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The effects of an intervention using a precision teaching model on grade four students' arithmetic self-concept

University of British Columbia

The development of a positive academic self-concept has been a professed objective of almost all educational programs from kindergarten to high school. However, there exist few experimentally researched, theory-based interventions which address the problem of low academic self-concept. The present research sought to utilize the multifaceted and hierarchical theory of self-concept as proposed by Shavelson, Huber and Stanton (1976) to design an intervention aimed at enhancing academic self-concept. Specifically, the study was designed to apply a Precision Teaching intervention to the specific facet of multiplication in arithmetic. The effects of this intervention were subsequently measured at the level of arithmetic self-concept and academic self-concept. Differences between males and females on arithmetic self-concept were also examined before and after the intervention. The study involved 185 grade four students of approximately nine years of age. Academic self-concept and arithmetic self-concept were measured by the Student's Perception of Ability Scale. A 2x4, gender by groups, factorial analysis of variance design was used to investigate the effects of the intervention. Given that the study utilized intact preselected classroom groups, the design was quasi-experimental. The data indicated that the Precision Teaching intervention had a significant impact on enhancing the arithmetic self-concept of the experimental groups. Also, there were no significant differences between males and females at the grade four level in arithmetic self-concept. On a theoretical level, the findings of the study seem to support the multifaceted and hierarchical nature of self-concept. At a practical level, the results of the study support Precision Teaching as an educational practice that positively influences student's academic self-concept. As there has only been a small amount of research done to examine techniques for developing positive attitudes and modifying negative attitudes toward different subjects, it was concluded that further studies were necessary to examine and replicate the findings using other facets of academic self-concept. Similarly, there exists a need for studies extending over longer periods of time to examine the durability of academic self-concept change.

Text

2010-10-19

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29375

School Psychology

University of British Columbia

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