Marsh and Parker (1984) described the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), whereby equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-ability schools than in low-ability schools. The present investigation, a reanalysis of the Youth in Transition data, supported the generality of the earlier findings and demonstrated new theoretical implications of the BFLPE. First, differences in the academic self-concepts of Black and White students, sometimes assumed to represent response biases, were explicable in terms of the BFLPE. Second, equally able students earned higher grades in lower ability schools. This frame-of-reference effect for grades was distinct from, but contributed to, the BFLPE for academic self-concept. Third, a longitudinal analysis demonstrated that academic self-concept had a direct effect on subsequent school performance beyond the effects of academic ability and prior school performance. About one quarter of this effect could be explained in terms of the BFLPE. Marsh and Parker (1984) described the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), whereby equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-ability schools than in low-ability schools. The purpose of the present investigation is to examine the influence of the BFLPE on academic self-concept and on academic performance. General Self-Concept, Academic Self-Concept and Academic Performance Separation of Academic and General Self-Concepts Historically, self-concept research has emphasized a general, overall, or total self-concept, and specific facets such as academic self-concept have been relegated to a minor role. More recently, self-concept theory (e.g.. Byrne, 1984; Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976) has emphasized the multidimensionality of self-concept, and empirical studies have clearly identified distinct, a priori facets of seif-concept (e.g.,

This study tests theoretical and developmental models of the causal ordering between academic selfconcept and academic achievement in a multicohort-multioccasion design (i.e., 3 age cohorts, each with 3 measurement waves). Participants were students in Grades 2, 3, and 4 from 10 elementary schools. The structural equation model for the total sample supported a reciprocal-effects model, indicating that achievement has an effect on self-concept (skill-development model) and that academic self-concept has an effect on achievement (self-enhancement model). This pattern was replicated in tests of invariance across the 3 age cohorts and did not support the developmental hypothesis that skilldevelopment and self-enhancement models would vary with age. Discussion centers on the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the results.

Academic self-concept, originally posited by Shavelson as a single higher-order facet, was found by Marsh and Shavelson to comprise at least two higher-order academic facets (verbal and math). Marsh developed the internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model to account for the extreme separation of math and verbal self-concepts and their relations to math and verbal achievements. In our investigation, students completed the academic self-concept scales from three different instruments that were the basis of two studies. In the first study, the two higher order academic factors posited by Marsh and Shavelson fit the data substantially better than did a single higher order facet. In subsequent discussion, the Marsh/Shavelson model is more clearly defined, and directions for further research are identified. The second study provided further support for the I/E frame of reference model in that (a) verbal and math self-concepts were nearly uncorrelated, (b) verbal achievement positively affected verbal self-concept but negatively affected math selfconcept (i.e., higher verbal skills led to lower math self-concepts), (c) math achievement positively affected math self-concept but negatively affected verbal self-concept, and (d) the results were consistent for each of three self-concept instruments. Both studies demonstrate that in further research at least verbal and math self-concepts, rather than a single general facet of academic self-concepts, should be considered. Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton (1976) posited self-concept to be a multifaceted, hierarchical construct. They presented a possible representation of this hierarchy in which general selfconcept appeared at the apex and was divided into academic and nonacademic self-concepts. According to this model, selfconcepts in particular academic areas (math, English, etc.) combine to form a higher order academic self-concept. Shavelson et al. based their model, in part, on conceptually similar models of ability that posit a higher order ability factor as well as more specific components of ability (e.g., Vernon, 1950). Also, achievement scores in mathematics and English typically correlate .5-.8 with each other, and academic achievements and self-concepts are posited to be substantially related. Thus Shavelson et al. posited that the different academic self-concepts would be substantially correlated and could be incorporated into a single facet of academic selfconcept.The Marsh/Shavelson Revision Marsh and Shavelson (1985) used responses to the Self Description Instrument (SDQ) by Australian students inThe authors gratefully acknowledge funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the cooperation of teachers and students of the Carleton Board of Education. They also acknowledge Jennifer Barnes, Raymond Debus, and Bengt Muthen for their comments on earlier drafts of this article.

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine the effects of adventure programs on a diverse array of outcomes such as self concept, locus of control, and leadership. The meta-analysis was based on 1,728 effect sizes drawn from 151 unique samples from 96 studies, and the average effect size at the end of the programs was .34. In a remarkable contrast to most educational research, these short-term or immediate gains were followed by substantial additional gains between the end of the program and follow-up assessments ( ES = .17). The effect sizes varied substantially according the particular program and outcome and improved as the length of the program and the ages of participants increased. Too little is known, however, about why adventure programs work most effectively.

There is surprisingly little sound research on the causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement in longitudinal panel studies, despite its theoretical and practical significance. Data collected in Grades 10, 11, 12, and one year after graduation from high school that were used in this study come from the large (A" = 1,456 students), nationally representative Youth in Transition study. It was found that reported grade averages in Grades 11 and 12 were significantly affected by academic self-concept measured the previous year, whereas prior reported grades had no effect on subsequent measures of academic self-concept. The results provide one of the few defensible demonstrations of prior academic self-concept influencing subsequent academic achievement, and the study appears to be methodologically stronger than previous research.A positive self-concept is valued as a desirable outcome in many educational settings and is frequently posited as a mediating variable that facilitates the attainment of other desired outcomes such as academic achievement. A growing body of literature (e.g.,