Abstract
AbstractChildren from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds tend to have more negative self-perceptions. More negative self-perceptions are often related to lower academic achievement. Linking these findings, we asked: Do children’s self-perceptions help explain socioeconomic disparities in academic achievement around the world? We addressed this question using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey, including n = 520,729 records of 15-year-old students from 70 countries. We studied five self-perceptions (self-perceived competency, self-efficacy, growth mindset, sense of belonging, and fear of failure) and assessed academic achievement in terms of reading achievement. As predicted, across countries, children’s self-perceptions jointly and separately partially mediated the association between socioeconomic status and reading achievement, explaining additional 11% (ΔR2 = 0.105) of the variance in reading achievement. The positive mediation effect of self-perceived competency was more pronounced in countries with higher social mobility, indicating the importance of environments that “afford” the use of beneficial self-perceptions. While the results tentatively suggest self-perceptions, in general, to be an important lever to address inequality, interventions targeting self-perceived competency might be particularly effective in counteracting educational inequalities in countries with higher social mobility.
Funder
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program and the Jacobs Foundation seed funding award
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program and the Jacobs Foundation seed funding award CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar
Jacobs Foundation
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program and the Jacobs Foundation seed funding award NWO Talent Programme Vidi grant
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Developmental Neuroscience,Education
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