Understanding Secondary Students

Students at the secondary level of education (grade 9th to 12th) encompass

students of the adolescence stage. Adolescence can be defined as the
stage of rapid physical, emotional, social, moral, and cognitive growth
and development characterized by a certain degree of increased turmoil,
anxiety and stress because of these rapid changes that take place within
an individual. They see big changes in their body shape and mass. Peer
relationships suddenly become important and serve as a platform
where they learn important social skills such as empathy, cooperation,
collaboration etc. During this time, these relationships undergo a major
transformation from activity-based to more stable, affective relationships.
They first experience or rather enjoy sexual arousal and attraction towards
others and become interested in forming intense romantic, and sometimes
sexualized relationships with others. It can be said that this heightened
sense of individuality along with the influence of peers and media, and
the drastic physical development predominantly shapes their self-concept.
They are highly influenced by the support they receive from their peers or
the feeling of being judged by them. They might feel good and satisfied
with how they look if they receive positive comments from peers and
family members about their body or find it corresponding to the 'ideal'
body that they see in the media. This boosts their confidence. On the other
hand, those students who receive negative comments from peers and
family members about their body, or have a body that is different from
the 'ideal' body that they see in the media can have a negative body image.
This causes low self-esteem and self-confidence. As also evident from
clinical data, a healthy Body-image is important to ensure the emotional
well-being of adolescents.
Another important milestone that an adolescent reaches is the mid-level
of moral reasoning as discussed in the theory of Lawrence Kohlberg. Their
moral – decisions are determined by social norms. For example, it is bad to
smoke because my parents told me so. This conventional moral reasoning
now helps them to better view other’s perspectives and appreciate those
while working for themselves.