Open Access
Subscription Access
Open Access
Subscription Access
Relationship between Self-concept and Academic Achievement in 17-19 Years Old Students
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Introduction: Over the past decades, self-concept has been extensively studied in relation to academic achievement. However, there is little agreement about the causal ordering of these constructs. This paper seeks to address the issue of causal relations between self-concept and academic achievement in young Indian students
Material and Method: Participants were 17-19 yrs old students of both sexes preparing for All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) and enrolled with reputed coaching classes in Delhi. Self-concept was measured twice over a period of one year using Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III). Qualifying AIPMT 2012 was taken as a measure of academic achievement.
Findings: The authors found no statistically significant differences in the self-concept scores of students, before and after qualifying AIPMT. Similarly there were no significant differences in the before and after self-concept scores of students who could not qualify AIPMT and pursued alternative courses. However, before appearing for AIPMT, those who eventually qualified had statistically significant higher scores on most scales of SDQ III.
Conclusion: Prior self-concept strongly influences subsequent academic achievement. However, neither academic achievement improves prior self-concept nor failure deteriorates prior self-concept.
Keywords
- Marsh HW. Causal ordering of academic selfconcept and academic achievement: A multiwave, longitudinal panel analysis. J. Educ. Psychol.1990a;82(4):646-56.
- Shavelson RJ, Hubner JJ, Stanton GC. Validation of construct interpretations. Rev. Educ. Res.1976;46:407-41.
- Marsh HW. Self Description Questionnaire III: SDQ III. 2005. University of Western Sydney. McArthur.
- Byrne BM. Self-concept/academic achievement relations: An investigation of dimensionality, stability, and causality. Can. J. Behav. Sci.1986;18:173-86.
- Marsh HW, Hau KT, Sung RY, Yu CW. Childhood obesity, gender, actual- ideal body image discrepancies, and physical self-concept in Hong Kong children: Cultural differences in the value of moderation. Dev. Psychol. 2007;43(3):647-62.
- Marsh HW. A reciprocal effect model of the causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement.2003. Retrieved from http:// www.aare.edu.au/03pap/mar03755.pdf.
- Marsh HW, Yeung AS. Causal effects of academic self-concept on academic achievement: Structural equation models of longitudinal data. J. Educ. Psychol.1997a;89:41-54.
- Marsh HW, Craven R. Academic self-concept: Beyond the dustbowl. In G. Phye (Ed.), Handbook of classroom assessment: Learning, achievement, and adjustment.1997. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
- Chapman JW, Tunmer WE. A longitudinal study of beginning reading achievement and reading self-concept. Brit. J. Educ. Psychol.1997;67:279-91.
- Bachman JG, O’Malley PM. Self-esteem in young men: A longitudinal analysis of the impact of educational and occupational attainment. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.1977;35:365-80.
- Shavelson RJ, Bolus R. Self-concept: The interplay of theory of theory and models. J. Educ. Psychol.1982;74:3-17.
Abstract Views: 366
PDF Views: 0