Equally able students have lower academic self-concept in high achieving schools or classes, a phenomenon known as the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). The class (more so than the school) has been shown to be the pivotal frame-of-reference for academic self-concept formation--a local dominance effect. However, many school systems worldwide…

The aims of this study are to: (a) assess if cognitive self-concept (competence) and affective self-concept in mathematics and science are different constructs, (b) evaluate the construct validity of self-concept in the context of conflation and separation, and (c) test if the relationships among cognitive and affective variables are invariant…

Extensive support for the seemingly paradoxical negative effects of school- and class-average achievement on academic self-concept (ASC)-the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE)--is based largely on secondary students in Western countries or on cross-cultural Program for International Student Assessment studies. There is little research testing the…