A Model of Academic Self-Concept: Perceived Difficulty and Social Comparison Among Academically Accelerated Secondary School Students

Authors

Hope E. Wilson, University of North FloridaFollow
Del Siegle, University of Connecticut
D. Betsy McCoach, University of Connecticut
Catherine A. Little, University of Connecticut
Sally M. Reis, University of Connecticut

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2014

Abstract

Academic self-concept predicts students' future goals and is affected by a student's relative success compared with his or her peer group. This exploratory study used structural equation modeling to examine the contributions of the perceived level of difficulty of the curriculum, in addition to the contributions of social comparison and achievement in schoolwork, to academic self-concept among students enrolled in advanced coursework. Along with school achievement, perceived difficulty and social comparison also predicted academic self-concept. The final model indicated that students differentiate between learner self-concept, which is how students perceived their ability to understand new ideas or knowledge, and student self-concept, which is how they perceived their abilities to succeed in school-related tasks. Of these two constructs, student self-concept was a better predictor of future goals; however, the overall effect was small. © 2014 National Association for Gifted Children.

Publication Title

Gifted Child Quarterly

Volume

58

Issue

2

First Page

111

Last Page

126

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1177/0016986214522858

ISSN

00169862

E-ISSN

19349041

Citation Information

Wilson, Siegle, D., McCoach, D. B., Little, C. A., & Reis, S. M. (2014). A Model of Academic Self-Concept: Perceived Difficulty and Social Comparison Among Academically Accelerated Secondary School Students. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 58(2), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986214522858