SOCIAL-COMPARISON IN CLASSROOM - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC-ACHIEVEMENT AND SELF-CONCEPT

One hypothesis derived from social comparison theory is that the relationship between academic achievement and self-concept can best be understood in terms of the child's achievement standing compared with that of classmates. This hypothesis was tested on 159 6-12 yr old academic underachievers in 17 self-contained classrooms. Ss were administered the Metropolitan Achievement Test and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. When relative within-classroom achievement standing was not considered, reading achievement was not significantly related to self-concept, although mathematics achievement was. When relative within-classroom achievement standing was considered, both reading and math achievement were found to be significantly related to self-concept. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1978 American Psychological Association.