Academic Self-Concept: Gender Differences between Upwardly Mobile Female and Male Students in Germany

This paper examines gender-specific differences in the domain specific academic self-concept in mathematics among students in Germany who have changed from a vocational to an academic track at the transition to upper secondary education and students who have already chosen an academic track at lower secondary education. The investigation of gender differences in the academic self-concept has a long history (Marsh and Yeung, 1998). However, there is a paucity of research examining the interplay between academic self-concept and gender in processes of upward track mobility in stratified education systems. Using data from the German National Educational Panel Study, findings show that (1) female newcomer to academic tracking have a stronger academic self-concept in mathematics than both male newcomer and established male students who have already been in academic tracking during lower secondary education. Further, established male students have a stronger academic self-concept in mathematics than established female students (2). Controlling for individual competencies, school-average competencies mathematics show a negative impact on the domain specific academic self-concept; often referred to as Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect (3). This negative impact of school-average competencies in mathematics on the domain-specific academic self-concept differed by gender. It was stronger for established female students and was especially pronounced for male newcomer (4). Thus, findings show that the gendered Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect may differ in the context of upward mobility. The results thus show the complexity of gender differences in education, especially in relation to social inequality. Future policy interventions should take these findings into account.