Predictors of Academic Self-Concept for African American College Students

Abstract

This study explored the roles of demographic variables, grade point average, centrality (an aspect of racial identity), and student-professor interactions in predicting academic self-concept. A convenience sample of 132 African American students (104 females and 28 males) ranging in age from 18 to 38 ( Mage = 26), attending a historically Black university completed an online questionnaire assessing demographic information, grade point average, an aspect of racial identity from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity, student-professor interactions, and academic self-concept. Results showed that grade point average and student-professor interactions characterized by faculty’s level of care were significant factors in predicting academic self-concept. These relationships may be important for understanding salient factors that influence the academic self-concept in African American college students.