Understanding differences in Black and White students' self-concept of ability: An examination of attitudes and achievement across several domains of self-concept.

The purpose of the present investigation was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the differences between Black and White students' self-concept of ability. The specific goals were to examine (a) individual differences in the students' self-concept of ability scores across different domains; (b) relations between the domains for students who differ in race and /or achievement; (c) attitudes of Black and White students toward each of the domains; and (d) factors which best predict the self-concept of ability scores for Black and White students. A total of 194 Black and 2605 White students who participated in a larger investigation on school attitudes and behaviors (Eccles, 1981) were included in the present study. These students were asked to rate their ability on the math, English, sports, and friend domains. The students were also asked to respond to items measuring their general self-concept and their attitudes toward the specific domains. The results are analyzed by looking at differences due to race, sex, racial composition of the school, and achievement of the student. Results from the MANOVA's revealed race, sex, and achievement differences in self-concept of ability. Black students had significantly higher self-concept of ability scores than White students on the math, English, sports and friend domains. However, no significant difference due to race was found on the general self-concept domain. When the attitude items were examined, differences due to race were found. Black students rated the attitude items significantly higher than the White students. The results also revealed that when attitude, achievement, and self-concept variables are entered into a regression analysis, similar factors predict Black and White students' self-concept of ability on the math and English domains. However, none of the variables in the regression analysis predicted the Black students' general self-concept.PhDDevelopmental PsychologyEducational psychologyUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162524/1/9014011.pd