The Structure of Academic Self-Concept: A Methodological Review and Empirical Illustration of Central Models

A Katrin Arens,Martin Brunner,Malte Jansen,Franzis Preckel,Isabelle Schmidt

doi:10.3102/0034654320972186

Abstract

The structure of academic self-concept (ASC) is assumed to be multidimensional and hierarchical. This methodological review considers the most central models depicting the structure of ASC: a higher-order factor model, the Marsh/Shavelson model, the nested Marsh/Shavelson model, a bifactor representation based on exploratory structural equation modeling, and a first-order factor model. We elaborate on how these models represent the theoretical assumptions on the structure of ASC and outline their inherent psychometric properties. We analyzed these models using a data set of German 10th-grade students (N = 1,232) including a wide range of domain-specific ASCs as well as general ASC. The correlations among ASCs and between ASCs and academic achievement varied depending on the structural model used. We conclude with discussing recommendations for research purposes and advantages and limitations of each ASC model. Our approach may also guide research on other affective or motivational constructs (e.g., academic anxiety or interest).

Highlights

IntroductionThe structure of academic self-concept (ASC) is assumed to be multidimensional and hierarchical
The structure of academic self-concept (ASC) is assumed to be multidimensional and hierarchical. This methodological review considers the most central models depicting the structure of ASC: a higher-order factor model, the Marsh/ Shavelson model, the nested Marsh/Shavelson model, a bifactor representation based on exploratory structural equation modeling, and a first-order factor model
The goal of this methodological review is to provide an in-depth discussion of five central ASC models that have been most often applied or have recently been developed in contemporary ASC research: the higher-order factor model, the Marsh/ Shavelson model, the nested Marsh/Shavelson model, a bifactor representation based on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and the first-order factor model

Summary

Introduction

The structure of academic self-concept (ASC) is assumed to be multidimensional and hierarchical. The purpose of previous work on different models on the structure of ASC (Brunner et al, 2010; Marsh, 1990b; Morin et al, 2016) was to introduce new models of ASC that addressed the challenges of previous models, rather than providing a comprehensive review and systematic comparison of existing models The goal of this methodological review is to provide an in-depth discussion of five central ASC models that have been most often applied or have recently been developed in contemporary ASC research: the higher-order factor model, the Marsh/ Shavelson model, the nested Marsh/Shavelson model, a bifactor representation based on exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and the first-order factor model. Given that other vital constructs in education research (e.g., academic anxiety, academic interest) share theoretical and psychometric underpinnings with ASC (e.g., domain specificity; Gogol et al, 2017), the present article may be relevant for researchers focusing on such constructs

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Conclusion