Self-esteem and academic achievement in mathematics among secondary school students at a private institution, Nuevo Chimbote-2025

Abstract

This study analyzed the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement in mathematics among 4th-grade secondary students from a private educational institution in Nuevo Chimbote (2025). A quantitative approach was used, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design. The sample consisted of 68 students. Self-esteem was measured using a 14-item questionnaire (cognitive and affective dimensions), and achievement was obtained from official school records classified by performance levels. Content validity was established through expert judgment. Overall reliability was adequate (Cronbach’s α=.799; ordinal α=.86), although the cognitive dimension showed moderate consistency. Descriptively, medium (61.8%) and high (33.8%) self-esteem predominated, while low self-esteem was infrequent (4.4%). In mathematics, most students were placed in “in progress” (41.2%) and “expected achievement” (39.7%), with 19.1% at the “initial” level. Multivariate normality tests rejected joint normality; therefore, Spearman’s rho was applied. The correlation between self-esteem and mathematics achievement was virtually null and not statistically significant (ρ=.029; p=.816). By competencies, “quantity” showed the highest proportion at the expected level, whereas “data management and uncertainty” concentrated cases in the in-progress level. It is concluded that, in this sample, self-esteem was not significantly associated with mathematics achievement.