Chapter 2: Bringing Together Two Theoretical Models of Relations Between Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

The importance of self-concept as a relevant outcome variable is evident in diverse settings, including education, child development, mental and physical health, social services, organizations, industry, and sport. For example, educational policy statements throughout the world list self-concept enhancement as a central goal of education and an important vehicle for addressing social inequities experienced by disadvantaged groups. Here we integrate two self-concept theories that have been studied extensively in educational research as separate theories and test their cross-cultural generalizability. The theme of this chapter is unification and reunification. Our theoretical goal is to integrate and extend the two major theoretical models of relations between academic self-concept and achievement that have been studied extensively in educational research as separate models.