Academic self-concept is a critical factor to consider when evaluating the chances of academic success and achievement in students in minority groups. Whether those groups are based on race, ethnicity, low socioeconomic status, or various other factors that put the students at higher risk. It is the place of the educator to try and do what they can to help close those gaps that separate these students from a more positive academic self-concept. How can we help ourselves and the young people of the future make the most of their lives?
Applied social psychology is a great way to approach such a problem, but to apply it to help close the gap, we have to understand what causes the gap. What is the route of doubt in the student’s self-concept, does it stem from an environmental cause, like a household where there is a lack of academic example because adults in the household did not finish their own education? Does it stem from prejudice or discrimination that the student experiences in the educational environment? Is it a low-income area where success is hard because there are not enough resources? Does it stem from a difference in what the student believes is most important? Where relationships are prized above money or education? The most likely answer is a combination of many different factors combined.
I grew up in a low-income area. However, unlike others in our community, my parents were well educated. I think it is far to stay that I grew up in a limbo position. Education was important, but academics were not the most important thing in our community. I had the things I needed, but I did not have every opportunity that comes from a higher income area. For example, not all the classes and clubs were available at my school that would have helped me educationally and brought more scholarship opportunities. There was not a STEM club, there were no big after school programs to encourage academic pursuits.
I was still one of the lucky ones because I did have the support of the adults in my life, encouraging me to succeed academically. However, I also struggled with math and had trouble believing in my abilities in that regard which made me more reluctant to put as much effort into it. This led to some rough times during my grade school years. As it turns out my story is one shared by many children that grew up in similar circumstances.
According to Rady, Kabeer, and El-Nady, “Self-concept is the core of human personality. It refers to the totality of people’s perception about their physical, social and academic competence” (Rady, H. E., Kabeer, S., & El-Nady, M. T., 2016). This means it is the root of how a student/child/person views themselves. It is based on perceptions the individual has about themselves, it includes the characteristics, qualities, failings, struggles, successes, and values that the individual comes to believe about themselves. This means it impacts every aspect of a person’s life, including their academic efforts, achievements, and failures and ultimately it provides the framework for what a person believes they can achieve in life.
One’s academic self-concept, according to Cooper, Krieg, and Brownell “is one’s perception of his or her ability in an academic domain and is formed by comparing oneself to other students” (Cooper, K. M., Krieg, A., & Brownell, S. E., 2018). This type of perception shapes what we believe. We can achieve academically and therefore ultimately helps decide what we will achieve, or not achieve academically. This means that what I believed I was capable of in mathematics shaped what I was actually capable of in the subject.
This has been an interesting area of investigation in recent years, especially among minority groups in America, such as the subjects of Germine Awad’s study of college students in 2007. In Awad’s study among African American students, “The results indicated that academic self-concept significantly predicted students’ GPA but not their test scores” (Awad,2007). Self-concept can be as limiting or as inspiring as we allow it to be. If there had been a teacher there that actually boosted my confidence, showed me the right way to approach the subject, and told me I was capable, then there is a good chance I would have been more capable.
Interestingly, Cooper, along with her colleagues found in that study that generally “men had significantly higher academic self-concept relative to their groupmate compared with women” (Cooper, K. M., Krieg, A., & Brownell, S. E., 2018). While Rady and his colleagues reported that “most studies showed that, on average, girls did better in school than boys. Girls got higher grades and completed high school at a higher rate compared to boys’ standardized achievement tests also show that females were better at spelling and performed better on tests of literacy, writing, and general knowledge (Rady, H. E., Kabeer, S., & El-Nady, M. T., (2016). Though these findings seem to contradict each other one thing has become clear. Whether we are male or female or even non-binary, our self-concept or self-belief is affected by everything from our sex to our family history, and the region that we live. It is no surprise that it can have such a drastic effect on our lives both as students and as members of society at large.
Having outside support is also important for the development of our academic self-concept, if a student is noticed, supported, their achievements recognized and encouraged it can drastically improve their future performance academically. The problem, as Flowers and Banda reported is that “Unfortunately, who is deemed as either a “gifted” or “smart” within the context of our educational system remains a narrow prescription “(Flowers III, A. M., & Banda, R. M., 2018). As an adult college student, I can attest to the importance of a support system. When I entered college my test scores indicated that I needed some extra help with time test, but Penn State was ready and willing to provide that help and I have met some wonderful professors who have shown me I can believe in myself and my capabilities. I have since gone on to be a very successful student.
A student can be successful regardless of their race, gender, ethnic, or racial background. The most important thing is what kind of academic self-concept the person develops. The adults in their lives, from parents, neighbors, friends and educators have a large influence on what a student’s academic self-concept can be. If the adults in their lives support them and guide them and encourage them to believe in themselves then they will be more likely to succeed in their academic pursuits and in their adult lives.
References
Awad, G. H. (2007). The role of racial identity, academic self-concept, and self-esteem in the prediction of academic outcomes for African American students. Journal of Black Psychology, 33(2), 188-207.
Cooper, K. M., Krieg, A., & Brownell, S. E. (2018). Who perceives they are smarter? Exploring the influence of student characteristics on student academic self-concept in physiology. Advances in physiology education, 42(2), 200-208.
Flowers III, A. M., & Banda, R. M. (2018). When Giftedness and Poverty Collide and Why it Matters: Gifted, Poor, Black Males Majoring in Engineering. Journal of African American Males in Education, 9(1).
Rady, H. E., Kabeer, S., & El-Nady, M. T. (2016). Relationship between academic self concept and students’ performance among school age children. American Journal of Nursing Science, 5(6), 295-302.
I can relate to a lower self-concept when it comes to math. I went to a small school in rural central Oklahoma, and while I had a 4.0 GPA, I did not learn the right way to study and understand algebra as thoroughly as I should have. When I started college, I took an algebra class and ended up with a C, because I did not believe I could understand the work. Since my academic self-concept needed improvement, I was not as motivated to achieve in that respect. If I had felt more capable, I may have tried harder and gotten a better grade. I mentioned this to a friend who knew me all through my school days. He was perplexed because his perception of me was that I was good at math.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who is reluctant to take on numbers. In an article by Pieronkiewicz (2017), 149 schoolchildren are interviewed about their feelings toward math, and many reported fear of failure, negative experiences in the past that caused emotional responses, or that they did not understand math.
Pieronkiewicz B. (2017) What are students afraid of when they say they are afraid of mathematics?. In: Andrà C., Brunetto D., Levenson E., & Liljedahl P. (eds) Teaching and Learning in Maths Classrooms. Research in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham.