The Relationships of Self-esteem, Attitudes, and Gender to Achievement in Writing: Bahir Dar University First Year Students in Focus
Abstract
The study examined the relationships of self-esteem, attitudes, and gender to achievements in writing. It also explored gender differences in the variables treated. For the study, 272 participants were selected using multistage and purposive sampling techniques. To gather data, different scales and tests were used. Parametric tests such as t-test, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, and multiple regressions were the major statistical techniques applied to analyze the data. The results revealed that male students surpass female students in all the variables treated. It was also found that the relationships of most of the variables were significant except for the non-significant relationships of writing self-esteem and writing attitude to global self-esteem and academic self-esteem to writing self-esteem. Moreover, the output of the multiple regressions showed that the predictor variables in combination account for 40% of the variances in writing achievement. Writing self-esteem and writing attitudes were found to be the best predictors among the independent variables. The findings seem to suggest that attention be paid to the correlates of students' writing skills.
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References
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Marsh, H. (1992). Self-Description Questionnaire – II: Manual. New South Wales, Australia: University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, Faculty of Education, Publication Unity. Cited in Pietsch, Walker, and Chapman, 2003.
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Pietsch, J., Walker, R., & Chapman, E. (2003). The Relationship among Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Performance in mathematics During Secondary School. Journal of Educational Psychology. 95, 589-603. Richman, C., Clark, M., & Brown, K. (1984). General and Specific Self-esteem in Late Adolescent Students: Race X Gender X Sex Effects. Paper Presented at the 30th Annual Convention of the Southern Eastern Psychological Association, Orleans. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 250607). Cited in Skaalvik, 1990. Rivers, W. (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Skills (2nd ed.). Chicago: Chicago University Press. Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books. Cited in Brodsky, 1988. Rosenberg, M. (1986). Self-Concept from Middle Childhood through Adolescence. In J. Suls and A. Green Wald (eds.) Psychological Perspectives on the Self. 3, 107-136. Cited in Wigfield, et al, 1991. Santrock, W. (1997). Psychology. Tokyo: Brown and Benchmark. Shavelson, R. and Bolus, R. (1982). Self-Concept: The Interplay of Theory and methods. Journal of Educational Psychology. 74, 3-17. Skaalvik, E. (1983). Academic Achievement, Self-esteem, and Valuing of the School-Some Sex Differences. British Journal of Education. 53, 299-306. Skaalvik, E. (1986). Age Trends in Male and Female Self-Esteem in Norwegian Samples. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 107 – 119.
Skaalvik, E. and Ranking, R. (1990). Math, Verbal, and General Academic Self-Concept: The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model and Gender Differences in Self Concept Structure. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 546-554. Skaalvik, E. M. (1990). Gender Differences in General Academic Self-Esteem and in Success Expectations on Defined Academic Problems. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 593-602. Sprinthall, N. (1994). Educational Psychology: A Development Approach. (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Inc. Sunderland, J. (1994). Differential Treatment by Gender in the EFL Classroom. Using ex-Participants Perspective. In Sunderland, J. (ed.) Exploring Gender and Implications for English Language Education. UK: Prentice Hall. Syoum Tefera. (1986). The Education of Women in Ethiopia: A Missing Piece in the Development Puzzle. The Ethiopian Journal of Education. 10, 5-17. Tamirie Andualem. (2001). (Reviewer). Some Alternative Predictors of Freshman GPA Along with the ESLCE in Ethiopian Institutes of Higher Learning. Education Faculty of BDU Research Bulletin. 11, 2, 47-52. Tarone, E and G. Yule, (1995). Focus on the Language Learner (3rd ed.) Oxford; OUP. Tyler, (1970). (ed.). Educational Evaluation: New Roles, New Means. USA: NSSE.
Wallace, T. & marsh, C. (eds). (1991). Changing Perceptions: Writings on Gender and Development. Oxfam.
Weiner, B. (1995). Human Motivation. USA: Lawrence Erlbium Associates, Inc. Wells, A. (1988). Variations in Mothers' Self-esteem in Daily Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 55, 661-668. Wigfield, A. et al. (1991). Transitions during Early Adolescence: Changes in Children's Domain Specific Perceptions and General Self-esteem across the Transitions to Junior High School. Journal of Developmental Psychology. 22, 552-562. Williams, M. & Burdens. (1997). Psychology for Language Teachers: a Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: CUP. Wylie, R. (1979). The Self Concept: Theory and Research on Selected Topics. Revised Edition. Vol. 2 Lincoln: University of Nabraska Press. Zimbardo, P. (1988). Psychology and Life. (12th ed.). Boston. Scott, Foresman, and Company.
Block, J. (1976). Debatable Conclusions about Sex Differences. Contemporary Psychology. 21, 517-523. Cited in Bank, Biddle and Good, 1980. Brehm, S. et al. (2002). Social Psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Brockner, J. & Wallnau. (1981). Self-esteem, Anxiety, and the Avoidance of Self-Focused Affection. Journal of Personality, 15, 277-291. Brodsky, S. (1988). The Psychology of Adjustment and Well-Being. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Brookover, W. et al. (1964). Self-Concept of Ability and School Achievement. In Hamachek, D. (1965), The Self Growth, Teaching and Learning: Selected Readings. USA: Prentice Hall, Inc. Brown, D. (1981). Affective Factors in Second language Learning. In Alatis, et al. (Eds.). The Second language Classroom: Directions for the 1980’s (111-129). New York: Oxford University Press. Brown, D. (1987). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Engle Wood Cliffes. Butterfield, S. (1995). Educational Objectives and National Assessment. Buckngham. OUP. Byrne, D. (1988). Teaching Writing Skills. London: Longman. Calysn, R. & Kenny, R. (1977). Self Concept of Ability and Perceived Evaluation of Others: Cause or Effect of Academic Achievement? Journal of Educational Psychology. 69, 136-145. Campbell, R. (1984). The New Science: Self-Esteem Psychology. USA: University Press of America.
Carter, D., Little, C. & Barabasz, A. (1972). Comparative Study of Negro and White Attitudes Associated With Educational Occupational Aspirations. Journal of Negro Education. 41, 361-364. Cited in Skaalvik, 1990.
Chapman, J. and Boersma, F. (1983). A Cross National Study of Academic Self-Concept Using the Students' Perception of Ability Scale. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies. 18, 69-75. Cited in Skaalvik 1990. Chiam, H. (1987). Charge in Self-Concept during Adolescence. Adolescence. 22, 69-76. Cited in Skaalvik, 1990. Conley, M. (1992). Content Reading Instruction: A Communication Approach. New York: McGraw Hill. Cornell, D. G. et al. (1990). Self-concept and Peer Status among Gifted Program Youth. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 465-463. Deaux, K. (1976). The Behavior of Women and Men. Montery, Calif: Brooks/Cole. Cited in Bank, Biddee and Good, 1980. Deci, E. et al.( 1974). Motivation and Education: The Self-determination Perspective. Educational Psychologist. 26, 325-346. Delega, V. & Janda, L. (1986). Personal Adjustment: The Psychology of Everyday Life. (3rd ed). London: Scott, Foresmand and Company. Doyle, P. (1998). Sex and Gender. New York: McGraw Hill Book Company. Eckert, P. & McConnell – Gient, S. (2003). Language and Gender. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Frieze, I. et al. (1978). Women and Sex Roles: A Social Psychological Perspective. New York: Norton. Cited in Bank, Biddle and Good, 1980. Gutierrez, J. (1981). Study Attrition of Chicana Students at the University of Southern Colorado. Pueblo, Co: university of Southern Colorado. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 212, 396). Heaton, J. (1990). Classroom Testing. London: Longman. Hoge, D. and Smith, E. (1990). School Experiences Predicting Changes in Self-Esteem of Sixth and Seventh-Grade Students. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 117-127.
Italo Beriso. (1999). A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Teacher versus Peer Feedback on Addis Ababa University Students' Writing Revisions. PhD Thesis, Addis Ababa University. Jordan, T. (1981). Self-Concept, Motivation, and Academic achievement of Black Adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology. 73, 509-517. Kahn, (1969). Affective Correlates of Academic Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology. 60, 216-221. Katz, L. et al. (1977). Sex Role Socialization in Early Childhood. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 148472). Kitao, S. & Kitao, K. (2000). Testing Writing. Online Resources and Journals: ELT, Linguistics and Communication. Retrieved from http://wwwling.lancs.ac.uk/staff/ visitors/kenji/writinghtm. Lott, B. (1978). Behavioral Concordance with Sex Role Ideology Related to Play Areas, Creativity, Parental Sex Typing of Children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 180-187. Lyon, M. (1993). Academic Self-Concept and its Relation to Achievement in a Sample of Junior High School Students. Journal of Educational Psychology and Measurement. 53, 201. Maccoby E & Jacklin, C. (1974). The Psychology of Sex Differences. Vol. I: Text (2nd ed). Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Marsh, H. (1992). Self-Description Questionnaire – II: Manual. New South Wales, Australia: University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, Faculty of Education, Publication Unity. Cited in Pietsch, Walker, and Chapman, 2003.
Marsh, H. W. (1990). The Structure of Self-Concept: The Marsh/Shavelson Model. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 623-636. Marsh, H., Byrne, B., & Shavelson, R. (1988). A Multifaceted Academic Self-Concept: its Hierarchical Structure and its Relation to Academic Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology. 80, 366-80 Marsh, Smith and Barnes. (1985). Multidimensional Self-Concepts: Relations with Sex and Academic Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology. 77, 581-596. Marshal, S. (1984). Educational psychology for the Teacher in Africa. London: Edward Arnold (publishers) Ltd. Maruyama et al. (1981). Self-esteem and Educational Achievement: Independent Constructs with a Common Cause. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 40, 962-975. Mohan, J. (1993). Educational Psychology. New Delhi: Wiley Stern Ltd. NCES. (2004). Trends in Educational Equity of Girls and Women: Academic Performance. USA: Institute of Education Sciences. Pajares, F. (2003). Self-efficacy Beliefs, Motivation and Achievement in Writing: A Review of Literature. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 19, 139-158. Retrieved from http://www.transf.co.uk/journals Pajares, F. & Giovani, V. (2001). Gender Differences in Writing Motivation and Achievement of Middle School Students: A Function of Gender Orientation? Contemporary Educational Psychology. 26, 366-381. Peers, I. (1996). Statistical Analysis for Education and Psychology Researchers. USA: Farmer press.
Pietsch, J., Walker, R., & Chapman, E. (2003). The Relationship among Self-Concept, Self-Efficacy, and Performance in mathematics During Secondary School. Journal of Educational Psychology. 95, 589-603. Richman, C., Clark, M., & Brown, K. (1984). General and Specific Self-esteem in Late Adolescent Students: Race X Gender X Sex Effects. Paper Presented at the 30th Annual Convention of the Southern Eastern Psychological Association, Orleans. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 250607). Cited in Skaalvik, 1990. Rivers, W. (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Skills (2nd ed.). Chicago: Chicago University Press. Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books. Cited in Brodsky, 1988. Rosenberg, M. (1986). Self-Concept from Middle Childhood through Adolescence. In J. Suls and A. Green Wald (eds.) Psychological Perspectives on the Self. 3, 107-136. Cited in Wigfield, et al, 1991. Santrock, W. (1997). Psychology. Tokyo: Brown and Benchmark. Shavelson, R. and Bolus, R. (1982). Self-Concept: The Interplay of Theory and methods. Journal of Educational Psychology. 74, 3-17. Skaalvik, E. (1983). Academic Achievement, Self-esteem, and Valuing of the School-Some Sex Differences. British Journal of Education. 53, 299-306. Skaalvik, E. (1986). Age Trends in Male and Female Self-Esteem in Norwegian Samples. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 107 – 119.
Skaalvik, E. and Ranking, R. (1990). Math, Verbal, and General Academic Self-Concept: The Internal/External Frame of Reference Model and Gender Differences in Self Concept Structure. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 546-554. Skaalvik, E. M. (1990). Gender Differences in General Academic Self-Esteem and in Success Expectations on Defined Academic Problems. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 593-602. Sprinthall, N. (1994). Educational Psychology: A Development Approach. (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Inc. Sunderland, J. (1994). Differential Treatment by Gender in the EFL Classroom. Using ex-Participants Perspective. In Sunderland, J. (ed.) Exploring Gender and Implications for English Language Education. UK: Prentice Hall. Syoum Tefera. (1986). The Education of Women in Ethiopia: A Missing Piece in the Development Puzzle. The Ethiopian Journal of Education. 10, 5-17. Tamirie Andualem. (2001). (Reviewer). Some Alternative Predictors of Freshman GPA Along with the ESLCE in Ethiopian Institutes of Higher Learning. Education Faculty of BDU Research Bulletin. 11, 2, 47-52. Tarone, E and G. Yule, (1995). Focus on the Language Learner (3rd ed.) Oxford; OUP. Tyler, (1970). (ed.). Educational Evaluation: New Roles, New Means. USA: NSSE.
Wallace, T. & marsh, C. (eds). (1991). Changing Perceptions: Writings on Gender and Development. Oxfam.
Weiner, B. (1995). Human Motivation. USA: Lawrence Erlbium Associates, Inc. Wells, A. (1988). Variations in Mothers' Self-esteem in Daily Life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 55, 661-668. Wigfield, A. et al. (1991). Transitions during Early Adolescence: Changes in Children's Domain Specific Perceptions and General Self-esteem across the Transitions to Junior High School. Journal of Developmental Psychology. 22, 552-562. Williams, M. & Burdens. (1997). Psychology for Language Teachers: a Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: CUP. Wylie, R. (1979). The Self Concept: Theory and Research on Selected Topics. Revised Edition. Vol. 2 Lincoln: University of Nabraska Press. Zimbardo, P. (1988). Psychology and Life. (12th ed.). Boston. Scott, Foresman, and Company.
Published
2011-06-01
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Articles