Essay 1.10 - Academic Self-Concept : A Central Motivational Construct

Academic self-concept is a person’s perceived competence and sense of their own abilities and skills in academic subjects. In an educational setting, having a positive academic self-concept leads to improvements in a host of educational outcomes such as achievement, attainment, persistence, and course selection. Academic self-concept even predicts these outcomes after controlling for previous levels of achievement. Importantly, research has shown academic self-concept to be a stronger predictor of achievement than other motivational constructs, suggesting that it might be one of the most important motivational constructs. The importance of academic self-concept as a central motivation construct in educational settings distinguishes it from related self-belief constructs.

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