement is accurate and close to the reality assessed. When making assessment, it is necessary to mention the accuracy or appropriateness of the level of assessment. Therefore, the criterion to decide the appropriateness of self-assessment is the objective reality.

Several researchers say that external assessment can be considered the criteria to examine self-assessment. However, external assessment must reflect objective reality. Because the characteristics of reflection activities are that result of the reflection process cannot be entirely true, wide and diverse as objective reality.

Charles Horton Cooley in 1902 (McIntyre 2006) said that a man grows up from the interaction between his and others’ awareness in the society. He said that each person's self-assessment of their own value is based on what other people think of them.

Margaret Mead (1934) said that people acquire ideas, attitude of those they think important to form their own self-assessment.

However, we cannot get an absolute result but just a result that is close to objective reality. Correct and accurate self-assessment has an important role for the development of personality. Assessment in generally is a difficult task, accurate self-assessment is increasingly more difficult.

People often face many difficulties when self-assessing themselves accurately for many different reasons. In the view of S.Franz: self-assessment depends on the cognitive development of each person. Different people have different cognition process; therefore, their awareness of things and phenomena is also different. Criteria used to assess are the most important issue of self-assessment but they are also very difficult to define unanimously. Each person’s criteria for assessment depend on the society’s assessment criteria through each person’s subjective perception. In a group, people with different role also have different criteria. And for different groups, criteria are also different. S. Franz emphasized, both external assessment and self-assessment must ensure two conditions:

- The first is assessment must be based on the society’s assessment criteria.

- The second is assessment speeches, in terms of content, must be based on the circumstances or the phenomenon assessed.

B. Self-assessment with discrimination and generalization

If a person unwarrantedly changes assessment from one scope to another scope of reflection, the self-assessment itself is not grounded.

If in different reflecting ranges, individuals see the differences corresponding to each expression level of their virtue through these activities, then the self-assessment can be considered discriminatory. When comparing different individuals’ self-assessment based on different activities and performance results, if self-self-assessment reflects their psychological phenomena or attitudes differently respectively, then the self-assessment is discriminatory.

Self-assessment is considered generalized when, based on observations from separate results within specific activities, individuals get an overview about themselves.

C. Sustainability of self-assessment

The sustainability of self-assessment may change depending on age, it can be identified in relation to different requirements in certain periods of time, and it can have relation with a number of different psychological characteristics. Leary at el (1995) suggest that self-assessment is related to their relationship with another person.

Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, and Potter (2001) think that self-assessment might be formed when one is young, but it continues to change and evolve throughout

the life of a human being. Brown and Mankowski (1993) suggest that a temporary change of mentality will cause equivalent transient changes in self-assessment. Kernis (1993) sees that self-assessment fluctuates up and down around a sustainably stable path.

D. Height of self-assessment

Chris Mruk (2006) set up a self-assessment chart and divided self-assessment into different categories: low self-assessment; high self-assessment; self-assessment based on value and self-assessment based on capacity.

2.2.3 Measure self-assessment

Self-assessment is measured and evaluated based on multiple and different views and ways of measurement. Previously, indirect methods were used to measure self-assessment; these required personal characteristics to perform assessment.

However, a direct assessment method of self-assessment has been developed and proven to be very reliable and valuable called a measure of self-assessment index.

Although some researchers still use individual characteristics to measure self-assessment, the use of the direct method is still growing in popularity today.

There are many ways to measure self-assessment introduced by researchers:

measure of self-assessment index (CSES) by Judge, Erez, Bono, and Thoresen (2003);

self-assessment scale containing 12 items (JH CSE) by Judge and Hurst (2007).

Study the measure of self-assessment index (CSEs) by Judge, Erez, Bono, and Thoresen (2003) to measure self-assessment, use Likert Scale from 1 "Entirely disagree", 2 "Disagree", 3 "Accept ", 4 "Agree" to 5 "Completely agree". There are totally 12 questions as follows (negative statements are reversely scored):

1. I believe I will achieve success in life.

2. I sometimes feel depressed.

3. When I try, I often succeed.

4. When I fail, I often feel worthless.

5. I complete the task successfully.

6. I sometimes feel I cannot control the work.

7. In general, I feel satisfied with myself.

8. I doubt of my abilities.

9. I can decide what will happen in my life.

10. I feel I cannot get the control to be successful in my career.

11. I am capable of dealing with most of my problems.

12. Sometimes things look pretty bleak and hopeless to me.