Building self-esteem in girls and encouraging their health and wellness is a life-long pursuit. It is critical to actively work with girls and young women to develop a positive, healthy self-image.
The Coalition has created and assembled the following resources related to how girls’ schools are experts in building girls’ confidence and self-esteem.
- Celebrate annually National Teen Self-Esteem Month and National Women’s Health Week in May
- Raising Girls’ Voices Blog Health & Wellness and Leadership articles
- PEP Talks Podcast:
- Infographics on how girls’ schools build higher levels of self-confidence and develop leadership skills
- Research reports related to girls’ self-esteem/confidence
RESEARCH QUICK FACTS
Girls’ schools help girls build self-confidence because a girl occupies every role in all-girls learning environments.
- The majority of girls’ school grads report higher self-confidence over their coeducated peers.
—Dr. Linda Sax, UCLA, Women Graduates of Single-Sex and Coeducational High Schools: Differences in their Characteristics and the Transition to College
- All-girls settings seem to provide girls a certain comfort level that helps them develop greater self-confidence and broader interests, especially as they approach adolescence.
—Dr. Rosemary C. Salomone, St. John’s University, Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling
- Books of Interest:
- Beautiful: Being an Empowered Young Woman by Naomi Katz
- Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy and Fulfilling Lives by Rachel Simmons
- Full of Ourselves: A Wellness Program to Advance Girl Power, Health, and Leadership by Catherine Steiner-Adair and Lisa Sjostrom
- Girls Without Limits: Helping Girls Achieve Healthy Relationships, Academic Success, and Interpersonal Strength by Lisa Hinkelman
- No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls by Katie Hurley
- Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self Esteem, and the Confidence Gap by Peggy Orenstein
- Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls by Lisa Damour
- Organizations:
- National Association of School Psychologists: Prevention and Wellness Promotion resources
- Teen Esteem