Introduction. One of the elements of the self-knowledge system is self-esteem. This system is continuously organized into a certain kind of a distinctive structure of ideas and notions. The aims of this paper, is to define the sense of self-esteem among first year physical education students. Material and methods. The method applied in the research was a diagnostic survey accompanied by questionnaire based on Fitts's “The Tennessee Self-concept Scale”, in a simplified term TSCS. The survey was conducted in Academic Year 2008/2009 among 667 respondents in eight state and non-state Polish academies. Results. The conducted survey indicates that there is an obvious tendency for students to have high self-esteem. Such a high level falls within the remit of the majority of aspects: moral-ethical self, family self and personal-self. Moreover, a high level of self-esteem was recognized in students' global sense of self-esteem and in self-esteem concerning personal-self. Crucially, the medium level of self-esteem concerning behaviour was declared by a considerable percentage of the respondents. The high level of global self-esteem was definitely assigned to female students whereas the medium level was noticed among male students. Conclusion. One of the key elements of human personality is the sense of selfesteem which influences both the level of self-acceptance and self-awareness. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to develop these skills and the psychophysical characteristics in the process of upbringing and educating.
