The Relation of Self-Perceptions to Achievement among African American Preschoolers

Abstract

The study examines the relations of self-concept, self-esteem, and racial preference to the academic achievement of African American preschool children. The children were 49 to 63 months of age and enrolled in a Head Start program. Three self-perception measures were obtained for each child, and a measure of academic achievement was obtained yielding 2 scores: a Knowledge Cluster Score and a Skills Cluster Score. Regression analyses indicated that academic self-esteem accounted for a significant amount of the variance in both the Knowledge and Skills Cluster Scores of the children. Racial attitude was also a significant predictor of Knowledge Cluster scores, and self-concept predicted Skills Cluster scores; however, these measures accounted for less variance in achievement than did academic self-esteem. Findings suggest that the development of academic self-esteem is important for the school achievement of minority children.