Subjective social status in school (or school social status) refers to youths' perception of their position relative to peers in school. School social status has been associated with various socio-emotional outcomes in adolescents, such as internalizing symptoms (e.g., social anxiety and depression). Another closely related construct that…

Earning a college degree requires a standard measure of academic success. Institutionally, this measure is calculated in earned credits and cumulative grade point averages known together as satisfactory academic progress. This qualitative study explores the relationship of students' academic progress and their perceived sense of belonging after…

Class ranking remains a prevalent practice in Nigerian primary and secondary schools, yet research has not explored how Nigerian students perceive and experience this practice. This study sought to address this gap in the literature by delving into four Nigerian primary and secondary school alumni's experiences and perceptions of the class ranking…

This study examined whether first-time full-time freshman students' sense of purpose predicted their progress towards a degree. Freshman students (N = 421, 62.2% females) completed self-report measures of sense of purpose and academic commitments within the first month of starting college; a year later, the data on first-year progress towards a…

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) model predicts students' academic self-concept to be negatively predicted by the achievement level of their reference group, controlling for individual achievement. Despite an abundance of empirical evidence supporting the BFLPE, there have been relatively few studies searching for possible moderators.…

Academic self-concept is positively related to individual achievement but negatively related to class- or school-average achievement: the big-fish--little-pond effect (BFLPE). This contrast effect results from social comparison processes. The BFLPE is known to be long-lasting, universal and robust. However, there is little evidence regarding its…

Results from prior research indicate that a student's academic self-concept is negatively influenced by the achievement of others in his or her school (a frame of reference effect) and that this negative frame of reference effect is not or only slightly reduced by the quality, standing, or prestige of the track or school attended (a "reflected…

We find an individual's rank within their reference group has effects on later objective outcomes. To evaluate the impact of local rank, we use a large administrative dataset tracking over two million students in England from primary through to secondary school. Academic rank within primary school has sizable, robust and significant effects on…

According to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), attending academically selective high schools negatively affects academic self-concept. Does the BFLPE persist after graduation from high school? In two large, representative samples of German high school students (Study 1: 2,306 students, 147 schools; Study 2: 1,758 students, 94 schools), the…

This study investigated ego developmental differences in adolescent academic orientations and academic achievement. A sample of 142 male and female high school students completed the Washington University Sentence Completion Test and self-report measures assessing academic locus of control, learning orientation (LO), and grade orientation (GO).…

Many factors that contribute to a negative school climate also cause discipline problems. Our schools are "rigged," like gambling casinos, in that they must produce a certain percentage of losers. The present school system, in performing its screening role for society, demands that some fail. Students today are aware of this rigging and the…

This study examined whether the educational practice of retaining students in junior first grade for a year between kindergarten and first grade enhanced their academic achievement and self-concept of academic ability. Subjects were 120 students randomly selected from a midwestern school district and divided equally into 4 groups: (1) recommended…

This paper examines the notion of schooling and draws on the experiences of Malaysian teenage schoolgirls in contemporary postcolonial Malaysia. Using a critical approach to understandings of schooling, the author unpacks the links between the macro, micro and the personal in examining these girls' negotiations with discourses of schooling. The…