The reciprocal effects model revisited : extending its reach to gifted students attending academically selective schools

The reciprocal effects model (REM) predicts a reciprocal relation between academic self-concept and academic achievement, whereby prior academic self-concept is associated with future gains in achievement, and prior achievement is related to subsequent academic self-concept. Although research in this area has been extensive, there has been a paucity of research specifically examining the REM from the standpoint of students who attend academically selective schools. The present research aimed to rectify this gap in the literature by testing the equivalence of the REM across a sample of high school students who attend both academically selective (n = 738) and mixed-ability comprehensive (n = 2,048) schools. Multigroup analyses revealed that the REM existed for both groups and that there were no differences between the groups in either the size or the direction of the paths that constitute the REM. Implications for REM theory and teaching practice are discussed.