peers; (4) relationships with parents; (5) reading; (6) mathematics; (7) all school subjects; (8) total non-academic self-concept; (9) total academic self-concept; and (10) total self-concept. The total nonacademic self-concept consisted of the sum of 1-4, the total academic self-concept consisted of the sum 5-7, and the total self-concept consisted of the sum 1-7.
Findings of the study revealed that reading self-concept correlated highest with both math achievement and with total academic achievement, it correlated low with measures of non-academic self-concept.
A similar division of self-concept was used in a study by Shepard (1979) who found that total nonacademic self-concept was related to self-acceptance. Shepard's findings further revealed that children who are not accepting of themselves are likely to experience mental health problems, as well as to be non-accepting of others.
In another study of academic performance and self-esteem, Slaughter (1977) studied children involved in the Head Start Program who, at the time of the study, were in grades 6 to 8. Slaughter found that the children with the highest motivation level were also the children who had received positive teacher evaluations in Head Start. By the 6th grade, these children were also evidencing correlations between their self-esteem levels and academic grades.
Wylie (1979) reviewed several studies of self-esteem and academic achievement. Only two of the studies evidenced correlations between the variables, both of these low and in the positive direction ( .30 to .40 range). However, what was noteworthy about this study was that it indicated that self-esteem was built through academic achievement as opposed to the reverse. Similar findings have been observed in other studies. For example, it was found that academic achievement increased students' sense of competence (Connell, 1981; Harter & Connell, 1982).
Some studies of self-esteem/self-conce...