Coursework Selection: Relations to Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

Theoretical models posit that self-concept as well as prior accomplishments influence choice behavior. Structural equation models were used to examine the paths from school grades and self-concept to subsequent coursework selection (N = 246). Paths from self-concept to wanting to take a particular subject and, to a lesser extent, actually taking it were significant, but school grades did not contribute consistently beyond the effects of self-concept. When general academic self-concept (GASC) was added to these models, paths from GASC to coursework selection were negative, and paths from the specific components of self-concept increased; a positive self-concept in a specific school subject contributes even more to selection of that subject if self-concepts in other school subjects are lower. The major results were consistent across Years 8 and 10 and reasonably consistent across nine school subjects. The finding that specific components of self-concept are more strongly related to subsequent course selection than are school grades is substantively important and provides further support for the need to consider multiple dimensions of academic self-concept.