Big fish little pond effect on academic self-concept : cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary generalizability

Education in academically selective schools is intended to have positive effects for bright students, but a growing body of theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative for academic self-concept. Education in mixed-ability, mainstream non-selective schools is intended to have positive effects for students with learning difficulties, but a growing body of theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative for academic self-concept. In its simplest form the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) predicts that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts when attending schools where the average ability levels of classmates is high, and higher academic self-concepts when attending schools where the school-average ability is low. Here I summarize theoretical, empirical, and policy-related implications of the BFLPE, and new research demonstrating the broad cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary generalizability of the effect.