A comparative study of the relationship among three measures of self-perception and academic achievement in Canadian Indian and white schoolchildren
Date
1980
Authors
George, Deborah Mary
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
A two-phase study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between self-perception and academic achievement for Canadian Indian and white school children. The purpose of the preliminary study was to create a measure of self as related to moral school behaviour. The purpose of the main study was to compare the scores on this measure to two other existing self-concept instruments and then correlate all three measures with academic achievement. Both phases used Indian and white students from grades four, five, and six.
The preliminary study used the ECHO technique to elicit a hierarchy of "good" and "bad" behaviours. These statements of valued behaviours exhibited significant culture, age and sex differences. Salient behaviours (those with high relative frequency) were chosen to construct a test instrument using a semantic differential format.
The main study used the semantic differential and two other self-concept measures (one verbal, one pictorial) to test the children. There was a significant effect of culture on the verbal measure, sex on the semantic differential and the pictorial measure and a sex by grade interaction on the pictorial measure. The scores on the three instruments were then correlated with the children's assigned academic achievement levels. Significant positive relationships were found between academic achievement and the verbal measure for both races and between academic achievement and the other two measures for the Indian students only.