Whether students' verbal and mathematics self-concepts were indeed positively correlated after an external comparison, and negatively correlated after an internal comparison, as predicted by the internal/external frames of reference model (H. Marsh, 1986), was studied with 383 high school students. Results support most of the model predictions.…

Two of the most widely used academic self-efficacy assessment techniques, problem-referenced measurement and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were compared. Participants were 383 high school students from 4 Los Angeles (California) schools. Multi-trait multi-method analyses revealed that the two techniques were not…

The internal/external (I/E) frames of reference model proposed by H. Marsh (1986, 1990) points to the relativistic nature of academic self-concept formation. It argues that students compare their own academic ability to that of their peers in an external comparison, and they compare their own verbal skills to their mathematics skills in an…