Abstract:
The following research paper was a study into change in student
academic and general self-concept with increase in grade level
and age# The majority of literature found by this researcher dealt
with self-concept and its relationship to achievement and interactions
with others, Review, then, was in these two areas-particularily within
the academic setting, but outside of it as well. It wrs hypothesized
that there would be a decrease in both academic and general student
self-concept with increase in grade level and age.
Self-Appraisal inventories, measuring general and academic selfconcept,
and Inferential Self-Reports, measuring only academic selfconcept,
were the instruments used* Subjects were students, Trade 1
to 13, and ranging in age from 5 to 21„ Although al] Self-Appraisal
inventories and all Self-1?eports were very similar, they differed
according to three Grade levels: Primary (Grades 1 to 3)> Intermediate
(Grades L to 8), and Secondary (Grades 9 to 13) • Students in the Primary
division received only their respective Self-Appraisal inventory,
while others v/ere administered both inventories designed for their
grade level.
Scores on the inventories were computed to percents and then
mean percents were arrived at for epch grade, each of the three grade
levels, each age, and each of three age intervals. In all of these
instances Spearman1 s rank order coefficients (!lpff) were calculated and
significance, at the *05 level, was determined by referring to a table
of critical values for one-tailed tests* Similarily fftff scores were
computed, but only for individual grades and ages, and significance
was determined at the *0b level* In only one instance, the General
Dimension for individual grades, was significance of overall decrease
found* Consequently the hypotheses put forth did not gain support*
The fltff scores, however, revealed some isolated significant changes for the Academic Dimension, which were generally decreases in mean
percents from the last grade of one level to the first grade of the
next* For age mean percents, significant changes generally took place
at early (5 or 6) and late (20 or 21) ages*
A number of reasons for the results were presented and were generally
based upon the studentfs encounters, or lack of encounters,
with achievement or success* No definite conclusions, relevant to the
hypotheses stated^ could be made, although a number of isolated ones
were drawn on the basis of significant fltff scores* As well, mention
was made of the possible trends or tendencies that were revealed by
the results, but that could not, or were not, proven significant by
"t's11 or "p's"* Teaching methods stressing improvement in academic,
as well as socially related, situations, were recommended and a model
teaching approach was presented in Appendix B#
