Secondary School Transition and the Use of Different Sources of Information for the Construction of the Academic Self‐concept

Abstract

This study focuses on processes involved in students' academic self-concept constructions before, during, and after secondary school transition. The study is based on a four-wave longitudinal dataset (N = 1953). Structural equation modeling showed that during school transition, the impact of grades on students' academic self-concepts in Math and English decreased whereas the effects of maternal competence perceptions increased. After the transition, the effects of grades increased, while the effects maternal competence beliefs decreased again. The results are interpreted in terms of differential emphasizing of sources of information for students' self-concept construction. During school transition, elementary school grades lost informational value for selfevaluations due to the changed frame of reference. To secure stable and valid selfassessments, students emphasized other sources than grades; in this, case information obtained through parental competence appraisals. After transition, when valid grades were available for the students' constructions again, the temporarily heightened parental influence decreased again.

Parents' math–gender stereotypes, children's self-perception of ability, and children's appraisal of parents' evaluations in 6-year-olds

“…Consistent with the predictions of the EVT, the positive association between parents' evaluation of their children's academic skills and offspring's perception of such abilities has received strong empirical support in the last three decades (e.g., Alexander, Entwisle, Blyth, & McAdoo, 1988;Eccles[Parsons] et al, 1982;Gniewosz, Eccles, & Noack, 2012;Simpkins, Fredricks, & Eccles, 2015). Importantly, parents' evaluations have been found to mediate the association between performance-related indicators (such as teacher's ratings) and children's self-perception of ability (e.g., Frome & Eccles, 1998;Tiedemann, 2000), and especially in the very first elementary grades children have been found to be sensitive to information conveyed by parents (Fredricks & Eccles, 2002;Herbert & Stipek, 2005;Spinath & Spinath, 2005).…”

Validação da Escala de Autoconceito e Autoestima para Pré-adolescentes (EAAPA) e Análise da Estrutura Organizativa do Autoconceito

“…Para a análise da correlação testereteste há que ter em consideração investigações relativas a constructos idênticos que tenham aplicado um intervalo de tempo similar entre avaliações. Deste modo, os resultados obtidos para as dimensões Autoconceito Académico, Competência a Matemática, Competência a Língua Materna, Aceitação Social e Autoestima situam-se dentro dos valores encontrados em estudos similares (Chen, Yeh, Hwang, & Lin, 2013;Gniewosz, Eccles, & Noack, 2012;Green, Liem, Martin, Colmar, Marsh, & McInerney, 2012;Guay, Ratelle, Roy, & Litalien, 2010;Lindwall, Asci, & Crocker, 2014 Nagengast, 2011;Pinxten, Marsh, De Fraine, Van Den Noortgate, & Van Damme, 2014;Preckel, Niepel, Schneider, & Brunner, 2013;Vogl & Preckel, 2014;Wouters, De Fraine, Colpin, Van Damme, & Verschueren, 2012) (Lindwall et al, 2014;Morin et al, 2011;Marsh et al, 2007;Preckel et al, 2013) …”

“…Relativamente à fiabilidade, as diferentes dimensões apresentaram valores adequados, quer para o alfa de Cronbach quer para a fiabilidade compósita. A estabilidade temporal das diferentes dimensões do autoconceito revelou-se igualmente adequada, tendo em conta o intervalo temporal considerado e os estudos de referência (Chen et al, 2013;Gniewosz et al, 2012;Green et al, 2012;Guay et al, 2010;Lindwall et al, 2014;Morin et al, 2011;Marsh et al, 2007;Pinxten et al, 2014;Preckel et al, 2013;Vogl & Preckel, 2014;Wouters et al, 2012).…”

“…Um autoconceito positivo associa-se a variáveis como bem-estar psicológico, motivação, rendimento académico e escolhas vocacionais (Barros, 2012;Gómez-Maqueo, Eguiarte, & Patiño, 2007;Peixoto, 2011;Peixoto & Almeida, 2010;Peixoto & Carvalho, 2009). Neste sentido, a promoção do autoconceito torna-se essencial para o bem-estar e sucesso académico dos sujeitos, sendo de igual forma importante a existência de instrumentos válidos que o permitam caracterizar.…”

The Development of Adolescents’ Self-Concept of Ability Through Grades 7-9 and the Role of Parental Beliefs

“…Second, parents can also provide different learning opportunities for their children based on their beliefs about their children's abilities (Jacobs & Eccles, 2000). Children then interpret this information from their parents and incorporate it into their self-concept of ability (Jacobs & Eccles, 2000).There is also strong empirical evidence for the assumption that parents' beliefs about their children's academic performance affect children's subject-specific self-concept of ability (Eccles Parsons, Adler, & Kaczala, 1982;Frome & Eccles, 1998;Gniewosz, Eccles, & Noack, 2012;Jacobs, 1991;McGrath & Repetti, 2000;Phillips, 1987). For example, parents' beliefs in their child's success in the literacy domain have been found to be positively related to sixth-grade children's self-concept of their literacy ability (Frome & Eccles, 1998).…”