Impact of Self-Concept on the Academic Achievement of School Students of Ranchi Town

Smita Kumari Ram1, Dr. Kalawati Jaiswal2 Research Scholar1, University Dept. of Psychology

Ranchi University, Ranchi

Email: Smitak780@gmail.com

Reader and Head Dept. of Psychology2

Marwari Collage, Ranchi University, Ranchi

(ABSTRACT)

The present study was conducted on 120 school students of Ranchi town selected by 2 x 2 x 2

stratified random sampling. The factors of stratification were achievement category 2 (High

Achiever and Low Achiever), gender 2 (Male and Female) and religion 2 (Hindu and

Muslim) from Ranchi town. The main objectives were: (i) To measure the extent of self-

concept on academic achievement of high and low achiever sample groups and (ii) To

measure the impact of gender and religion on academic achievement of sample groups. The

extent of self concept was measured by self concept questionnaire. Statistical techniques such

as percentage of scores, anova, mean, standard deviations and t test were applied for

analysis of data. The results revealed that the high achiever school students had high self

concept as compared to low achiever school students, gender and religion have no impact on

academic achievement of high and low achiever school students.

Key Ward: Self Concept, Academic Achievement, Gender and Religion

Introduction "A self-concept is a collection of beliefs about one's own nature, unique qualities, and

typical behavior. Self-concept is mental picture of person. It is a collection of self-

perceptions. For example, a self-concept might include such beliefs as 'I am easygoing' or 'I

am pretty' or 'I am hardworking.’’ (Weiten et al. 2012)

"The individual self consists of attributes and personality traits that differentiate us

from other individuals (for example, 'introverted'). The relational self is defined by our

relationships with significant others (for example, 'sister'). Finally, the collective self reflects

our membership in social groups (for example, 'British')." (Crisp et. al. 2007)

Components of Self Concept Like many topics within psychology, a number of theorists have proposed different

ways of thinking about self-perception.

According to a theory known as social identity theory, self-perception is composed of

two key parts: personal identity and social identity. Our personal identity includes such things

as personality traits and other characteristics that make each person unique. Social identity

includes the groups we belong to including our community, religion, college, and other

groups.

Bracken (1992) suggested that there are six specific domains related to self-perception:

• Social - the ability to interact with others

• Competence - ability to meet basic needs

• Affect - awareness of emotional states

• Physical - feelings about looks, health, physical condition, and

overall Appearance

• Academic - success or failure in school

• Family - how well one functions within the family unit

Academic AchievementAcademic achievement means achievement that a student gets in school, namely his

marks in the examination which is the criterion for the achievement. In studies of academic

achievement, the criterion of achievement or performance is the grades scored by the students

at the various examinations. Broadly used the term ‘academic achievement’ refers to some

method of expressing a student’s scholastic standing in relation, to others. Usually this is a

grade for a course, an average for a group of courses in a subject area or an average for all

courses expressed on another quantitative scale.

Achievement behaviour refers to the quantity and especially, quality of one’s actual

accomplishments, whether performance on school achievement tests, mastery of athletic

skills, creative work, or other human endeavours. The hall mark of achievement behaviour is

doing something well. This implies that standard of excellence inevitably operate in

achievement situations that call for a demonstration of skill and competence.

English and English have defined academic achievement motivation as the attained

ability to perform school tasks. This ability may be general or specific to a given subject

matter. The word academic, stands for those aspects of school that involve the study of

books. The achievement of the students in the courses, syllabi, and books studied by them

and expressed in the form of grades, percentage, or on any other point of scale can broadly be

termed as academic achievement.

The academic achievement as viewed by Sutton (1961), “as a product of the

maturational forces within him and of the experiences provided by the environment.” He

observed four categories of achievers such as:

i. Children who consistently showed substantial educational achievement.

ii. Children who showed high, sporadic educational achievement.

iii. Children who appeared to reach or exceed expectancy,

iv. Children who achieved below expectancy.

High and Low Achievement

Some researchers have classified the students as high-achiever and low-achiever

according to their performance. The high low achievement in any scale can be defined

according to some criteria. The definitions are subjective and there are no definite rules for

considering the high and low achievement according to any accepted definition. It may be

defined as some laid down scores above and below the mean, on the basis of some percentage

of marks at the two extremes or on the basis of certain number of subjects at the top and

bottom of the scale.

In the present investigation top 27 per cent in the academic achievement have been

taken to be high, achiever and the bottom 27 percent to be low achiever. High and low

achievement is defined in terms of an absolute standard of performance which has been taken

to be 27 per cent top and bottom academic achievers. Innumerable studies have been,

conducted in the field of academic achievement, both in India and abroad.

Review of Literature

Impact of Self-Concept on Academic Achievement

A study conducted by Rehman (2001) attempted to investigate the relationship of self-

concept with classroom environment, gender role, cognitive development, and academic

achievement of the students at secondary school level. Self-developed instruments were used

to measure classroom environment and self-concept of the student. Cronbach’s alpha formula

was used to estimate the internal consistency of the scales and the reliability of the scales was

also determined. Data were obtained regarding the students’ academic achievement with the

help of the test in the subject of Pakistan studies. Standard progressive matrices were used to

measure students’ cognitive development. It was found that self-concept was positively

correlated with educational success.

Ali (2002) conducted a study on relationship of self-concept and academic

achievement in Orphan and Non-orphan children. The effect of academic grades on self-

esteem and self-concept was also determined. The sample consisted of 100 male children

(both orphan and non-orphans) including 50 students of class 5th and 50 students of class

10th taken from Anjuman Faizul Islam and F. G. School Rawalpindi. Urdu Adjective

Checklist of 52 adjectives was used to measure the self-concept of these children comprised

of 25 items Academic achievement of the students was measured with the help of their marks

in the last attended exams (high, medium, low). A positive correlation was found of self-

concept and academic achievement.

Haque and Saraswat (1998) conducted a study using Academic Self-Concept Scale to

investigate the age, gender and achievement effects on academic self-concept of high school

children. The results showed that there was a strong positive relationship between

achievement and academic self-concept

Methodology

Objectives

● To measure the extent of self-concept on academic achievement of high and low

achiever sample groups.

● To measure the impact of gender and religion on academic achievement of sample

groups.

Hypotheses

● High achieving students will show more positive self concept than low achieving

students.

● No significant difference will be found between Male and Female students in their

academic achievement.

● No significant difference will be found between Hindu and Muslim students in

their academic achievement.

Sample

The present study was conducted on 120 high school students studying in Class-VIII of

different Govt. schools located in Ranchi town. The sample was selected by stratified random

sampling technique.

The sample stratification was based on:

● Achievement Category - 2 (high achiever and low achiever)

● Gender - 2 (male and female)

● Religion - 2 (Hindu and Muslim)

Thus sample was based on 2 × 2 × 2 = 8 strata. From each stratum 15 cases were selected

randomly, making a total of 120 cases. Academic achievement in the present investigation

represented the percentage of marks in the previous year's annual examination of the

students.

Table: Sample Design

Religion Hindu MuslimTotal

Gender Male Female Male Female

Level of Academic

Achievement

High Achiever 15 15 15 15 60

Low Achiever 15 15 15 15 60

Total 30 30 30 30 120

Tools

The tools used in the present study are listed below:

Personal Data Questionnaire (PDQ)This consisted of questions seeking information about the students himself and his parents

relevant for sampling. It consisted questions about the name, age, class, gender, grade,

religion etc.

Self -Concept Questionnaire (SCQ)

This inventory was developed by Saraswat (2012). This inventory measured by self-concept

dimensions. A total of 48 items and 6 Dimensions - Physical, Social, Temperamental,

Educational, Moral and Intellectual. Each dimension contains eight items.

Plan of AnalysisIn pursuance of the objective of the research data were analyzed using suitable statistical

measure such as percentage of obtained scores, anova, mean, standard deviations and t test.

Results and Discussion

Extent of Self-Concept on Academic Achievement of High and Low

Achiever Sample Groups In order to measure the extent of self-concept on academic achievement of high and low

achiever sample groups, self - concept questionnaire was administered. On the basis of

obtained scores, two levels of self-concept were categorized- high and low. Percentage of

sample groups are presented in Table 1 and Figure 1.

Table 1: Extent of Self Concept among High and Low Achiever School Students

Sample Groups

High Achiever Low Achiever

High Self Concept

Low Self Concept

High Self Concept

Low Self Concept

N % N % N % N %

Total 33 55.00 27 45.00 24 40.00 36 60.00

High Self Concept Low Self Concept High Self Concept Low Self ConceptHigh Achiever Low Achiever

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

55.0

45.040.0

60.0

Figure 1: Extent of Self Concept on Academic Achievement: Percentage of High and Low Achiever School Students

Perc

enta

ge o

f Sco

res

Table 1 and Figure 1 show that

● 55.00% high achieving school students had high self concept.

● 45.00% high achieving school students had low self concept.

● 40.00% low achieving school students had high self concept.

● 60.00% low achieving school students had low self concept.

Hence, the hypothesis stating that high achieving students will show more positive self

concept than low achieving is accepted.

Impact of Gender and Religion on Academic Achievement of Sample Groups

In order to find out the impacts of gender and religion on academic achievement, analysis of

variance was used. The F values are presented in Table 2.

Table 2: F. Values Showing the Impact of Gender and Religion of the School Students on Academic Achievement of Sample Groups

Variables Sum of Squares df Mean

Square F-Value Level of Significance

Gender 116.269 1 116.269 0.72 NS

Religion 33.18 1 33.18 0.205 NS

Gender X Religion 403.7 1 403.7 2.499 NS

Error 18740.11 116 161.553    

Total 371402.6 120      

Corrected Total 19293.26 119      

Note: Not significant

The results revealed that:

● The F value showing the impact of gender on academic achievement was 0.72. This was

not statistically significant. This indicates that gender had no significant impact on

academic achievement.

● The F value showing the impact of religion on academic achievement was 0.205. This

was not statistically significant. This indicates that religion had no significant impact on

academic achievement.

● The interactional effects of gender and religion on academic achievement were not

statically significant. The F – value was 2.499.

Conclusion

The present study has found that:

● The results indicated that high achieving school students had high self concept as

compared to low achieving school students.

● Gender and religion had no impact on academic achievement of high and low achiever

school students.

References

Ali, S. (2002). Relationship of Self-Esteem, Self-Concept and Academic Achievement in

Orphan and Non-Orphan Children. (Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis), National Institute of

Psychology, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad.

Bracken, B. A. (1992). Examiner's Manual for the Multidimensional Self-esteem Scale.

Austin.

Crisp, R. J. and Turner, R. N. (2007). Essential Social Psychology. London: Sage

Publications.

Haque, A. and K. Sarwat. (1998). Age, gender, and achievement effects on academic self-

concept of high school children. Pak. J. Psy. Res., (13), 35-42.

Rehman, A. (2001). A Study of Relationship of Self-concept with Classroom Environment,

Gender Role, Cognitive Development and Academic Achievement 95 of the Students

at Secondary School Level. (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis). Allama Iqbal Open

University, Islamabad.

Sutton, R. S. (1961). An analysis of factors related to educational achievement. Journal of

General Psychology, 28, 193-201.

Weiten, W., Dunn, D. S., and Hammer, E. Y. (2012). Psychology Applied to Modern Life:

Adjustments in the 21st Century. Belmont. CA: OWadsworth.