An examination of the moderating influences of socio-economic status and individual differences in learning on the big-fish-little-pond effect

![CDATA[Growing international support for the Big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) shows that attending academic selective high schools has a negative effect on academic self-concept. Researchers (Marsh, 1991; Marsh, Chessor, Craven, & Roche, 1995) have advocated that identification of factors that moderate the negative effects of the BFLPE would be a valuable tool in developing policies aimed at maximizing the benefits of attending academically selective schools, but to date research investigating these factors has had limited success. Utilising the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) database (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2000), the present study addressed this gap in the literature by examining the influence of socio-economic status (SES) and individual differences in learning on the BFLPE. Whereas SES interacted with the negative effect of school-average achievement (the BFLPE; the effect was smaller for high-SES students), individual differences in the way in which students approach the learning situation did not. The implications of these results and suggestions for future research were discussed.]]