Abstract
The reciprocal relationship between academic self-concept (ASC) and academic achievement has been documented in multiple studies. However, this relationship has not been investigated fully from a developmental perspective. In the present meta-analysis, 240 effect sizes were aggregated from 68 longitudinal studies to examine the longitudinal relationship between ASC and achievement. The results found that achievement significantly predicted ASC (β = 0.16, p < 0.01) and vice-versa (β = 0.08, p < 0.01) after controlling for the initial level of outcome variables, which provided further evidence for the reciprocal effects model (REM). Moderator analyses found that the effect of achievement on ASC was significantly moderated by student age, whereas the effect of ASC on achievement was significantly moderated by student age, achievement level, and types of achievement measurement. Combining the significant moderating effect of age on the paths leading from ASC to achievement and from achievement to ASC, the relationship between ASC and achievement was found to demonstrate a trend from a strong skill-development effect to a pronounced reciprocal effect with age within the framework of the REM.
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References
*References marked with an asterisk indicate studies included in the meta-analysis.
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The authors would like to acknowledge Herbert W. Marsh and Fang **e for their helpful comments in relation to this article.
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Conceptualization: Huimin Wu, Cheng Guo and Yiqun Guo; methodology: Huimin Wu, Yingkai Yang and Yiqun Guo; writing—original draft preparation: Huimin Wu and Yiqun Guo; writing—review and editing: Le Zhao and Cheng Guo; funding acquisition: Yiqun Guo, Le Zhao, and Cheng Guo.
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Wu, H., Guo, Y., Yang, Y. et al. A Meta-analysis of the Longitudinal Relationship Between Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement. Educ Psychol Rev 33, 1749–1778 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09600-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09600-1