Abstract:
Relations among achievement, self-concept, and motivation in mathematics
and language arts were examined in a longitudinal 2-wave, 3-variable panel
study. The participants were 3 cohorts of Norwegian elementary and middle school
students (N = 1,005). The 1st data collection took place in October and November
1996, when the students in the 3 cohorts attended 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades. The 2nd
data collection took place 1 academic year later. LISREL 8 was used in the separate
analyses of mathematics and language arts data; the data were analyzed for each
cohort by means of 6 path analyses for latent variables. In all cohorts, the results
were consistent with a skill-development model of the achievement-self-concept relation,
that is, the view that achievement affects subsequent self-concept. No evidence
was found that self-concept affects subsequent achievement (self-enhancement
model). Moreover, in the 2 oldest cohorts, motivation was affected by previous
achievement. However, there was no evidence that self-concept affects subsequent
motivation or achievement. Expectations of a developmental change in the achievement-
self-concept relation was not supported.
