Article

The big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept and interest in first- and third-grade students

Authors:
  • Observatoire national de l’enfance, de la jeunesse et de la qualité scolaire (OEJQS)
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... In recent years, the BFLPE has also been extended to other motivational outcomes following criticisms pointing to the narrowness of the initial theory (i.e., its sole focus on academic selfconcept; Plucker et al., 2004;Rindermann & Heller, 2005;. For instance, previous studies have demonstrated that the BFLPE also generalizes to academic affect and coursework aspiration (Marsh et al., 2014;Pekrun et al., 2019) as well as to learning interest (Trautwein et al., 2006;van der Westhuizen et al., 2023). Integrating multiple motivational outcomes into the BFLPE should help achieve a more complete picture of the role played by social comparison processes in shaping various components of academic motivation, which is critical to better understand the implications of inclusive education. ...
... First, despite the identification of a significant BFLPE on learning interests, this effect was smaller than for self-concepts among all three groups of students. This finding is consistent with previous studies showing that the BFLPE generalizes to learning interest but tends to be smaller than that typically observed for academic self-concept (e.g., Trautwein et al., 2006;van der Westhuizen et al., 2023). This finding is also consistent with the results obtained by Kocaj et al. (2020) who similarly reported non-statistically significant BFLPE in relation to the verbal and mathematics learning interests of students with SEN attending special education schools. ...
Article
Background: Inclusive education has become increasingly popular based on the assumption that it has multiple benefits for students with special educational needs (SEN). However, contradictions remain regarding the widespread nature of these benefits, particularly when it comes to academic motivation. Aims: In this large-scale cross-sectional study, we relied on the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE) to assess the links between inclusive education and students’ academic self-concepts and learning interests in the mathematics and verbal domains. Sample: The sample consisted of 21,219 German elementary school children in Grade 4 who were enrolled in three groups: students without SEN attending regular schools (n1 =19,069), students with SEN attending regular schools (n2 = 933), and students with SEN attending special education schools (n3 = 1214). Methods: Doubly latent multi-group multilevel structural equation models and tests of latent interaction were performed to test the BFLPE. Results: Results supported the BFLPE for both outcomes and domains. However, no BFLPE was identified for learning interest in the verbal domain among students with SEN attending special education schools, although the size of this effect did not differ significantly from that observed among students without SEN. In regular schools, the BFLPE was almost two times stronger among students with SEN than among their peers without SEN. Conclusions: Results support the generalizability of the BFLPE to students with SEN, while casting doubts on the motivational benefits of inclusive education for these students. Interventions targeted at attenuating the BFLPE should thus be tailored for both regular and special education schools.
... This constraint is in line with work on self-efficacy theory that finds reciprocal relationships between achievement and self-efficacy (Schunk & DiBenedetto, 2020. In other words, the present study adds evidence for the "big-fish-little-pond" relationship between within-class achievement ranking and motivation, which has been recently shown strong support by a national census analysis of entire grades of Luxembourgish elementary students by van der Westhuizen et al. (2023). ...
Article
Full-text available
The computational model of school achievement represents a novel approach to theorizing school achievement, conceptualizing educational interventions as modifications to students’ learning curves. By modeling the process and products of educational achievement simultaneously, this tool addresses several unresolved questions in educational psychology through computational modeling. For example, prior research has highlighted perplexing inconsistencies in the relationship between time spent on task and academic achievement. The present simulation reveals that even under the assumption that time-on-task always positively contributes to achievement, the correlations between time-on-task and achievement can vary substantially across different contexts and, in some cases, may even be negative. Analysis of the correlation between prior knowledge and knowledge gains uncovers similar patterns. The computational model of school achievement presents a framework, bolstered through simulation, enabling researchers to formalize their assumptions, address ongoing debates, and design tailored interventions that consider both the school environment and individual student contexts.
Article
Using three mathematical models, this study aims to optimize students’ motivation for success in courses of mathematics at universities. The uniqueness of this study is crystalized in the novel graphical visualization of three models, which are integrated to analyze certain factors that help in optimizing students’ motivation for mathematical success. The proposed models will benefit students, educators, administrators of higher education, and societies around the world. A quantitative approach is used to design the research, which involved 366 female and 319 male students in different mathematics courses. The results show that the third, second, and first models are the top three in order. The third model accounts for 71.3% of the shift in the motivation for mathematical success. The difference in the motivation for mathematical success is explained by 66.3% in the second model and 65.0% in the first model.
Article
Full-text available
Student motivation and affect play an important role in successful language learning. To investigate the formation of language learning motivation and affect, this study extended the generalized internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model framework to multiple languages (German and French, along with math) and multiple motivational-affective outcomes (academic self-concept, interest, and anxiety). We examined whether social and dimensional comparisons play similar roles in the formation of students’ self-concepts, interests, and anxieties concerning different languages and whether dimensional comparisons result in contrast or assimilation effects. Moreover, we tested the generalizability of the GI/E model assumptions across students with different language backgrounds. Using a data set comprising virtually all ninth-grade students (N = 6,275; 48.0% female) from Luxembourg’s multilingual educational system, our findings indicated (1) clear contrast effects in the formation of self-concept and interest in math, German, and French, and (2) a combination of contrast, assimilation, and no effects in the formation of anxiety in math, German, and French. Using a subsample of 5,837 students with valid language information (48.0% female), invariance tests demonstrated that the GI/E achievement–outcome relations operated equivalently across students from different home language backgrounds.
Article
Full-text available
Academic self-concept and achievement have been found to be reciprocally related across time. However, existing research has focused on self-concept and achievement scores that have been averaged over long time-periods. For the first time, the present study examined intraindividual (within-person) relations between momentary (state) self-concept and lesson-specific perceived achievement (i.e., self-reported comprehension) in students’ everyday school life in real time using intensive longitudinal data. We conducted an experience-sampling (e-diary) study with 372 German secondary school students in Grades 9 and 10 over a period of 3 weeks after each mathematics lesson. Multilevel confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a two-factor between-level and within-level structure of the state measures. We used dynamic structural equation modeling to specify a multilevel first-order vector autoregressive model to examine the dynamic relations between self-concept and perceived achievement. We found significant reciprocal effects between academic self-concept and perceived achievement on a lesson-to-lesson basis. Further, we found that these relations were independent of students’ gender, reasoning ability, or mathematics grades. We discuss implications for methodology, theory, and practice in self-concept research and educational psychology more generally.
Article
Full-text available
Equally able students have lower academic self-concept in high achieving schools or classes, a phenomenon known as the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). The class (more so than the school) has been shown to be the pivotal frame-of-reference for academic self-concept formation—a local dominance effect. However, many school systems worldwide employ forms of course-by-course tracking, thus exposing students to multiple class environments. Due to the high correlation between multiple student environments, the frame-of-reference used for academic self-concept formation in course-by-course tracked systems is unclear to date. We addressed this unresolved issue by using data from a comprehensive survey that measured the entire population of Austrian eighth-grade students in the domain of mathematics in 2012. General secondary school students were in the core subjects (i.e., mathematics, German, and English) grouped according to ability, whereas regular class composition was the same in all other subjects. Using cross-classified multilevel models, we regressed math self-concept on average math achievement of students’ school, math class, and regular class. Consistent with the local dominance effect, we found the BFLPE on the school level to be weak after controlling for the class levels. We found a stronger BFLPE on the regular class level and the strongest BFLPE on the math class level. Our study demonstrates the importance of multiple class environments as frames-of-reference for academic self-concept formation.
Article
Full-text available
The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), the negative effect of school-/class-average achievement on academic self-concept, is one of educational psychology’s most universal findings. However, critiques of this research have proposed moderators based on achievement motivation theories. Nevertheless, because these motivational theories are not sufficiently well-developed to provide unambiguous predictions concerning moderation of the BFLPE and underlying social comparison processes, we developed a Theory-Integrating Approach; bringing together a panel of experts, independently making theoretical predictions, revising the predictions over several rounds based on independent feedback from the other experts, and a summary of results. We pit a priori hypotheses derived from achievement motivation theories against the more parsimonious a priori prediction that there is no moderation based on previous BFLPE empirical research and Darwinian-economic theory (N = 1,925 Hong Kong students, 47 classes, M age = 12 years). Consistent with both BFLPE research and Darwinian perspectives, but in contrast to achievement motivation theory predictions, the highly significant BFLPE was not moderated by any of the following: prior achievement, expectancy-value theory variables, achievement goals, implicit theories of ability, self-regulated learning strategies, and social interdependence theory measures. Although we cannot “prove” that there are no student-level moderators of the BFLPE, our synthesis of social comparison posited in the BFLPE theory and an evolutionary perspective support BFLPE’s generalizability. We propose further integration of our Theory-Integrating Approach with traditional Delphi methods, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to develop a priori theoretical predictions and identify limitations in existing theory as an alternative form of systematic review.
Article
Full-text available
The Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE) suggests that school-average achievement has a negative effect on academic self-concept (ASC); some research has also verified a negative effect on students' academic achievement. Our study evaluates the compositional effects of school-average achievement on both outcomes, using a longitudinal sample of English early primary school students in Year 1 and Year 4. We provide evidence for BFLPEs in children as young as six to nine years of age. Further, we show that the BFLPE is a potential mechanism in the negative compositional effect of school average achievement in Year 1 on students' achievement in Year 4. Once adjustments for measurement error are made, the negative effect of school-average achievement on students' self-concept, and on their subsequent achievement, becomes even more negative. Our findings question previous research suggesting that attending a school with higher average achievement necessarily advances students’ outcomes.
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) on mathematics-related achievement emotions (enjoyment, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom) among adolescents (N = 1322) using multilevel modeling, controlling for the effects of gender and classroom size. The results indicated that only pride was influenced by the BFLPE. Hence, adolescents reported less pride in mathematically higher-performing classrooms (higher class-average). The cross-level interaction effects indicated that the BFLPE varies across mathematics performance levels and gender. In mathematically higher-performing classrooms, adolescents with lower mathematics performance reported less pride and more shame, whereas adolescents with higher mathematics performance reported less enjoyment and more boredom. Additionally, males reported more shame in higher-performing classrooms. We discuss the practical implications of supporting achievement emotions in higher-performing classrooms.
Article
Full-text available
Self-concept in mathematics (MSC) and interest in mathematics are important predictors of whether a student will choose to major in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field at university. Research on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) has shown that both predictors are affected by the achievement composition of students in schools. That is, given the same individual ability, students in higher achieving schools exhibit lower MSC and interest in mathematics than students in lower achieving schools due to social comparison processes. The BFLPE has been replicated in high school settings many times, but less is known about the long-term effects of this context effect. In the present study, we investigated the long-term effects of the BFLPE on the aspiration to major in and the actual decision to major in a STEM field at university. We used data from a German longitudinal study. The results showed no direct BFLPE on the aspiration to enroll in a STEM major at the end of high school or on actual enrollment in a STEM major 2 years after graduating from high school. However, small negative indirect effects of the BFLPE via MSC and interest in mathematics on the aspiration to and enrollment in a STEM major occurred. In sum, the longitudinal BFLPE on STEM major choice was small.
Article
Full-text available
The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model (RI/EM) extends the internal/external frame of reference model (I/EM) over time and the reciprocal effects model (REM) across domains. The RI/EM postulates positive developmental relations between academic achievement and self-concept within a domain and negative relations across two non-matching domains (e.g., math and English). However, until now, empirical investigations of the RI/EM had only focused on secondary school students from specific countries. In the present study, we test whether the RI/EM also applies to primary school students and to students in the United States, by using a representative longitudinal data set: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K: 1998-1999). We found positive reciprocal relations between academic self-concept and standardized test scores within a domain, whereas the effect of prior achievement on self-concept was much stronger (skill-development part) than the effect of self-concept on achievement (self-enhancement). Furthermore, we found negative effects of achievement on subsequent self-concepts across domains (I/E frame of references). Overall, the findings of the study strongly support the RI/EM for primary school students. Our results are compared to previous findings in the literature for secondary school students and are discussed with regard to self-concept formation in primary school. Keywords: academic self-concept, academic achievement, reciprocal internal/external model, primary school students
Article
Full-text available
In line with the reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model (RI/E model), it is well-established that secondary school students generate domain-specific ability self-concepts by comparing their own performance in a domain socially (i.e., with others' performance in this domain) and dimensionally (i.e., with their own performance in other domains). However, developmental theories of ability conceptions suggest that the use of such performance comparisons to evaluate own abilities may differ by students' developmental stage because of important developmental changes between early and late childhood. Yet, to our knowledge, no study has investigated dimensional comparison effects in elementary school longitudinally although this can provide valuable information on the formation of ability self-concepts. Thus, we tested whether longitudinal dimensional effects on changes in students' ability self-concepts occur in the early school years. Ability self-concepts and grades in math and German of 542 German elementary school students were assessed seven times over 24 months from Grade 2 (M = 7.95 years of age, SD = 0.58) to Grade 4. Cross-sectional analyses showed some evidence for dimensional effects of students' math grades on their German self-concepts, but not of students' German grades on their math self-concepts. Longitudinal analyses with latent cross-lagged models revealed no evidence for longitudinal dimensional effects on changes in children's ability self-concepts. Findings indicate that dimensional comparisons are not as important in ability self-concept formation in the first school years as they tend to be later on. Findings underline the importance of considering developmental differences to better understand ability self-concept formation.
Article
Full-text available
A theoretical model linking achievement and emotions is proposed. The model posits that individual achievement promotes positive achievement emotions and reduces negative achievement emotions. In contrast, group-level achievement is thought to reduce individuals' positive emotions and increase their negative emotions. The model was tested using one cross-sectional and two longitudinal datasets on 5th to 10th grade students' achievement emotions in mathematics (Studies 1-3: Ns = 1,610, 1,759, and 4,353, respectively). Multilevel latent structural equation modeling confirmed that individual achievement had positive predictive effects on positive emotions (enjoyment, pride) and negative predictive effects on negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, and hopelessness), controlling for prior achievement, autoregressive effects, reciprocal effects, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES). Class-level achievement had negative compositional effects on the positive emotions and positive compositional effects on the negative emotions. Additional analyses suggested that self-concept of ability is a possible mediator of these effects. Furthermore, there were positive compositional effects of class-level achievement on individual achievement in Study 2 but not in Study 3, indicating that negative compositional effects on emotion are not reliably counteracted by positive effects on performance. The results were robust across studies, age groups, synchronous versus longitudinal analysis, and latent-manifest versus doubly latent modeling. These findings imply that individual success drives emotional well-being, whereas placing individuals in high-achieving groups can undermine well-being. Thus, the findings challenge policy and practice decisions on achievement-contingent allocation of individuals to groups.
Article
Full-text available
The Big-fish-little-Pond effect is well acknowledged as the negative effect of class/school average achievement on student academic self-concept, which profoundly impacts student academic performance and mental development. Although a few studies have been done with regard to this effect, inconsistence exists in the effect size with little success in finding moderators. Here, we present a meta-analysis to synthesize related literatures to reach a summary conclusion on the BFLPE. Furthermore, student age, comparison target, academic self-concept domain, student location, sample size, and publication year were examined as potential moderators. Thirty-three studies with fifty-six effect sizes (total N = 1,276,838) were finally included. The random effects model led to a mean of the BFLPE at β = −0.28 (p < 0.001). Moreover, moderator analyses revealed that the Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect is an age-based process and an intercultural phenomenon, which is stronger among high school students, in Asia and when verbal self-concept is considered. This meta-analysis is the first quantitative systematic overview of BFLPE, whose results are valuable to the understanding of BFLPE and reveal the necessity for educators from all countries to learn about operative means to help students avoid the potential negative effect. Future research expectations are offered subsequently.
Article
Full-text available
Previous cross-cultural studies of social and dimensional comparison processes forming academic self-concepts (the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) and Internal-external frame-of-reference (I/E) models) have mostly been based on high-school students and two subject domains. Our study is the first to test the cross-cultural generalizability of both comparison processes across reading, mathematics, and science by combining of the TIMSS and PIRLS 2011 databases (15 OECD countries, 67,386 fourth-graders). Consistent with the I/E model, high achievement in mathematics/reading had positive effects on self-concept in the matching domain but negative effects in the non-matching domain. Extending the I/E model, students engaged in assimilating comparisons between science and reading (i.e., achievement in one subject had positive effects on self-concept in the other) but contrasting comparisons between mathematics and science. Strong BFLPEs (negative effects of class-average achievement on self-concept) were found for mathematics but were smaller for reading and science. The results generalized well across all countries.
Article
Full-text available
School-average achievement is often reported to have positive effects on individual achievement (peer spillover effect). However, it is well established that school-average achievement has negative effects on academic self-concept (big-fish-little-pond effect [BFLPE]) and that academic self-concept and achievement are positively correlated and mutually reinforcing (reciprocal effects model). We resolve this theoretical paradox based on a large, longitudinal sample (N = 14,985 U.S. children) and improved methodology. More appropriate multilevel modeling that controls for phantom effects (due to measurement error and preexisting differences) makes the BFLPE even more negative, but turns the peer spillover effect from positive to slightly below zero. Thus, attending a high-achieving school has negative effects on academic self-concept and a nonpositive effect on achievement. The results question previous studies and meta-analyses showing a positive peer spillover effect that do not control for phantom effects, along with previous policy and school selection decisions based on this research.
Article
Full-text available
This paper aims to introduce multilevel logistic regression analysis in a simple and practical way. First, we introduce the basic principles of logistic regression analysis (conditional probability, logit transformation, odds ratio). Second, we discuss the two fundamental implications of running this kind of analysis with a nested data structure: In multilevel logistic regression, the odds that the outcome variable equals one (rather than zero) may vary from one cluster to another (i.e. the intercept may vary) and the effect of a lower-level variable may also vary from one cluster to another (i.e. the slope may vary). Third and finally, we provide a simplified three-step “turnkey” procedure for multilevel logistic regression modeling: • Preliminary phase: Cluster- or grand-mean centering variables • Step #1: Running an empty model and calculating the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) • Step #2: Running a constrained and an augmented intermediate model and performing a likelihood ratio test to determine whether considering the cluster-based variation of the effect of the lower-level variable improves the model fit • Step #3 Running a final model and interpreting the odds ratio and confidence intervals to determine whether data support your hypothesis Command syntax for Stata, R, Mplus, and SPSS are included. These steps will be applied to a study on Justin Bieber, because everybody likes Justin Bieber.
Article
Full-text available
The present study investigated the developmental dynamics of general and subject-specific (i.e., mathematics, French, and German) components of students’ academic self-concept, anxiety, and interest. To this end, the authors integrated three lines of research: (a) hierarchical and multidimensional approaches to the conceptualization of each construct, (b) longitudinal analyses of bottom-up and top-down developmental processes across hierarchical levels, and (c) ipsative developmental processes across subjects. The data stemmed from two longitudinal large-scale samples (N = 3,498 and N = 3,863) of students attending Grades 7 and 9 in Luxembourgish schools. Nested-factor models were applied to represent each construct at each grade level. The analyses demonstrated that several characteristics were shared across constructs. All constructs were multidimensional in nature with respect to the different subjects, showed a hierarchical organization with a general component at the apex of the hierarchy, and had a strong separation between the subject-specific components at both grade levels. Further, all constructs showed moderate differential stabilities at both the general (.42 < r < .55) and subject-specific levels (.45 < r < .73). Further, little evidence was found for top-down or bottom-up developmental processes. Rather, general and subject-specific components in Grade 9 proved to be primarily a function of the corresponding components in Grade 7. Finally, change in several subject-specific components could be explained by negative, ipsative effects across subjects.
Article
Full-text available
A large body of research has demonstrated a big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) by showing that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-ability schools than in low-ability schools. Although the BFLPE generalizes across many countries, it varies significantly between countries. The reasons for this variation are still largely unclear. This study investigated how explicit school-level tracking (formal division of students into different school types by achievement) and implicit school-level tracking (informal division of students into schools by social background, controlling for school selectivity) were related to the size of the BFLPE in a sample of 41 countries. BFLPE estimates are based on subject-specific mathematics self-concept as assessed in the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and reported by Seaton, Marsh, and Craven (2009). Results show that the BFLPE was far more pronounced in countries with earlier explicit school-level tracking whereas implicit school-level tracking did not affect the BFLPE. Surprisingly, the strong relationship between the duration of explicit school-level tracking and the BFLPE was not mediated by the size of between-school achievement variance (BSAV) although BSAV was strongly associated with both types of tracking. Moreover, results based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 show that the BFLPE is elevated already at 4th grade in early selection countries (i.e., before actual selection). The strong relationship between the duration of explicit school-level tracking and the BFLPE was not evident when the BFLPE was estimated by more general self-concept measures as in PISA 2000 and PISA 2006. (PsycINFO Database Record
Article
Full-text available
The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) was evaluated with 4,461 seventh to ninth graders in Singapore where a national policy of ability streaming is implemented. Consistent with the BFLPE, when prior achievement was controlled, students in the high-ability stream had lower English and mathematics self-concepts (ESCs and MSCs) and those in the lower-ability stream had higher ESCs and MSCs. Consistent with the local-dominance effect, the effect of stream-average achievement on ESCs and MSCs was more negative than-and completely subsumed-the negative effect of school-average achievement. However, stream-average achievement was stronger than, or as strong as, the more local class-average achievement. Taken together, findings highlight the potential interplay of a local dominance effect with variability and/or salience of target comparisons in academic self-concept formations.
Article
Full-text available
Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)—the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)—is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the generalizability of this frame of reference effect based on social comparison theory to primary school students and or to matched samples of primary and secondary students from different countries. Using multigroup–multilevel latent variable models, we found support for developmental and cross-cultural generalizability of the BFLPE based on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study data; positive effects of individual student achievement and the negative effects of class-average achievement on ASC were significant for each of the 26 groups (nationally representative samples of 4th- and 8th-grade students from 13 diverse countries; 117,321 students from 6,499 classes).
Article
Full-text available
Being schooled with other high-achieving peers has a detrimental influence on students' self-perceptions: School-average and class-average achievement have a negative effect on academic self-concept and career aspirations—the big-fish-little-pond effect. Individual achievement, on the other hand, predicts academic self-concept and career aspirations positively. Research from Western and developed countries implies that the negative contextual effect on career aspirations is mediated by academic self-concept. Using data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2006 (a total of 398,750 15-year-old students from 57 countries), we test the generalizability of this mediation model in science using a general multilevel structural equation modeling framework. Individual achievement was positively related to academic self-concept (52 countries) and career aspirations (42 countries). The positive effect on career aspirations was mediated by self-concept in 54 countries. The negative effects of school-average achievement on self-concept (50 countries) and career aspirations (31 countries) also generalized well. After controlling for self-concept at both the individual and the school level, there were significant indirect contextual effects in 34 countries—evidence for mediation of the contextual effect of school-average achievement on career intentions by academic self-concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
This substantive-methodological synergy demonstrates evolving multilevel latent-variable models for cross-cultural data. Using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007 data for U.S. and Saudi Arabian eighth grade students, we evaluate the psychometric properties (measurement invariance, method effects, and gender differences) of math self-concept, positive affect, coursework aspirations, and achievement. Extending the studies of the “paradoxical cross-cultural self-concept effect” largely based on U.S.-Asian comparisons, country-level differences strongly favored the United States for achievement test scores, but favored Saudi Arabia for self-concept and aspirations. Latent mean gender differences, of particular interest because of Saudi Arabia’s single-sex school system, interacted with country for all constructs. The largest interaction was for achievement test scores; there were no significant gender differences for U.S. students (in coed schools), but in single-sex Saudi schools, Saudi girls performed substantially better than Saudi boys. Consistently with previous (mostly Western) research, but not previously evaluated with TIMSS, in each of the four (2 gender × 2 country) groups all three outcomes (self-concept, affect, and aspiration) were positively influenced by individual student achievement but negatively influenced by class-average achievement (the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect: BFLPE). BFLPEs were similar in size for boys and girls in coeducational (United States) and in single-sex (Saudi) classrooms.
Article
Full-text available
A meta-analysis of 105 studies reporting 152 self-concept interventions in school settings was conducted. The aims of the study were twofold: to explore the construct validity approach to self-concept interventions, and to examine aspects of the administration of the interventions, namely treatment setting, administrator type, administrator training, and implementation standardisation procedures. In support of the multidimensional perspective of self-concept, results of the random effects model analyses suggest that targeting specific self-concept domains when measuring self-concept outcomes lead to higher effect sizes (p < 0.001). Interestingly, the treatment setting, intervention administrator type, administrator training, and the use of standardisation procedures were not significant moderators. The implications for self-concept intervention administration in school settings are discussed.
Article
Full-text available
This simulation study compared maximum likelihood (ML) estimation with weighted least squares means and variance adjusted (WLSMV) estimation. The study was based on confirmatory factor analyses with 1, 2, 4, and 8 factors, based on 250, 500, 750, and 1,000 cases, and on 5, 10, 20, and 40 variables with 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 categories. There was no model misspecification. The most important results were that with 2 and 3 categories the rejection rates of the WLSMV chi-square test corresponded much more to the expected rejection rates according to an alpha level of. 05 than the rejection rates of the ML chi-square test. The magnitude of the loadings was more precisely estimated by means of WLSMV when the variables had only 2 or 3 categories. The sample size for WLSMV estimation needed not to be larger than the sample size for ML estimation.
Article
Full-text available
Research evidence for the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) has demonstrated that attending high-ability schools has a negative effect on academic self-concept. Utilizing multilevel modeling with the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment database, the present investigation evaluated the generalizability and robustness of the BFLPE across 16 individual student characteristics. The constructs examined covered two broad areas: academic self-regulation based on a theoretical framework proposed by Zimmerman and socioeconomic status. Statistically significant moderating effects emerged in both areas; however, in relation to the large sample (N = 265,180), many were considered small. It was concluded that the BFLPE was an extremely robust effect given that it was reasonably consistent across the specific constructs examined.
Article
Full-text available
Traditional reviews and previous meta-analyses of self-concept interventions have underestimated effect sizes by using an implicitly unidimensional perspective that emphasizes global self-concept. In contrast, this research employed a synergistic blend of meta-analysis and multidimensional construct validation to evaluate the impact of self-concept interventions for children in 145 primary studies (200 interventions). Overall, interventions were significantly effective (d = .51, 460 effect sizes). However, in support of the multidimensional perspective, interventions targeting a specific self-concept domain and subsequently measuring that domain were much more effective (d = 1.16), suggesting sole reliance on global self-concept is inappropriate for evaluating interventions designed to enhance a specific component of self-concept. Other moderators (e.g., feedback, experimental design, target population groups) also influenced effect sizes in ways useful to the design of new interventions. Methodologically, this research also demonstrates the use of both fixed and random effects models and incorporation of multiple outcomes from the same study.
Article
Full-text available
Examined correlations of multiple dimensions of self-concepts in 305 6th graders from high- and low-SES schools with teacher ratings of student self-concepts and academic ability and with academic test scores. Ss were administered the Self-Description Questionnaire. The pattern of correlations demonstrated the clear separation between different areas of self-concept. Ss in low-SES/low-ability schools had higher self-concepts than in high-SES/high-ability schools, thus replicating the controversial findings by A. T. Soares and L. M. Coares (see record 1970-01244-001) and by N. Trowbridge (see record 1973-09316-001). This negative effect was substantially larger after controlling for the effect of individual SES and academic ability. It is suggested that because this is the appropriate index of the negative effect, the earlier studies seriously underestimated the size of the negative effect of school SES on self-concept. Path analytic models indicated that attendance at a high-SES school (as opposed to a low-SES school) was correlated not only with a lower level of academic self-concept but also with a somewhat higher level of academic ability/achievement. A variety of seemingly paradoxical findings are consistent with a frame of reference hypotheses, which was also used to derive the title of the present study. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
The nested Marsh/Shavelson (NMS) model integrates structural characteristics of academic self-concepts that have proved empirically incompatible in previous studies. Specifically, it conceives of academic self-concepts to be subject specific, strongly separated across domains, and hierarchically organized, with general academic self-concept at the top of the hierarchy. In Part 1 of the present study, data from a representative sample of eighth graders ( N = 4,847) from Luxembourg showed that the NMS model captures the structure of self-concepts in six core subjects. In Part 2, the NMS model was integrated into a longitudinal extended internal/external frame-of-reference model. The developmental dynamics between general and subject-specific achievement, as measured in Grade 6, and the corresponding academic self-concepts in Grade 8 were examined, with data from a subsample of students ( N = 3,045). Given its theoretical and empirical bases, the NMS model has clear potential to guide future research on academic self-concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
A new, adaptive procedure for assessing multiple dimensions of self-concept for children (aged <8 yrs) and related theoretical issues was examined. For older children the multidimensional, hierarchical structure of self-concept is now well established. For younger children, however, a paucity of research and appropriate instruments has led to the belief that self-concept is poorly differentiated and that a general self-concept may not even exist. In individual interviews, 501 students in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade completed the Self Description Questionnaire I (SDQ—I). At each grade level, confirmatory factor analyses identified all 8 SDQ—I scales, including General self-concept. With increasing age the fit of the 8-factor model improved, the size of correlations among the factors decreased, and self-concept became more differentiated. Appropriately measured self-concepts are better differentiated by young children than previously assumed.
Article
Full-text available
The use of social comparison information for self-evaluation may be viewed as a major developmental step in children's growing understanding of their competencies and limitations. The 2 studies presented here suggested that children's achievement-related self-evaluations are little affected by relative comparisons until surprisingly late—that is, not earlier than 7–8 yrs of age. In Study 1, 104 1st and 2nd graders performed a task with 3 coacting peers; only the 2nd graders made any use at all of the social comparison information in their evaluative judgments. In Study 2 an attempt was made to maximize the potential for using comparative information by providing a strong incentive to engage in social comparsion of abilities in a situation in which objective information about a success/failure outcome was unavailable. The 90 kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th graders played a game with peers and made competence-related self-evaluations and decisions about future performance. Only the judgments of the 4th graders were consistently affected by the social comparison information. Previous research on the development of social comparison and possible explanations for the developmental trends observed are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
The authors assessed change over 3 years in elementary school children's competence beliefs and subjective task value in the domains of math, reading, instrumental music, and sports. The longitudinal sample consisted of approximately 615 mostly White, lower middle to middle-class children. Stability correlations indicated moderate to strong stability in children's beliefs, especially older children's competence beliefs. The relation of children's ratings of their competence in each domain to estimates of their competence in those domains provided by both parents and teachers increased over the early elementary grades. Children's competence beliefs and ratings of the usefulness and importance of each activity decreased over time. Children's interest in reading and instrumental music decreased, but their interest in sports and math did not. Gender differences in children's competence beliefs and subjective task values did not change over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Full-text available
A simulation study compared the performance of robust normal theory maximum likelihood (ML) and robust categorical least squares (cat-LS) methodology for estimating confirmatory factor analysis models with ordinal variables. Data were generated from 2 models with 2-7 categories, 4 sample sizes, 2 latent distributions, and 5 patterns of category thresholds. Results revealed that factor loadings and robust standard errors were generally most accurately estimated using cat-LS, especially with fewer than 5 categories; however, factor correlations and model fit were assessed equally well with ML. Cat-LS was found to be more sensitive to sample size and to violations of the assumption of normality of the underlying continuous variables. Normal theory ML was found to be more sensitive to asymmetric category thresholds and was especially biased when estimating large factor loadings. Accordingly, we recommend cat-LS for data sets containing variables with fewer than 5 categories and ML when there are 5 or more categories, sample size is small, and category thresholds are approximately symmetric. With 6-7 categories, results were similar across methods for many conditions; in these cases, either method is acceptable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).
Article
Understanding how children’s broader context influences their development is critical if we are to develop policies that help them flourish. Combining sociological, economic, and psychological literature, we argue that ability stratification—the degree to which children of similar levels of ability are schooled together—influences a child’s academic self-concept. This is because countries with more ability stratification should have larger Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects (the negative effect of school average achievement on academic self-concept). We used four cycles of the Trends in International Math and Science Study to test the hypothesis that more country-level ability stratification is associated with larger country-level Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects for math self-concept. Findings strongly support this hypothesis. Our findings have implications for school system design and policy.
Article
Using a sample of third grade elementary school students (N = 514), we tested a generalized internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model using math, verbal, and physical education achievements as predictors, and math, verbal, and physical ability self-concepts and intrinsic values as outcomes. Therefore, the present study adds to the generalizability of the GI/E model across age and to the investigation of dimensional comparisons. The findings replicated the assumptions of the classic internal/external frame of reference model by showing positive within-domain relations between math (verbal) achievements and self-concepts, but negative cross-domain relations. Positive within-domain and negative cross-domain achievement relations were also found for math and verbal intrinsic values. The findings further showed positive relations between achievement and self-concept as well as between achievement and intrinsic value within the physical ability domain. In addition, the findings demonstrated a negative relation between math achievement and physical ability self-concept and between German achievement and physical ability intrinsic value. Hence, the findings indicated that dimensional comparisons operate across academic and non-academic domains. Boys and girls did not differ with regard to the relations among constructs as depicted in the GI/E model. However, differential mean levels of the constructs were found for boys and girls.
Article
Article can be found here http://rdcu.be/qmlj Abstract Expectancy-value theory of achievement moti-vation identifies two classes of beliefs that are important predictors of educational choices and achievement: expec-tancies and values. It is well known that high achieving peers can have a negative impact on self-concept and other measures of expected success: holding individual achievement constant, school or class average achievement negatively predicts self-perceptions of ability, called the Big Fish Little Pond Effect (Marsh, Journal of Educational Psychology 79(3):280–295, 1987). In this paper, research on the Big Fish Little Pond Effect is extended to students’ values in mathematics. Data were drawn from the Trans-formation of the Secondary School System and Academic Careers study including 2079 secondary school students from 156 randomly selected schools in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Using multilevel structural equation models, negative contextual effects for utility value, intrinsic/attainment value, and self-concept, and positive contextual effects for cost were found. There was no evidence for gen-der differences in the BFLPE. Self-concept significantly mediated the effects of individual and average achievement on each of the values.
Article
The big-fish-little-pond model (BFLP) and the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model highlight the great influence of social and dimensional comparison effects on academic self-concepts (ASCs). In the present study of 291 elementary school children in Grade 2, both models were tested in a unifying framework based on math and reading self-concepts and achievements. The aim was to test the BFLP model, the I/E model, and the revisited I/E model integrating both the predictions of the BFLP model and the I/E model. Results showed significantly positive within-domain achievement-self-concept relations, but no significantly negative cross-domain achievement-self-concept relations. Moreover, there were higher relations between individual achievements than between ASCs, while no support was found for positive compensatory effects of class-average achievements on ASCs. The within and cross-domain effects were generally smaller than the ones reported for older students. This research indicates that social and dimensional comparison effects on ASCs are of less importance in second graders.
Chapter
Self-concepts are subjective beliefs about the qualities that characterize us, with academic self-concepts describing our self-beliefs about our intellectual strengths and weaknesses. The chapter attempts to answer some of the most pressing questions about the role of academic self-concept as a central construct in educational theory and practice: What is self-concept? What are the consequences of high or low self-concept? What are the determinants of high or low self-concept? What can be done to positively influence self-concept? The chapter starts by explaining the multidimensional and hierarchical nature of academic self-concept. It then identifies academic self-concepts as one of the most powerful predictors of academic behavior and academic outcomes and, thus, as highly relevant for researchers and practitioners. At the same time, the chapter highlights that the development of academic self-concept is influenced by many sources, and it describes how educational interventions have to deal with these different determinants of academic self-concept. The chapter concludes with a number of suggestions for educational practice and further research.
Article
The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) postulates that class-average achievement has a negative effect on students' academic self-concept. We hypothesized that teachers' use of differentiated instruction strategies would attenuate the BFLPE on French self-concept (FSC). We also explored whether this moderation effect depended on children's individual achievement (i.e., a three-way interaction among class-average achievement, individual achievement, and differentiated instruction). Using hierarchical linear modeling, we tested this moderation effect in a sample of 422 elementary students nested in 27 classrooms. The results showed that the three-way interaction was significant. Simple slopes indicated a significant BFLPE only for students with low individual achievement and for whom teachers reported less frequent use of differentiated instruction strategies. Our findings provide insights into which students may be the most affected by the BFLPE and which teaching practices can attenuate its negative consequences on students' FSC. We discuss results in relation to the literature on the BFLPE and on differentiated instruction.
Article
Longitudinal data from large cohorts of seventh grade (n = 2,778) East and West German students were collected at the start of the reunification of the school systems to evaluate how this remarkable social experiment affects self-concept formation. Multilevel modeling demonstrated a negative "big-fish-little-pond effect" (BFLPE); attending classes where class-average math achievement was higher led to lower math self-concepts. West German students attended schools that were highly stratified in relation to ability before and after the reunification, whereas East German students first attended selective schools after the reunification. Consistent with theoretical predictions based on this difference, the negative BFLPE - the negative effect of class-average achievement - was more negative in West German schools at the start of the reunification. This difference, however, was smaller by the middle of the year and had disappeared by the end of the first post-reunification school year. Whereas East and West German results both support the negative BFLPE, their differences supported theoretical predictions, extended theory, and demonstrated how changes in school policy influence the formation of academic self-concept.
Article
Mediational studies are often of interest in psychology because they explore the underlying relationship between 2 constructs. Previous research has shown that cross-sectional designs are prone to biased estimates of longitudinal mediation parameters. The sequential design has become a popular alternative to the cross-sectional design for assessing mediation. This design is a compromise between the cross-sectional and longitudinal designs because it incorporates time in the model but has only 1 measurement each of X, M, and Y. As such, this design follows the recommendation of the MacArthur group approach, which stresses the importance of multiple waves of data for studying mediation. These 2 designs were compared to see whether the sequential design assesses longitudinal mediation more accurately than the cross-sectional design. Specifically, analytic expressions are derived for the bias of estimated direct and indirect effects as calculated from the sequential design when the actual mediational process follows a longitudinal autoregressive model. It was found that, in general, the sequential design does not assess longitudinal mediation more accurately than the cross-sectional design. As a result, neither design can be depended on to assess longitudinal mediation accurately.
Article
Given its eminent role in student learning and development, it is important to understand how academic self-concept (i.e., how one perceives oneself in an academic context) is formed. Both internal and external comparisons are considered crucial antecedents: Students form their academic self-concept to a considerable extent by (externally) comparing themselves with others and by (internally) comparing their own performance in different academic domains. Building on previous research in secondary education, the main goal of this study is to test a model integrating both comparison processes in elementary education using a large sample of Grade 4 students (N = 4,436) nested in 241 classes. Including the proposed internal and external reference effects in one integrated model, the study provided evidence for the presence of both comparison effects on two academic self-concept domains (i.e., math and verbal self-concept). Specifically, students' achievement in one domain was positively related to self-concept in that domain and negatively related to self-concept in the other domain. Additionally, class-average achievement was negatively related to academic self-concept within each domain and positively across domains. In conclusion, this study stresses the need for further integration of the major models on academic self-concept formation in a unifying theoretical framework.
Article
This study compared diagonal weighted least squares robust estimation techniques available in 2 popular statistical programs: diagonal weighted least squares (DWLS; LISREL version 8.80) and weighted least squares-mean (WLSM) and weighted least squares-mean and variance adjusted (WLSMV; Mplus version 6.11). A 20-item confirmatory factor analysis was estimated using item-level ordered categorical data. Three different nonnormality conditions were applied to 2-to 7-category data with sample sizes of 200, 400, and 800. Convergence problems were seen with nonnormal data when DWLS was used with few categories. Both DWLS and WLSMV produced accurate parameter estimates; however, bias in standard errors of parameter estimates was extreme for select conditions when nonnormal data were present. The robust estimators generally reported acceptable model-data fit, unless few categories were used with nonnormal data at smaller sample sizes; WLSMV yielded better fit than WLSM for most indices.
Article
Building on and extending existing research, this article proposes a 4-phase model of interest development. The model describes 4 phases in the development and deepening of learner interest: triggered situational interest, maintained situational interest, emerging (less-developed) individual interest, and well-developed individual interest. Affective as well as cognitive factors are considered. Educational implications of the proposed model are identified.
Article
Recent studies have analyzed social and dimensional comparisons simultaneously in order to consider their impact on students' academic self-concept (e.g., Chiu, 2012). Thereby, social comparisons refer to comparisons with the achievement level of students' classmates, whereas dimensional comparisons comprise comparisons between students' individual achievements across different domains. This paper analyzes whether both achievement comparisons influence students' subject-interest in mathematics and English (as a first foreign language). The analyses are based on N = 1390 German fifth and sixth grade students who participated in the BiKS-8-14 longitudinal study. Using multi-level analyses, results indicate that students' competences influence their mathematical and English subject-interests, demonstrating the typical pattern of social and dimensional comparisons. Further, analyses reveal mediation effects by subject-specific grades and self-concepts. These findings also apply for the development of students' subject-interest from grade 5 to grade 6. Results are discussed with respect to their implications concerning theories of achievement comparisons and interest development.
Article
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between fourth and eighth grade students’ self-concept and achievement in mathematics and science within one educational system based on the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model. The samples were from the data of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011, and hierarchical linear modeling was used to differentiate the effects of the student-level and school-level achievement on student self-concept of learning in Taiwan. The results indicated that the self-concept of students of both grade levels is positively associated with individual achievement in mathematics and science. However, there is generally a statistically significant and negative correlation between student self-concept and school mean achievement. At the same time, the results also showed that the correlation was stronger for the eighth than for the fourth grade students, and for mathematics than for science. The findings of this study document the different degree of BFLPE on students of different grades and on different academic subjects.
Article
Zusammenfassung: Dem Ubertritt von der Grundschule in die verschiedenen Schulformen der Sekundarstufe I kommt in differenzierten Schulsystemen eine zentrale Bedeutung fur die weitere Schulkarriere zu. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht, ob die Ubertrittsempfehlungen der Lehrkrafte sowie die tatsachlich zu beobachtenden Ubertrittsentscheidungen in einem systematischen Zusammenhang mit der mittleren Leistungsstarke einer Klasse stehen. Angelehnt an padagogisch-psychologische Modelle zu Referenzgruppeneffekten wurde erwartet, dass bei Kontrolle des individuellen Leistungsstands die Ubertrittsempfehlungen und -entscheidungen in leistungsstarken Klassen weniger positiv ausfallen wurden als in weniger leistungsstarken Klassen. Die Hypothese wurde in einer Erhebung mit 741 Schulerinnen und Schulern aus praktisch allen deutschsprachigen Klassen des Kantons Freiburg (Schweiz) gepruft. Die Schulerinnen und Schuler nahmen am Ende ihrer Grundschulzeit an einem standardisierten Leistungstest teil; zudem bewerteten die...
Article
This research examines the validity of self-concept interpretations of scores from a new instrument for use with university-aged respondents. The Self Description Questionnaire III (SDQ III) was designed to measure 13 factors of self-concept, and these dimensions were identified with conventional and confirmatory factor analyses. In two different studies, the reliabilities of the 13 factors were high (median alpha = 0.89) and correlations among the factors were low (median r = 0.09). Correlations among a wide variety of validity criteria and the multiple dimensions of self-concept measured by the SDQ III formed a logical and theoretically consistent pattern of relationships. Academic achievement measures in language and mathematics were substantially correlated with self-concepts in the same areas but not with other self-concept factors. Ratings by significant others for all 13 SDQ HI scales were substantially correlated with the measures of corresponding self-concepts, but were not substantially correlated with the measures of noncorresponding self-concepts. These findings offer strong support for the construct validity of both self-concept and interpretations based upon the SDQ III.
Article
Zusammenfassung. Daten von N = 1939 Gymnasiasten/innen im letzten Jahr der Sekundarstufe II, die an der dritten internationalen Mathematik- und Naturwissenschaftsstudie (TIMSS) teilgenommen hatten, wurden zur Uberprufung des big-fish-little-pond-effects (BFLPE) ausgewertet. Der BFLPE beschreibt das Phanomen, das sich das mittlere Leistungsniveau einer Klasse oder Schule bei Konstanthaltung der individuellen Leistungsfahigkeit negativ auf das Begabungsselbstkonzept auswirkt (Marsh, 1986, 1990). In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wurde zusatzlich zur individuellen und mittleren Mathematik-Testleistung das Kursniveau (Grund- vs. Leistungskurs) als unabhangige Variable erhoben. Auf seiten der abhangigen Variablen wurde neben dem fachspezifischen Begabungskonzept auch das Interesse an Mathematik als Indikator fur intrinsische Lernmotivation erhoben. Mehrebenenanalysen auf der Basis des hierarchical linear modelings (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992) replizieren den BFLPE fur das Selbstkonzept. Es zeigt sich auch ein BFLP...
Article
Academic abilities were substantially correlated with academic self-concept for Year 6 students (n = 305), but were uncorrelated with non-academic self-concepts. Schools for this study were specifically chosen to represent the highest and lowest strata of socioeconomic status (SES) within the same geographical area, and students from the high-SES schools were substantially higher in family SES, reading ability, IQ, and teacher ratings of academic ability. Nevertheless, students from the high-SES schools had paradoxically lower academic self-concepts after controlling for academic ability and/or family SES. Thus, academic self-concept is positively affected by individual ability and SES, but is negatively affected by school-average values of these same variables. These paradoxical findings are consistent with a frame of reference model which hypothesizes that students appraise their own academic ability, compare this with the observed abilities of other children in the school, and use this relativistic impression of their ability to form their academic self-concept. Thus, a given child will see him/herself to be relatively more able in a low-SES/ability school and will form a more favourable academic self-concept than if the same child is in a high-SES/ability school.
Article
Selected cognitive developments presumed to mediate the development of achievement motivation are described. 4 levels of reasoning or causal schemes involving the concepts of effort and ability were isolated and age trends from 5 to 13 years presented. The developments of capacity to infer ability required by tasks of different difficulty levels and the belief that more difficult tasks have greater incentive value of success were described. These achievements occurred at about the same time as the development of the second level of reasoning about effort and ability. It is suggested that these findings help account for certain developmental changes in achievement behavior. Perception of own academic attainment was less closely related to attainment in young children than older children. The age changes in perception of own attainment and causal schemes are held to be likely to contribute to age increases in the stability of individual differences in achievement behavior and academic attainment. The educational implications of the study are noted.