Science Self-Concept – More Than the Sum of its Parts?

• Published in: The Journal of experimental education Vol. 90; no. 2; pp. Online first - Version
• Main Authors: Schroeders, Ulrich, Jansen, Malte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Routledge 03.04.2022; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Biologieunterricht; Biology; Chemieunterricht; Chemistry; Correlation; Deutschland; Dimension; Dimensionality; Elementary school students; Factor Analysis; Foreign Countries; Forschung; Gender Differences; Geschlechtsspezifischer Unterschied; Globaler Aspekt; Grade 10; Individualized Instruction; Intellectual Disciplines; Internationaler Vergleich; Messtheorie; Physics; Physikunterricht; psychometrics; Psychometrie; Schuljahr 10; Schüler; Science; Science Achievement; Science Education; science self-concept; Secondary School Students; Selbstkonzept; Selbstverständnis; Self Concept; Self esteem; Statistisches Modell; STEM; Structural Equation Models; Student Attitudes; Vergleich; Vergleichbarkeit; Germany
• ISSN: 0022-0973; 1940-0683
• DOI: 10.1080/00220973.2020.1740967

Academic self-concept is understood as a multidimensional, hierarchical construct. Multidimensionality refers to the subject-specific differentiation of academic self-concepts, whereas hierarchy refers to the aggregation of more specific facets of self-concepts into more general ones. Previous research demonstrated that students distinguish between their self-concepts in biology, chemistry, and physics, if taught as separate school subjects, as is done in Germany. However, large-scale international educational studies, such as PISA, often use a monolithic science self-concept measure. It is yet unclear whether an aggregate of subject-specific self-concepts is equivalent to a directly measured science self-concept. (The authors) assessed the subject-specific and a global science self-concept of 1,229 German grade 10 students. A higher-order factor model and a bifactor model demonstrated a very high correlation between the “inferred” and the explicitly assessed global science self-concept. Despite the high empirical overlap, (the authors) argue for a more nuanced view of the science self-concept, because statistical unity is not to be confused with causal unity. Moreover, from a methodological perspective, [the authors] used multi-group confirmatory factor analysis to examine the mean structure and local structural equation models to study measurement invariance across science ability. Implications for the theoretical status of self-concept as a hierarchical construct are discussed. (Orig.).