Self-Concept

Peoples’ perceptions of themselves also impact on levels of academic attainment and this psychological domain may provide some theoretical explanations for why Provision Management may not increase pupil attainment in spelling, reading and maths.

Self-concept, broadly defined, is a person’s perceptions of him-or herself. These perceptions are formed through one’s experience with and interpretations of one’s environment and are influenced

especially by reinforcement, evaluations by significant others…. (Shavelson and Bolus, 1982, p.3).

Like self-efficacy, self-concept is influenced and reinforced by important people around the person, which can have a positive or negative effect.

Self-concept is multidimensional and comprises self-esteem, self- confidence, stability, and self-crystallization.

(Schunk, 1991).

Self-concept is a hierarchical construct with global self-concept at the top, subcategories such as academic self-concept in the middle and academic domain- specific self-concepts at the bottom (Marsh and Shavelson, 1985). The subcategories of academic domain-specific combine to form the overall academic self-concept (Schunk, 1991).

Marsh’s (1984) big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) argues that when pupils of the same academic ability are educated in a school with peers with high average ability their academic self-concept reduces. In comparison those pupils with similar academic abilities who are educated alongside pupils with lower academic averages have higher self-concept as they

“…receive more positive feedback and develop greater confidence about their abilities, such that they are ‘big fish in little ponds’”. (Hay, Ashman and vanKraayenoord, 1997, p.312).

Long (2000) also reports that Hayes et al., (1997) also found that, ... pupils’ academic self-concept was affected by the general academic context of the class that they were in. There was a substantial overall correlation of 0.46 between pupils’ self-concept and a difference between their achievements and the average of the class they were in.

(Long, 2000, p.120).

Long (2000) claims that academic motivation comes from pupils’ academic self- concept and this in turn comes from their self-efficacy beliefs. The skill development

model implies “that academic self-concept emerges principally as a consequence of academic achievement” (Trautwein, Lüdtke, Köller & Baumert, 2006, p.42).

Self-concept is regarded by the self-enhancement model as a primary determinant of academic achievement (Trautwein, Lüdtke, Köller and Baumert, 2006). Trautwein et al. (2006) found that the meritocracy principle was supported by their research and that academic self-concept has a larger impact on self-esteem in meritocratic learning environments; that is learning environments with a high focus on effort and social comparison.

Differentiations between global constructs of the self typically cited as self-esteem and specific abilities cited as specific self-concepts have been discussed by researchers (Trautwein, Ludtke, Köller and Baumert, 2006). Self-esteem can be defined as “the degree to which one values oneself” (Penguin Dictionary of Psychology, 2009, p.702). “Self-esteem is relatively synonymous with the term self-concept” (Daniel and King, 1995, p.1). Self-esteem does seem to be linked to academic success and failure. Daniel and King (1995) found that there is a positive relationship between self-esteem and achievement. Friedland (1992) claims that pupils with a healthy self-esteem are less likely to drop out of school.

Zimmerman (2000) reports that a perceived positive relationship between a pupil’s perceptions of himself or herself influences his or her academic performance and also his or her motivational processes. Therefore pupils who feel good about themselves and their abilities are those that are most likely to succeed. This view was further supported by Shobhna and Rekha (2009) who report that, self-esteem both influences and is influenced by successful academic performance. It has also been found that

definitions of the self are formed through one’s interactions with others, which supports self-esteem theories and that self-esteem is maintained through “..positive self-perceptions in non-academic dimensions of self-concept” (Peiroto and Almeida, 2010, p.173). Social comparisons are an important part of self-concept, as we make comparisons with people we see as similar to ourselves. As a result of social

comparisons a pupil’s self-esteem and self-efficacy can vary throughout life (Bandura, 1994) and even from one lesson to another.

In contrast Ross and Beckett (2000) report that it is not high self esteem that leads to academic success but an internal locus of control. They purport that merely feeling good about yourself does not improve your attainments. Instead they perceive that people who have academic success are those

Who think that their efforts shape outcomes and that their successes and failures are a consequence of their own actions.

(Ross & Beckett, 2000, p.271)

Ross and Beckett (2000) concluded that it is control that influences academic

achievement and not self-esteem. School success shapes pupils’ perceptions that they are doing well and in control of their lives, which shapes future academic success. Whilst self-esteem can be increased, high self-esteem does not increase academic attainment (Ross and Beckett, 2000).

School based self-esteem programmes such as Head Start and Upward Bound in the United States of America concluded that boosting self-esteem had no discernible effect on academic achievement and if one wants to improve at maths for example, then one should do more maths (Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs, 2003). In contrast in the United Kingdom, Wave 3 interventions in Maths have resulted in

attitudinal changes, which included the raising of pupils’ self-esteem and more active involvement in the numeracy lesson (Gross, 2007). There appears to be conflicting evidence about whether school based intervention programmes improve self-esteem. It may be that a narrower focus on academic self-esteem is required or that self-

efficacy would be a more appropriate measure. Ross and Broh (2000) report that doing well in school does improve self-esteem, but is not related to subsequent academic achievement. Instead Ross and Broh (2000) claim that students “who feel in control of important outcomes in their lives, who think that their efforts shape outcomes “(p.271) will achieve academically.

If we want pupils to do well in education then we need to foster their self-esteem as it is “..an important part in developing psychological health” (Hayes, 2000, p.16).We need to be looking beyond academic development in order to ensure that pupils are developing as rounded individuals.