The relationship between self-concept and achievement in mathematics of black and white children among title I and non-title I programs, 1978

Woodfork, Thelma Simmons

1970-1979

The general purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between self-concept and achievement in mathematics for three groups of children from Charles L. Gideons Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. The specific purpose of the study was to determine whether this hypothesized relationship is affected by Title I supported education and/or race. The subjects of the study were one hundred seventy-two pupils from the fourth, fifth and sixth grades. Seventy-five were in Title I and ninety-seven were Non-Title I students. Both groups were given the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory to determine their level of self-concept. The achievement scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were obtained from the Principals Office. The Title I students were selected on the basis of a composite score of 90 and below. When the total scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Cooper smith were compiled, the Pearson r was used to determine the relationship between them. Once the relationship was established, the t distribution was used to test its significance. The data for the study were compiled to test the following hypotheses: (1) There is a positive relationship between self-concept and achievement in mathematics; (2) There is no significant difference in the relationship between self-concept and achievement in mathematics among black and white students; and (3) There is no significant difference in the relationship between self-concept and achievement in mathematics among Title I and Non-Title I students. The results of the data analysis support hypotheses 1 and 3, but do not support hypothesis 2 because there was a significant difference in the relationship of white students but not in the relationship of black students. With regard to the total population, a relationship does exist between self-concept and achievement in mathematics. The correlation coefficient representing this relationship was significant at the .01 level. In this study there was a significant difference in the relationship between the self-concept and achievement in mathematics among the white students. The relationship between self-concept and achievement was the same for both the Title I and Non-Title I students in this study. The researcher recommends that: (1) More research should be conducted to determine the effect of Title I on the achievement of the students ~n Title I; (2) More study should be conducted to identify factors which contribute to high self-concept and achievement in children of the disadvantaged; (3) A thorough evaluation of each Title I program needs to be implemented once every two years to determine if the desired goals are being met; and (4) finally, a diagnostic tool for pointing out the disadvantaged childs strengths and weaknesses should be designed.

text

application/pdf

1978-04-01

thesis

Education Specialist (EdS)

Atlanta University

School of Education

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1978_woodfork_thelma_s