Relationship between self-esteem and academic self-concept for German elementary and secondary school students

This study aims to investigate the construct of global self-esteem and its relationship with academic self-concept within a sample of German students attending grades 3-6 (N = 1958), considering the domain specificity and competence-affect separation of academic self-concept. Confirmatory factor analyses found global self-esteem to be similarly related to domain-specific (math and verbal) and general measures of academic self-concept. Self-perceived competence and affect were similarly related to global self-esteem. There was some evidence that the mean level of global self-esteem was higher for fourth grade students (before transition) than for 5th graders (after transition), and the lowest for 6th grade students. The relationship between global self-esteem and academic self-concept was found to be invariant across grade levels although descriptive results indicated a weaker relationship after transition.