Date of Award

12-1-1972

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

Abstract

Problem: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the direction and degree of relationship between self concept and academic achievement among elementary students in an experimental program. A second purpose was to determine the amount and direction of change in the teachers' perception of the students.

Procedure: The research population was selected from students and staff in the Carl Ben Eielson and Nathan Twining Elementary Schools, in Grand Forks, North Dakota during the 1971-72 school year. These schools were participating in an experimental project, entitled Human Awareness through Self Enhancing Education (HATSEE), which was designed to enhance self concept and attitudes of students and staff.

The sources of data for this study were the Self Appraisal Inventory, the School Sentiment Index, the Class Play, the What Would You Do?, the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, and the Ideal Child Checklist. These instruments were administered to the research population early in the fall and late in the spring of the school year.

The statistical procedures employed in this study consisted of Pearson product-moment correlations, canonical correlations, and related t tests. The .01 and .05 levels were used for interpreting and evaluating the significance of the findings.

Findings: 1. There was a significant difference among students between initial testing and retesting of self concept, on the variables peer (SAI), family, school, general, composite (SAI), peer (SSI), composite (SSI), and Class Play in third grade; school in fourth grade; peer (SAI), family, composite (SAI), subject, and Class Play in fifth grade; learning in sixth grade; structure in seventh grade; and structure in eighth grade.

2. There was a significant difference among students between initial testing and retesting of academic achievement, on the variables reading, language, arithmetic, and composite in third grade; reading in fourth grade; vocabulary and composite in fifth grade; and reading in sixth grade.

3. There was a significant positive canonical correlation between self concept and academic achievement on the initial tests for grades three, five, six, seven, and eight.

4. There was a significant positive canonical correlation between self concept and academic achievement on the retests for grades four, five, six, seven, and eight.

5. There was a significant difference between initial testing and retesting of the teachers' perception of the students, on the characteristics affectionate, remember well, guessing, self sufficient, never bored, talkative, and conforming. The remaining 59 characteristics were nonsignificant .

Conclusions: 1. During the school year the greatest changes in school self concept occurred at the third and fifth grade level. The significant changes in self concept were negative for third grade except for the Class Play and negative for fifth grade except for the family variable.

2. Significant changes in self concept for grades three, four, and five were indicated primarily by the Self Appraisal Inventory and the Class Play. The significant changes in self concept for grades six, seven, and eight were indicated primarily by the School Sentiment Index.

3. In grades three, four, and five there was an increasing number of positive, but not necessarily significant, t values on the self concept variables corresponding to the students increase in age. The same trend occurs with grades six, seven, and eight.

4. The adjusted t values for all the variables of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were positive for grades three and five, but generally negative for grades four, six, seven, and eight.

5. On both the initial tests and retests the significant zero- order correlations between the ten self concept and five achievement variables were positive except for learning.

6. On both the initial tests and retests the zero-order correlations seem to indicate that the school scale on the Self Appraisal Inventory is the best single self concept predictor of academic achievement as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

7. The teachers as a group changed very little, as measured by the Ideal Child Checklist, in their perception of desirable and undesirable characteristics of students.

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