Chapter 3: Chinese Self-Description Questionnaire: Cross-cultural Validation and Extension of Theoretical Self-Concept Models

In an educational setting, self-concept has often been used as one of the important indicators of students’ social development. High self-concept is advantageous not only because it is a desirable outcome, it is also an important mediator in enhancing other positive psychological variables and academic achievement (e.g., see review Marsh, 1990, 1993). Previous studies with Western students supported a multidimensional and hierarchical structure, an internal/external frame of reference (I/E model), and a significant effect of prior self-concept on subsequent academic achievement. In this chapter, we will first present the major theoretical models related to self-concept and its related constructs. Then, we will review and examine a series of analyses on a large-scale longitudinal study of these major theoretical models among Chinese students who are from a collectivistic culture where learning goals and self-improvement (vs. competition) are strongly valued. Our studies also extend previous Western research by separating the potentially positive and negative effects on self-concept for students studying in high ability schools. Furthermore, the disparate relations between native and nonnative language achievements on their respective domain specific self-concepts will be explored.