Professor Herb Marsh Inaugural Professorial Lecture and Launch of Quantitative Special Interest Group

Overview of a 30-year Self-concept Research Program: A Methodological-Substantive Synergy

Details

When: 5.00 pm - 6.00 pm on 6 June 2012
Where: University of Western Sydney, BA 02.G.04 (LT05), Bankstown Campus (opens in a new window)

For more information, please see CPPE Quantitative Special Interest Group (SIG)

Biography of Professor Herb Marsh

Professor Herb Marsh (BA-Hons, Indiana; MA; PhD, UCLA; DSc, UWS; Aust Acad of Soc Sci; Brit Acad of Soc Sci) has recently returned to the University of Western Sydney as part of the Centre for Positive Psychology and Education (CPPE) after spending six years in the UK as Professor of Education Oxford University. He is the author of internationally recognised psychological tests that measure self-concept, motivation and university students evaluations of teaching effectiveness. He is widely published (380 articles in 70 journals, 65 chapters, 14 monographs, 370 conference papers), co-edits the International Advances in Self Research monograph series, and is an “ISI highly cited researcher”(opens in a new window). He founded SELF Research Centre that has 450 members and satellite centres at leading Universities around the world . He has been recognised as the most productive educational psychologist in the world and the 11th most productive researcher across all disciplines of psychology. In addition to his methodological focus on structural equation models, factor analysis, multilevel modelling, and new statistical approaches to meta-analysis, his major substantive interests include self-concept and motivational constructs; evaluations of teaching/educational effectiveness; developmental psychology; sports psychology; the peer review process; gender differences; peer support and anti-bullying interventions. In 1998-2003 he was awarded the Australian Research Council “Special Investigator Award” to fund his entire research programme. Similarly, in 2008-11 he was awarded one of the highly competitive ESRC Professorial Fellowships (awarded to only 3-5 social science researchers across all of the UK).

Lecture Abstract

Self-concept enhancement is a major goal in many fields including education, child development, health, sport/exercise sciences, social services, organisational settings, and management. Self-concept is a multidimensional hierarchical construct with highly differentiated components such as academic, social, physical and emotional self-concepts as well as a global self-esteem. Self-concept is also an important mediating factor that facilitates the attainment of other desirable outcomes. In education, for example, a positive academic self-concept is both a highly desirable goal and a means for facilitating subsequent academic accomplishments. However, the benefits of feeling positively about oneself on one’s choice, planning, persistence and subsequent accomplishments transcend traditional disciplinary and cultural barriers. The purpose of my presentation is to provide an overview of my self-concept research in which I address diverse theoretical and methodological issues with practical implications for research, policy and practice such as:

  • Does a positive self-concept “cause” better school performance or is it the other way around?
  • Why do self-concepts decline for:
    - gifted students who attend selective schools? 
    - learning disabled students in regular classrooms?
  • Are multiple dimensions of self-concept more distinct than multiple intelligences?
  • Why do people think of themselves as “math” persons or “verbal” persons?
  • Can children as young as 5 and 6 distinguish between multiple dimensions of self-concept?
  • How different are the self-concepts of bullies and victims?
  • Does a positive physical self-concept lead to health-related physical activity?
  • Do self-concept models hold up in cross-nationally and cross-culturally?
  • How do self-concepts of elite swimmers from 30 countries contribute to winning gold medals?
  • How did the fall of the Berlin Wall and the resumption of Chinese control of Hong Kong influence self-concepts in these countries?
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