Campus Location

Abilene Campus (Residential)

Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Social Work

Degree Name

Master of Science

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Wayne Paris

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Tom Winter

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Joe Cunningham, Jr.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that are associated with the development of self-concept and how self-concept influences or interacts with academic performance and behavior. This research study asked two questions: (1) what assists in the development of self-concept, and (2) how does self-concept impact academic performance and behavior in at-risk middle school students? Using evidence-based research, parental involvement, gender, and ethnicity were selected as key factors associated with the development of self-concept in adolescence. This study proposed that students with high self-concept would have positive academic and behavioral performance. Consequently, students with low self-concept would have negative academic and behavioral performance. To address this issue, this study selected an exploratory descriptive quantitative design and used self-report. Data gathered on parental involvement, gender, and ethnicity suggested a trend towards adolescent self-concept. However, the data did not support the hypothesis that students with high self-concept would have positive academic and behavioral performance and students with low self-concept would have negative academic and behavioral performance. Overall, students with average self-concept, overall, had the best grades, attendance, and behavior, when compared to students with above average or below average self-concept.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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