Academic Self-Concept and Students’ Achievement in the Sixth Grade Turkish Course: A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between academic self-concept (ASC) and first term marks of sixth grade students from their Turkish course. 74 students from two state primary schools in Turkey participated in this self-report survey study. ASC was assessed through a Turkish version of Myself-As-a-Learner Scale (MALS) (Burden, 2012) while achievement was measured by composite course mark at the end of Term I. Data analysis showed that female and male participants had varying levels of ACS, with girls reporting more positive academic self concept. It was also found that Turkish marks correlated significantly with ASC. The relationship was still significant when gender was controlled, implying the gender variable did not have any moderating effect. This study concludes that understanding ASC can provide useful information to teachers of Turkish and other fields alike both at the level of prediction and intervention.