Loading...
Which class matters? Juxtaposing multiple class environments as frames-of-reference for academic self-concept formation
Fleischmann, Moritz Hübner, Nicolas Marsh, Herbert W. Guo, Jiesi Trautwein, Ulrich Nagengast, Benjamin
Fleischmann, Moritz
Hübner, Nicolas
Marsh, Herbert W.
Guo, Jiesi
Trautwein, Ulrich
Nagengast, Benjamin
Abstract
Equally able students have lower academic self-concept in high achieving schools or classes, a phenomenon known as the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). The class (more so than the school) has been shown to be the pivotal frame-of-reference for academic self-concept formation—a local dominance effect. However, many school systems worldwide employ forms of course-by-course tracking, thus exposing students to multiple class environments. Due to the high correlation between multiple student environments, the frame-of-reference used for academic self-concept formation in course-by-course tracked systems is unclear to date. We addressed this unresolved issue by using data from a comprehensive survey that measured the entire population of Austrian eighth-grade students in the domain of mathematics in 2012. General secondary school students were in the core subjects (i.e., mathematics, German, and English) grouped according to ability, whereas regular class composition was the same in all other subjects. Using cross-classified multilevel models, we regressed math self-concept on average math achievement of students’ school, math class, and regular class. Consistent with the local dominance effect, we found the BFLPE on the school level to be weak after controlling for the class levels. We found a stronger BFLPE on the regular class level and the strongest BFLPE on the math class level. Our study demonstrates the importance of multiple class environments as frames-of-reference for academic self-concept formation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords
academic self-concept, big fish little pond effect, social comparison, course-by-course tracking, cross-classified multilevel model
Date
2022
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Educational Psychology
Book
Volume
114
Issue
1
Page Range
127-143
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Open
Controlled
Controlled