Big-fish-little-pond effect on achievement emotions in relation to mathematics performance and gender

Marja Eliisa Holm,Johan Korhonen,Anu Laine,Piia Maria Björn,Markku Sakari Hannula

doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101692

Marja Eliisa Holm, Johan Korhonen + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101692

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Abstract

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.

Highlights

Experiencing pleasant achievement emotions is an important educational goal for adolescents, as such emotions affect every aspect of learning and are strongly related to students’ wellbeing (Pekrun, 2017)
The present study investigated the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) on mathematics-related achievement emotions among a representative sample of Finnish adolescents and whether the BFLPE varies in strength across adolescents with different performance levels and genders
We investigated the BFLPE on mathematics-related achievement emotions and its interactions with mathematics performance and gender

Summary

Introduction

Experiencing pleasant achievement emotions is an important educational goal for adolescents, as such emotions affect every aspect of learning and are strongly related to students’ wellbeing (Pekrun, 2017). Being a member of a higher-performing classroom might benefit adolescents’ academic learning, the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) indicates that adolescents in mathematically higher-performing classrooms might have a low mathematics self-concept (Marsh, Parker, & Pekrun, 2019) and experience unpleasant mathematics-related achievement emotions (Pekrun, Murayama, Marsh, Goetz, & Frenzel, 2019). This negative classroom-level effect is evident higher academic performance is related to a higher self-concept or pleasant achievement emotions at the student level. This comparison might lead them to feel negative about their success, so they may experience more unpleasant achieve ment emotions (Pekrun et al, 2019) and have a lower self-concept than adolescents with the same performance level in lower-performing classrooms (Dijkstra, Kuyper, van der Werf, Buunk, & van der Zee, 2008; Marsh & Hau, 2003; Marsh et al, 2008; Seaton, Marsh, & Craven, 2009).

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