Development of the Relation between Achievement and Academic Self-Concept in Secondary School

Abstract This study investigates the development of academic self-concept, academic achievement and their relation from Grade 7 to Grade 12 in a cohort of 2834 adolescents in 50 schools. Age and sex differences were tested with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results support a reciprocal effects model, indicating that academic achievement has an effect on academic self-concept (skill development model) and that academic self-concept has an effect

on

academic

achievement

(self-enhancement

model).

Significantly

different

relationships were found for boys and girls, suggesting a reciprocal effects model for boys and a skill development model for girls. The discussion centers on methodological and theoretical issues. Practical implications are discussed briefly.

1. Objectives This study addresses three main research questions: 1. What is the nature of the causal relation between academic self-concept and achievement? We hypothesize that they influence each other in a reciprocal manner. 2. How is the relation between the academic self-concept and achievement developing over time? Which developmental pattern can be observed during secondary education? 3. Is the relation between academic self-concept and achievement the same for boys and girls?

2. Theoretical framework 2.1 The relation between academic self-concept and achievement Over the past decades the relation between the academic self-concept and achievement emerged as a “chicken-egg” question (De Fraine et al., 2007; Valentine & Dubois, 2005). The critical question runs as follows: Is the academic self-concept causally predominant over achievement or does achievement has a major causal influence on the academic selfconcept? The relation between self-beliefs and achievement has been examined in a large number of studies. Previous reviews of this literature and recent studies show that academic outcomes

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are positively and moderately correlated to academic self-concept (Byrne, 1996; Marsh & Craven, 2005; Marsh & Craven, 2006; Marsh et al., 2005; Marsh & O’Mara, 2008; Skaalvik, 1997; Valentine & Dubois, 2005; Valentine, Dubois & Cooper, 2004). Three major models have been used to describe the causal relation between the academic self-concept and achievement. First, the self-enhancement model posits self-concept as primary determinant of academic achievement (Marsh & Craven, 2005). More specifically, positive academic self-concept is expected to promote higher levels of achievement. Support for this model would provide strong justification for self-concept enhancement interventions that are explicit or implicit in many educational programs. Second, the skill development model implies that academic achievement influences academic self-concept. This model treats the academic self-concept only as an artifact of achievement with no explanatory power (Valentine & Dubois, 2005). Third, the reciprocal effects model (Marsh, 1990a) states that academic self-concept and achievement influence each other in a reciprocal manner. A student’s high academic self-concept may facilitate positive school performance, and this achievement then may further strengthen his academic self-concept. In this way, the reciprocal effect model can be seen as a realistic compromise between the unidirectional mechanisms of the self-enhancement and skill development models (Marsh & Craven, 2005; Marsh, Byrne & Yeung, 1999; Marsh & Yeung, 1997a).

2.2 Causal predominance within the reciprocal effects model The majority of the studies support the reciprocal effects model but one could ask whether there exists any ‘causal predominance’ within this reciprocal effects model. In other words, within this reciprocal relation, is the effect of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement stronger than the effect of prior achievement on subsequent academic selfconcept (a self-enhancement model within the reciprocal effects model) or is the effect of prior achievement on subsequent academic self-concept larger than the effect of prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement (a skill development model within the reciprocal effects model)? Some studies support predominance of the academic self-concept over achievement (Kurtz-Costes & Schneider, 1994; Marsh et al., 2002; Marsh et al., 2005; Skaalvik & Hagtvet, 1990), while others support the predominance of achievement over academic self-concept (Marsh & O’Mara, 2008; Marsh & Yeung, 1997a; Marsh and Yeung, 1998; Muijs, 1997; Valentine et al., 2004).

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2.3 A developmental perspective Many studies have looked into the development of the relation between academic selfconcept and achievement over age. In general, this developmental perspective suggests that young children have very positive self-concepts but these very high self-concepts tend to become less positive and more differentiated when they grow older (Guay et al., 2003). This developmental pattern may lead to a skill-development model for younger children and a reciprocal effects model for older children. The developmental pattern in the causal relation between the academic self-concept and achievement was studied in elementary school (Chapman & Tunmer, 1997; Guay et al., 2003; Helmke & van Aken, 1995), during the transition to secondary school (Skaalvik & Hagtvet, 1990; Skaalvik & Valas, 1999) and during secondary school (Marsh, 1990a; Marsh et al., 2002; Marsh & O’Mara, 2008; Marsh & Yeung, 1997). However, these studies do not allow any firm conclusion to be drawn on how the causal ordering of self-concept and academic achievement develops.

2.4 A gender perspective Most of the studies conclude that the inclusion of gender in analyses has no effect on the causal pattern in the relation between the academic self-concept and achievement (Helmke & van Aken, 1995; Mash et al., 2005; Marsh & Yeung, 1998; Valentine et al., 2004). Thus, the reciprocal effects can be generalized over gender.

3. Method The current study employs structural equation models (SEM) to model the relation between academic self-concept and achievement (Bollen, 1989; Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1993). The structural relations between the two latent variables (academic self-concept and achievement) are the main focus of the study. The estimation method was Full Information Maximum Likelihood estimation (FIML) to deal with missing data (Enders, 2001). Parameter estimates and goodness-of-fit indices were computed using the LISREL software (Version 8.7; Du Toit et al., 1999; Jöreskog et al., 1999) and the Mplus software (Version 4.0;Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2006). Five different models were fitted, and several goodness-of-fit indices were used to evaluate model fit. To evaluate gender-related differences, separate tests were conducted to test the invariance of the factor loadings and path coefficients.

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4. Data sources The research questions will be answered through analysis of longitudinal data on the academic self-concept, language achievement and mathematics achievement of a sample of 2834 students (1641 girls and 1193 boys). These data stem from the LOSO-project (Van Damme, De Fraine, Van Landeghem, Opdenakker, & Onghena, 2002). This project followed the educational career of a cohort of students in secondary school in Flanders, the Dutchspeaking part of Belgium. The student’s general academic self-concept was measured by nine items referring to the perception that a student has of his/her academic competence. Examples include: “I think I am able to deal with the subject matter”, and “I think I am good at learning” (for the other items, see Van Damme et al., 2002). The response scale for the items ranges from 1 (low academic self-concept) to 5 (high academic self-concept). The students’ academic selfconcept was measured at four occasions: at the end of Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 10 and Grade 12. The nine items to measure the academic self-concept were used as nine separate indicators of the latent variable ‘academic self-concept’. Language achievement and mathematics achievement were measured by means of curriculum relevant multiple-choice tests. Tests were administered at five occasions: the start of Grade 7, the end of Grade 7, the end of Grade 8, Grade 10 and Grade 12. The results on the math achievement test and Dutch achievement test were used as two separate indicators of the latent variable ‘academic achievement’.

5. Results and conclusions The purpose of the present study was to evaluate developmental trends and gender differences in the causal relation between the academic self-concept and achievement during secondary school. The results support the reciprocal effects model. An interesting developmental pattern was found. In Grade 7 and 8, our study supports a skill-development model. In Grade 9 and 10, evidence was found for a self-enhancement model. And in Grade 11 to 12, again a skilldevelopment model was found. From a gender perspective, a reciprocal effects model was found for boys whereas for girls no effect was found from prior academic self-concept on subsequent achievement thus supporting a skill development model. This difference between boys and girls was statistically significant.

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6. Importance of the study The present study has some advantages over previous research. First, academic selfconcept and achievement were measured at respectively four and five occasions and therefore provide a solid base to draw developmental conclusions. Second, a sufficiently large sample size was considered in present investigation (N = 2834). Third, latent variables were inferred on the basis of multiple indicators. Fourth, sophisticated structural equation models were used to test the hypotheses. Despite these strengths, the current study has some important limitations that should be taken into account when interpreting the results. First, we did not assess academic selfconcept at subject specific level. Second, we assessed achievement using only standardized tests. It is important to emphasize that present results have important practical implications for teachers in secondary schools. Teachers find themselves with a choice: providing the student with feedback about the positive aspects of his work (in order to enhance the student’s academic self-concept, cf. self-enhancement model) or providing the student with feedback that helps him to improve his work (in order to improve his achievement, cf. skilldevelopment model). Based on the results of this investigation, the following advice could be given to teachers. During the first and last cycle of secondary education the teacher should provide the students with feedback that accentuates the aspects of their work. However, during the second cycle he/she has to provide the students with feedback that emphasizes the positive aspects of their work because in this period, enhancing the academic selfconcept of a student is likely to also have a positive impact on his/her achievement.

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