A longitudinal analysis of the interaction of self-concept of aptitude and math achievement in elementary school children

Abstract

The relationship between students’ self-concept and their academic achievement has been the subject of considerable interest and speculation in educational psychology. As far as the direction of causality is concerned, two conflicting theories exist. Advocates of the selfenhancement theory claim that self-concept is primarily a cause of achievement, whereas proponents of the skill-development theory maintain that self-concept is more a result of past achievement. Although the question of causality has been of primary concern for educators, given the implications for counseling, remediation, and compensatory education, the empirical basis for this controversy is rather scarce. Calsyn & Kenny’s (1977) statement that ((the debate between self-enhancement and skill development theorists has been’ largely rhetorical for both conceptual and methodological reasons)) (p. 136) is still valid. Methodologically, the positive concurrent relationship between self-concept and academic achievement, which has been demonstrated by vast literature, is difficult to interpret causally since correlations based on cross-sectional studies are necessarily equivocal in terms of causality. Therefore, longitudinal studies are needed. Very few such studies have been documented in the literature, however. Thus, the objective of this paper (for a long version, focusing also on mediating processes between self-concept and achievement, see Helmke, in press) is to analyze the dynamics of interaction between children’s self-concept of ability and their math achievement on the basis of a longitudinal study.