{"title":"Is the clique a pond? The big-fish-little-pond effect and the relative meaning of clique and classroom","authors":"Tanja Auer , Marion Reindl , Burkhard Gniewosz","doi":"10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.101997","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Academic self-concept (ASC) is a key predictor of learning behaviors and educational outcomes. In adolescence, the evaluation of academic abilities is mainly shaped by the social environment and comparisons with various reference groups. The effect of making social comparisons with the academic achievement of a reference group is known as the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE).</p></div><div><h3>Aims</h3><p>Based on social comparison theory and the local dominance effect (LDE), the present study aimed to investigate a pivotal adolescent reference group beside the classroom: the clique. We investigated to what extent students’ social comparison with the mathematics achievement of clique members was related to the ASC of individual students more than general classroom comparisons.</p></div><div><h3>Sample</h3><p>The sample comprised 743 German secondary students in sixth and eighth grade (93 cliques in 40 classrooms).</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We estimated a three-level structural equation model using data from a two-wave longitudinal study in one school year. The change in students’ ASC was determined using latent change modeling.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>The average academic achievement of the clique negatively predicted ASC development. Classroom academic achievement had no effect.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The results underline the importance of informal peer groups like cliques as important reference groups for social comparisons and ASC development during adolescence.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48357,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Instruction","volume":"95 ","pages":"Article 101997"},"PeriodicalIF":4.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475224001245/pdfft?md5=50667f0aec5097d3514cc2f818765c29&pid=1-s2.0-S0959475224001245-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Learning and Instruction","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475224001245","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Academic self-concept (ASC) is a key predictor of learning behaviors and educational outcomes. In adolescence, the evaluation of academic abilities is mainly shaped by the social environment and comparisons with various reference groups. The effect of making social comparisons with the academic achievement of a reference group is known as the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE).
Aims
Based on social comparison theory and the local dominance effect (LDE), the present study aimed to investigate a pivotal adolescent reference group beside the classroom: the clique. We investigated to what extent students’ social comparison with the mathematics achievement of clique members was related to the ASC of individual students more than general classroom comparisons.
Sample
The sample comprised 743 German secondary students in sixth and eighth grade (93 cliques in 40 classrooms).
Methods
We estimated a three-level structural equation model using data from a two-wave longitudinal study in one school year. The change in students’ ASC was determined using latent change modeling.
Results
The average academic achievement of the clique negatively predicted ASC development. Classroom academic achievement had no effect.
Conclusions
The results underline the importance of informal peer groups like cliques as important reference groups for social comparisons and ASC development during adolescence.
期刊介绍:
As an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-refereed journal, Learning and Instruction provides a platform for the publication of the most advanced scientific research in the areas of learning, development, instruction and teaching. The journal welcomes original empirical investigations. The papers may represent a variety of theoretical perspectives and different methodological approaches. They may refer to any age level, from infants to adults and to a diversity of learning and instructional settings, from laboratory experiments to field studies. The major criteria in the review and the selection process concern the significance of the contribution to the area of learning and instruction, and the rigor of the study.