Doctoral Dissertation Research: Understanding Differences in Academic Achievement and Self-Esteem

博士论文研究：理解学术成就和自尊的差异

• 批准号: 0622869
• 负责人: Henry Walker
• 金额: $ 0.75万
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-11-15 至 2008-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0622869&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Understanding; Differences

SES-0622869Henry WalkerLaura Auf der HeideUniversity of ArizonaThis research studies why African American students, despite having lower academic performance, have higher self-esteem than white students. Previous research has shown that an individual's overall feelings of self-worth (global self-esteem), are highly correlated with academic achievement. Policy makers have used this to justify programs targeted at enhancing student self-esteem, in the hopes that this would boost academic performance. Unfortunately, the value of these programs is in dispute and the relationship between self-esteem and performance is contradicted by African Americans, who have higher self-esteem than their white counterparts, despite a large and persistent performance gap. Further complicating this relationship, Hispanic youth perform at lower academic levels than whites, while concurrently exhibiting low self-esteem, as they should according to theory. This project attempts to explain these contradictory patterns by examining the influence of three additional mechanisms: academic self-esteem (self-evaluations made in the academic domain), psychological centrality (the importance of particular domains to an individual), and racial identity. Using a longitudinal, mixed-methods design, 450 African American, Mexican American, and white high school freshmen and sophomores in local Tucson high schools will be studied at two points during the 2006-07 school year. In addition to surveys, a subset of the students will also be interviewed to provide more understanding of what self-esteem actually means for the lives of individuals, a topic to which there has been insufficient attention paid. This project will contribute to sociological theory in three ways: first, it will expand our existing knowledge of the linkages between global self-esteem and academic achievement in racial/ethnic groups; second, it will incorporate the previously understudied theoretical components, psychological centrality and racial/ethnic identity; third, this study will systematically examine the self-esteem of Hispanic students, an understudied group in the literature. In addition to these significant scientific contributions, this research has two broader impacts. First, it focuses attention on Hispanic Americans and, in particular, Hispanic youth. Not only is this group increasing in demographic prominence, but it fails to follow the "typical" immigrant path of upward educational mobility experienced by European and Asian immigrants. Understanding the reasons for this may have substantial economic consequences. Second, in a society where educational attainment in youth is correlated with economic success throughout life, this research may help us direct our policy initiatives more effectively. Current policies target global self-esteem in an attempt to increase academic achievement, but these efforts clearly do not have equal effects on all youth. At the global level, the results of this research may allow us to improve education while spending as much or less money. At a local level, the findings of this research will be compiled into reports for the participating schools. It is hoped that the schools will be able to use the findings as a tool to enhance the academic success of their students.

SES-0622869Henry WalkerLaura Auf der Heide 亚利桑那大学这项研究研究了为什么非裔美国学生尽管学业成绩较低，但比白人学生具有更高的自尊。 先前的研究表明，个人的整体自我价值感（整体自尊）与学业成绩高度相关。 政策制定者利用这一点来证明旨在增强学生自尊的计划的合理性，希望这能提高学业成绩。 不幸的是，这些计划的价值存在争议，而且自尊与绩效之间的关系与非裔美国人相矛盾，尽管绩效差距很大且持续存在，但他们的自尊比白人同行更高。 使这种关系进一步复杂化的是，西班牙裔年轻人的学业水平低于白人，同时表现出低自尊，根据理论，他们应该如此。 该项目试图通过研究另外三种机制的影响来解释这些矛盾的模式：学术自尊（在学术领域进行的自我评价）、心理中心性（特定领域对个人的重要性）和种族认同。 采用纵向、混合方法设计，将在 2006-07 学年分两个时间点对图森当地高中的 450 名非裔美国人、墨西哥裔美国人和白人高中新生和二年级学生进行研究。 除了调查之外，还将对一部分学生进行采访，以更好地了解自尊对个人生活的实际意义，而这个话题一直没有引起足够的重视。 该项目将从三个方面对社会学理论做出贡献：首先，它将扩展我们对全球自尊与种族/族裔群体学术成就之间联系的现有知识；其次，它将纳入先前研究的理论成分、心理中心性和种族/民族认同；第三，本研究将系统地考察西班牙裔学生的自尊，这是文献中未被研究的群体。 除了这些重大的科学贡献之外，这项研究还有两个更广泛的影响。 首先，它关注西班牙裔美国人，特别是西班牙裔年轻人。 这个群体不仅在人口中的地位日益突出，而且未能遵循欧洲和亚洲移民所经历的“典型”的向上教育流动的移民路径。 了解其原因可能会产生重大的经济后果。 其次，在一个年轻人的教育程度与一生的经济成功相关的社会中，这项研究可以帮助我们更有效地指导我们的政策举措。 当前的政策以全球自尊为目标，试图提高学业成绩，但这些努力显然并没有对所有年轻人产生同等的效果。 在全球范围内，这项研究的结果可能使我们能够在花同样多或更少的钱的情况下改善教育。 在地方层面，这项研究的结果将被汇编成报告供参与学校使用。 希望学校能够利用调查结果作为提高学生学业成功的工具。