Volltext-Downloads (blau) und Frontdoor-Views (grau)

Self-perceptions as mechanisms of achievement inequality: evidence across 70 countries

  • Abstract Children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds tend to have more negative self-perceptions. More negative self-perceptions are often related to lower academic achievement. Linking these findings, we asked: Do children’s self-perceptions help explain socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement around the world? We addressed this question using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, including n  = 520,729 records of 15-year-old students from 70 countries. We studied five self-perceptions (self-perceived competency, self-efficacy, growth mindset, sense of belonging, and fear of failure) and assessed academic achievement in terms of reading achievement. As predicted, across countries, children’s self-perceptions jointly and separately partially mediated the association between socioeconomic status and reading achievement, explaining additional 11% (Δ R 2  = 0.105) of the variance in reading achievement. The positive mediation effect of self-perceived competency was more pronounced in countries with higher social mobility, indicating the importance of environments that “afford” the use of beneficial self-perceptions. While the results tentatively suggest self-perceptions, in general, to be an important lever to address inequality, interventions targeting self-perceived competency might be particularly effective in counteracting educational inequalities in countries with higher social mobility.

Download full text files

Export metadata

Statistics

frontdoor_oas
Metadaten
Author:Sarah I. HoferORCiD, Jörg-Henrik HeineORCiD, Sahba BesharatiORCiD, Jason C. Yip, Frank ReinholdORCiD, Eddie BrummelmanORCiD
URN:urn:nbn:de:bsz:frei129-opus4-34364
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-023-00211-9
ISSN:2056-7936
Parent Title (English):npj Science of Learning
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group UK
Place of publication:London
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of first Publication:2024/01/11
Release Date:2025/03/31
GND Keyword:-
Volume:9
Issue:1
Open Access:Frei zugänglich
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International