Gorges Julia, Hollmann Jelena
Department of Psychology, Educational Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Eur J Psychol. 2019 Sep 27;15(3):491-508. doi: 10.5964/ejop.v15i3.1716. eCollection 2019 Sep.
Academic self-concepts of ability are key factors in promoting education and learning throughout students' school career. Yet we know little about their structure and structural change when students leave high school to face novel academic tasks. The present study investigated the structure and structural change of first-year students' study-related self-concepts of ability. Data stems from a longitudinal study with two measurement points covering the initial study phase (t1: N = 341; age: M = 21.6; SD = 3.56; 57.5% female). Self-concepts were assessed regarding the participants' study program and four of its subordinate subjects. Confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation models were used to compare structural models and to investigate structural stability and directional effects. Results support the assumption of multidimensionality (i.e., distinct self-concepts for different subjects) and hierarchy with a generic field-of-study-specific self-concept at the apex. Specifying generic field-of-study-specific self-concept as a method factor (i.e., indicated by both subject-specific and field-of-study-specific items) was most consistent with theoretical assumptions. The structural model was invariant over the first months at university. Generic field-of-study-specific self-concept and subject-specific self-concepts largely developed independently from one another. The results emphasize the recently suggested conceptualization of generic self-concept as a method factor to reflect self-concept hierarchy. Self-concepts were structurally stable over time. Several significant horizontal effects (i.e., stability within subjects) suggest that students align their self-concepts closely to the curriculum they encounter in educational contexts and, therefore, may benefit from ample feedback on their performance to develop appropriate subject-specific self-concepts.
学业能力自我概念是促进学生整个学业生涯中教育与学习的关键因素。然而，当学生离开高中去面对新的学术任务时，我们对其结构及结构变化知之甚少。本研究调查了一年级学生与学习相关的能力自我概念的结构及结构变化。数据源自一项纵向研究，有两个测量点，涵盖初始学习阶段（t1：N = 341；年龄：M = 21.6；标准差 = 3.56；57.5%为女性）。针对参与者的学习项目及其四个下属学科评估了自我概念。使用验证性因素分析和结构方程模型来比较结构模型，并研究结构稳定性和方向性影响。结果支持多维性假设（即不同学科有不同的自我概念）以及层级性假设，其中处于顶端的是一般学科领域特定的自我概念。将一般学科领域特定的自我概念指定为方法因素（即由学科特定和学科领域特定项目共同表明）与理论假设最为一致。在大学的最初几个月里，结构模型是不变的。一般学科领域特定的自我概念和学科特定的自我概念在很大程度上相互独立发展。研究结果强调了最近提出的将一般自我概念概念化为反映自我概念层级的方法因素。自我概念在结构上随时间保持稳定。几个显著的水平效应（即学科内的稳定性）表明，学生将他们的自我概念与他们在教育环境中遇到的课程紧密对齐，因此，可能会从关于他们表现的充分反馈中受益，以发展适当的学科特定自我概念。
