Ability Stratification Predicts the Size of the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013189X2098617
Author(s):  
Phil Parker ◽  
Theresa Dicke ◽  
Jiesi Guo ◽  
Geetanjali Basarkod ◽  
Herb Marsh
Keyword(s):  
System Design ◽  
School System ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Psychological Literature ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Math And Science ◽  
Negative Effect

Understanding how children’s broader context influences their development is critical if we are to develop policies that help them flourish. Combining sociological, economic, and psychological literature, we argue that ability stratification—the degree to which children of similar levels of ability are schooled together—influences a child’s academic self-concept. This is because countries with more ability stratification should have larger Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects (the negative effect of school average achievement on academic self-concept). We used four cycles of the Trends in International Math and Science Study to test the hypothesis that more country-level ability stratification is associated with larger country-level Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effects for math self-concept. Findings strongly support this hypothesis. Our findings have implications for school system design and policy.

A macro context theory of academic self-concept: Ability stratification and the big-fish-little-pond effect

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Parker ◽  
Theresa Dicke ◽  
Jiesi Guo ◽  
Herb Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Education System ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ability Levels ◽  
Negative Findings ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Relationship

Governments rarely aim at altering the way children view themselves. Yet, governments, culture, and social norms shape the social settings children find themselves in (i.e., the amount of ability stratification in the education system). Reviewing sociological, economic, and psychological literature we construct a theory that states that any macro influence which leads children to be schooled with peers of similar ability levels (ability stratification) will bias children’s academic self-concepts via larger Big-Fish-Little-Pond effects (the negative effect of school average achievement on academic self-concept). Applying meta-analysis to estimates derived from four cycles of the Trends in International Math and Science Study we test the hypothesis that the relationship between achievement stratification and the effect of school average achievement on academic self-concept will be large and negative. Findings strongly support our hypothesis (r < -.50).

Three Paradoxical Effects on Academic Self-Concept Across Countries, Schools, and Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Marsh ◽  
Philip D. Parker ◽  
Reinhard Pekrun
Keyword(s):  
International Student ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
School Level ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
International Student Assessment ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Starting School

Abstract. We simultaneously resolve three paradoxes in academic self-concept research with a single unifying meta-theoretical model based on frame-of-reference effects across 68 countries, 18,292 schools, and 485,490 15-year-old students. Paradoxically, but consistent with predictions, effects on math self-concepts were negative for: • being from countries where country-average achievement was high; explaining the paradoxical cross-cultural self-concept effect; • attending schools where school-average achievement was high; demonstrating big-fish-little-pond-effects (BFLPE) that generalized over 68 countries, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/non-OECD countries, high/low achieving schools, and high/low achieving students; • year-in-school relative to age; unifying different research literatures for associated negative effects for starting school at a younger age and acceleration/skipping grades, and positive effects for starting school at an older age (“academic red shirting”) and, paradoxically, even for repeating a grade. Contextual effects matter, resulting in significant and meaningful effects on self-beliefs, not only at the student (year in school) and local school level (BFLPE), but remarkably even at the macro-contextual country-level. Finally, we juxtapose cross-cultural generalizability based on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data used here with generalizability based on meta-analyses, arguing that although the two approaches are similar in many ways, the generalizability shown here is stronger in terms of support for the universality of the frame-of-reference effects.

scholarly journals Impact of Economic Freedom on Corruption Revisited in ASEAN Countries: A Bayesian Hierarchical Mixed-Effects Analysis

Economies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Nguyen Ngoc Thach ◽  
Bui Hoang Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
Economic Freedom ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Random Coefficients ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Corruption Index ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Economic Freedom Index ◽  
Asean Countries

Conceptual and applied studies assessing the linkage between economic freedom and corruption expect that economic freedom boosts economic growth, improves income, and reduces levels of corruption. However, most of them have concentrated on developed and developing groups, while Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have drawn much less attention. Empirical findings are most often conflicting. Moreover, previous studies performed rather simple frequentist techniques regressing one or some freedom indices on corruption that do not allow for grasping all the aspects of economic freedom as well as capturing variations across countries. The study aims to investigate the effects of ten components of economic freedom index on the level of corruption in ten ASEAN countries from 1999 to 2018. By applying a Bayesian hierarchical mixed-effects regression via a Monte Carlo technique combined with the Gibbs sampler, the obtained results suggest several findings as follows: (i) In view of probability, the predictors property rights, government integrity, tax burden, business freedom, labor freedom, and investment freedom have a strongly positive impact on the response perceived corruption index; (ii) Government spending, trade freedom, and financial freedom exert a strongly negative effect, while the influence of monetary freedom is ambiguous; (iii) There is an existence of not only random intercepts but also random coefficients at the country level impacting the model outcome. The empirical outcome could be of major importance for more efficient corruption controlling in emerging countries, including ASEAN nations.

scholarly journals Relationships among the Degree of Participation in Physical Activity, Self-Concept Clarity, and COVID-19 Stress in Adolescents

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Dae-Jung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
School Students ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
State And Local

The COVID-19 pandemic situation threatens the health of people globally, especially adolescents facing mental problems such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder due to constant COVID-19 stress. The present study aimed to provide basic data highlighting the need to alleviate COVID-19 stress among adolescents by promoting physical activity participation and strengthening self-concept clarity (SCC). To examine the relationships among participation in physical activity, SCC, and COVID-19 stress in pandemic-like conditions, the study was conducted on middle and high school students aged 14 to 19 and an online survey was conducted on 1046 Korean adolescents (521 male and 525 female students in the preliminary survey and main survey). Frequency, reliability, confirmatory factor, descriptive, and path analyses were performed using SPSS and AMOS 18.0. Participation in physical activity exerted a positive effect on SCC (p < 0.001) as well as a negative effect on COVID-19 stress (p = 0.031). Our findings also indicated that SCC exerted a negative effect on COVID-19 stress (p < 0.001). Regular participation in physical activity and strong SCC are also fundamental elements for alleviating COVID-19 stress. Given these results, state and local governments and educational institutions should encourage youth to participate in sports by suggesting policies, providing guidelines, and offering education. Such information may allow adolescents to endure and overcome COVID-19 stress during this critical period of life.

scholarly journals Financial constraint, trust, and export performances: firm-level evidence from Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Maty Konte ◽  
Gideon Ndubuisi
Keyword(s):  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Interpersonal Trust ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Financial Constraint ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Enterprise Surveys

Abstract Several existing studies have documented a negative relationship between firm financial constraint and export activities but do not attempt to examine factors that could attenuate this relationship in Africa. In this paper, we examine the effect of financial constraint on exports in Africa and explore how the level of trust in countries where firms are located shapes this relationship. We combine the World Bank Enterprise Surveys with different measures of country-level personal and interpersonal trust computed from the Afrobarometer surveys of 19 African countries. Our results show that financial constraints negatively affect export activities. However, this negative effect is attenuated for firms that are located in trust-intensive societies. These findings are robust to different specifications. Interestingly, we find that small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa are more likely to be affected by financial constraints but also more likely to benefit from a higher level of both personal and interpersonal trust, while for larger firms only interpersonal trust matters.

scholarly journals Brand engagement in self-concept: a comparative study in Austria, Italy and Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 785-794
Author(s):  
Wiktor Razmus ◽  
Valentina Mazzoli ◽  
Diletta Acuti ◽  
Sonja Grabner-Kräuter
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Observation Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Engagement ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Cross Country

Purpose The study aims to shed light on cross-country comparisons of brand engagement in self-concept (BESC) among consumers from European countries and to link presumed differences with country-level economic growth and materialism. This study contributes to the literature on the customer–brand relationship and provides implications for international branding strategies. Design/methodology/approach This observation study explored levels of BESC in three European countries. Questionnaire data were collected from consumers of Austria (N = 302), Italy (N = 431) and Poland (N = 410) with the purpose to make cross-country comparisons of BESC among consumers. Findings The results provide evidence for partial scalar invariance of the BESC scale. Cross-country comparisons of latent means reveal that Polish consumers score higher on BESC than consumers from Austria and Italy. Moreover, Austrian consumers score higher on BESC than Italian consumers. Research limitations/implications Culture as a contextual factor of BESC should be studied further. The findings should be replicated with non-convenience samples in additional cultural contexts to improve the generalizability of data. Structural equation modeling could be used to investigate psychological drivers of BESC differences. Practical implications The findings coming from the cross-country comparisons of BESC are of practical relevance to marketing managers: they should tailor their branding and communication strategies accordingly. Originality/value So far, the understanding of cross-cultural and cross-country differences in consumer–brand relationships has remained limited. This study adopts a rigorous approach to cross-cultural research enriching the literature on BESC from a cross-country perspective.

scholarly journals Expenditure Decentralization: Does It Make Us Happier? An Empirical Analysis Using a Panel of Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7236
Author(s):  
Leonardo E. Letelier-S ◽  
José L. Sáez-Lozano
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Fiscal Decentralization ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Government ◽  
Decentralization Of Education ◽  
Data Level

This paper analyzes whether fiscal decentralization of education, health, housing, social protection, recreation, culture and religion, public order and safety, and transportation have a significant effect on individual well-being. The empirical analysis is based on a non-linear hierarchical model that combines individual data (level 1) with country-level data (level 2). We match 89,584 observations from the World Value Service and the European Value Service (various years) with the average value of data recorded for 30 countries by the Government Financial Statistics (IMF). While fiscal decentralization in education and housing appears to have a negative effect on well-being, this effect is positive in the cases of health and culture and recreation. We interpret this as evidence in favor of a “selective” decentralization approach.

Does Immigration Erode Social Capital? The Conditional Effects of Immigration-Generated Diversity on Trust, Membership, and Participation across 19 Countries, 1981–2000

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christel Kesler ◽  
Irene Bloemraad
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Conditional Effects ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Nous Examinons ◽  
Société Civile

Abstract. This article is an attempt to qualify existing evidence that increasing diversity is detrimental to a vibrant civil society. We focus specifically on immigration-generated diversity, and argue that while it may have negative effects on some specific civic and political outcomes in some contexts, these effects vary widely across advanced democracies. Our argument rests on analysis of a cross-national, cross-sectional time-series dataset that brings together individual-level World Values Survey data with country-level variables. With these data, we track within-country changes over time in trust and engagement. We show that immigration can have a negative effect on social trust, organizational membership and political engagement, but that institutional arrangements shape this relationship in systematic ways. In more economically equal societies and in more multicultural countries (where cultural minorities are recognized and accommodated), the negative effects of immigration on trust and engagement are mitigated or even reversed. We conclude that there is no general link between immigration-generated diversity and collective-mindedness. Rather, the direction and strength of the relationship depend on institutional and policy contexts.Résumé. Cet article vise à nuancer les preuves existantes que la diversité croissante porte préjudice à une société civile dynamique. Nous nous concentrons particulièrement sur la diversité produite par l'immigration. Nous soutenons que même si elle peut exercer une influence négative sur quelques indices dans certains contextes, ces effets varient considérablement selon le pays examiné parmi les démocraties avancées. Notre argument repose sur l'analyse d'un ensemble de données multinational, transversal et longitudinal qui rassemble des données au niveau individuel du World Values Survey avec des variables au niveau des pays. Au moyen de ces données, nous examinons les changements survenus à l'intérieur des pays, au fil du temps, sur le plan de la confiance et de l'engagement. Nous montrons que l'immigration peut avoir un effet négatif sur la confiance sociale, l'adhésion à des organisations et l'engagement politique, mais que les arrangements institutionnels influencent cette relation de manières systématiques. Dans les sociétés plus économiquement égales et dans les pays plus multiculturels (où les minorités culturelles sont reconnues et accommodées), les effets négatifs de l'immigration sur la confiance et l'engagement sont atténués, voire inversés. Nous concluons qu'il n'y a aucun lien général entre la diversité produite par l'immigration et l'esprit collectif. La direction et la force de la relation entre les deux dépendent plutôt des politiques et des contextes institutionnels.

scholarly journals Similarity of TIMSS Math and Science Achievement of Nations

2001 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Algirdas Zabulionis
Keyword(s):  
Science Achievement ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
International Association ◽  
Massive Data ◽  
Science Study ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Massive Data Set ◽  
Math And Science ◽  
Mathematics And Science

In 1991-97, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) undertook a Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in which data about the mathematics and science achievement of the thirteen year-old students in more than 40 countries were collected. These data provided the opportunity to search for patterns of students' answers to the test items: which group of items was relatively more difficult (or more easy) for the students from a particular country (or group of countries). Using this massive data set an attempt was made to measure the similarities among country profiles of how students responded to the test items.

scholarly journals Classroom effect on primary school students’ self-concept in literacy and mathematics

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 625-646
Author(s):  
Kati Vasalampi ◽  
Eija Pakarinen ◽  
Minna Torppa ◽  
Jaana Viljaranta ◽  
Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Primary School Students ◽  
Classroom Performance ◽  
School Students ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
And Mathematics

AbstractAccording to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLP) model, high individual academic performance in a particular subject is related to high self-concept in that subject, whereas high average classroom performance has a negative effect on self-concept. In the present study, data from Finnish primary school students in grade 3 (504 students), grade 4 (487 students), and grade 6 (365 students) are used to examine whether the assumptions of the BFLP effect model hold already in primary school. Furthermore, we examined gender differences in BFLP effect. The results showed that as expected students’ high performance in literacy and in mathematics was related to high self-concept in the same subject. Support for the negative classroom effect was small and it depended on the school subject and student’s gender. That is, a high average classroom performance already in grade 3 had a negative but small effect on boys’ self-concept in mathematics. In literacy and among girls, only little support was found for the negative classroom effect.

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