Date of Award
Fall 2003
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Bardwell, Rebecca
Second Advisor
Fox, Robert
Third Advisor
Laughlin, Timothy
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship of students' domain specific self-concepts and efficacy beliefs to academic performance of minority students. According to the literature, both self-concept and self-efficacy beliefs are two types of self-beliefs prominent in motivation research which are important to investigate to better understand academic performance. The study focused on both self-concept and self-efficacy beliefs simultaneously in order to gain information about students' self-perceptions in different domains and at different level of specificity. The subjects for the present study were minority middle school students from a large urban school system. The study used the Multidimensional Self Concept Scale (Bracken, 1992) to assess students' self-perceptions in six different domains (Family, Social, Affect, Competence, Physical, and Academic). The Children's Self-Efficacy Scale (Bandura, 1989) was used to assess students' self-efficacy beliefs for academic achievement and self-efficacy beliefs for self-regulated learning. The two self-efficacy measures were used to assess students' beliefs about their capabilities to master academic subjects and their capabilities to regulate their learning activities in ways which foster academic achievement. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that Academic Self Concept and Physical Self Concept contributed to the prediction of academic performance as did self efficacy for academic achievement and self-efficacy for self-regulated learning. A comparison of the relative influence of Academic Self-Concept and self-efficacy beliefs on academic performance showed that Academic Self Concept and self-efficacy for academic achievement predicted academic performance for the total sample. However the results differed when the sample was separated by sex and socio-economic status. For males Academic Self Concept predicted academic performance, while for females both Academic Self Concept and self-efficacy for academic achievement predicted academic performance. For the low socio-economic status (SES) group, Academic Self Concept predicted academic performance, while for the higher SES group self-efficacy for academic achievement and Academic Self Concept predicted academic performance. Results of the present study add to the body of data which indicate that academic self-concept and self-efficacy beliefs are important components of motivation which need to be taken into account to better understand academic performance. However, present findings also suggest that academic self-concept and self-efficacy beliefs have different predictive powers for different groups.