Current and Recent Research Programmes

PLEASE ALSO SEE THE SELF RESEARCH GROUP'S WEBSITE AT www.self.ox.ac.uk

(also see Research Grants) Click on the links below to read more

-         Can Self-Concept be Measured in Early Childhood: Developmental Perspectives?

-         The Causal Ordering of Academic Self-Concept and Achievement.

-         Big Fish Little Pond Effect: Effects of academically selective schools & classes.

-         The Internal/External Frame of Reference (I/E) Model: Math & Verbal Self-concepts.

-         Bullies, Victims, Violence and Aggression

-         OECD/PISA and Cross-Cultural Applications: An International Perspective.

-         Student Evaluations of Teaching Effectiveness In Higher Education.

-         Physical Self-concept, Physical Activity and Health-related Physical Activity.

-         The Learning Every Lesson (LEL) study.

Can Self-Concept be Measured in Early Childhood: Developmental Perspectives?

Developing young children's self-concepts is a critical educational goal in the UK and throughout the world. Despite considerable advances in self-concept research with older students, there has been only limited progress with children 5-8 years of age. This is unfortunate, as this transitional period between early and middle childhood in which many major developmental milestones are achieved may be crucial in the formation of a positive self-concept that is related to the attainment of many other valued outcomes. The failure to pursue research with this age group is due, in large part, to problems associated with measuring self-concepts of young children.

Seminal work by Marsh, Craven, and Debus (1991; 1998) developed and replicated an Individualised Administration (IA) procedure for use with the SDQI-IA self-concept instrument. This procedure consists of an individual interview style of presentation. Results based on these two studies demonstrated a clearly defined factor structure based on responses by children between the ages of 5 and 8. Important findings were: a) the development of a sound self-concept measurement instrument for young children; b) illuminating the structure of self-concept for young children; c) the identification of age and gender differences typified for older students being extended to these very young children; and d) pragmatic issues such as the length of instruments for young children (items near the end of this 64-item instrument were more effective than those at the start).

• Marsh, Tracey, and Craven (2006) subsequently showed this instrument to be effective for young learning disadvantaged children (IQs 50-70).
• Marsh, Ellis, and Craven (2002) further adapted this measurement strategy for even younger children aged 3-5.

Based on a review of theoretical and empirical research, Marsh, Debus, and Bornholt (2005) argued that there was reasonable support for a clearly defined, multidimensional structure of self-concept based on self-report responses by children aged 5 to 8 and, perhaps, even younger. They contended that the failure of previous research with young children apparently reflected problems with the development of appropriate multidimensional instruments and the reliance on weak or inappropriate statistical tools, as well as issues that are idiosyncratic to this particular age group. They predicted– as seems to have been the case with research with older participants – that the combination of more appropriate measurement tools, better methodology, and stronger statistical procedures will facilitate a resurgence of good quality self-concept research with young children.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W., Debus, R. & Bornholt, L. (2005). Validating Young Children's Self-concept Responses: Methodological Ways and means to understand their responses. In D. M. Teti (Ed.), Handbook of Research Methods in Developmental Science (pp. 138-160). Blackwell Publishers: Oxford, UK.

Marsh, H. W., Craven, R. G., & Debus, R. (1998). Structure, stability, and development of young children’s self-concepts: A multicohort-multioccasion study. Child Development, 69(4), 1030-1053.

Marsh, H. W., Tracey, D. K., Craven, R. G. (2006). Multidimensional self-concept structure for preadolescents with mild intellectual disabilities: A hybrid multigroup-mimic approach to factorial invariance and latent mean differences. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 795-818.

Marsh, H. W., Ellis, L., & Craven, R. G. (2002). How do preschool children feel about themselves? Unravelling measurement and multidimensional self-concept structure. Developmental Psychology, 38, 376-393.

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The Causal Ordering of Academic Self-Concept and Achievement

Do changes in academic self-concept lead to changes in subsequent academic achievement? The causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement is, perhaps, the most vexing question in academic self-concept research. This critical question has important theoretical and practical implications, and has been the focus of considerable research.

Because self-concept and academic achievement are not readily amenable to experimental manipulations, most research relies on longitudinal panel data in which both self-concept and achievement are measured on at least two occasions (i.e., a 2-wave 2-variable design). Although well-established paradigms to study this problem did not exist prior to the 1980s, more recent developments in the application of structural equation modeling have enabled the analysis of such longitudinal panel designs. In a demonstration of these new statistical approaches, Marsh (1990) tested the causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement with four waves of data (last 3 years of high school and 1 year after graduation). He found support for reciprocal effects in which the largest paths were from prior academic self-concept to subsequent school grades. In their review, Marsh and Craven (2006) reported clear support for a reciprocal effects model (REM) demonstrating that academic self-concept and academic achievement are each a cause and an effect of the other.

In contrast to REM results, Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger and Vohs’ (2003) influential review concluded that self-esteem, the global component of self-concept, had no effect on subsequent academic performance. Seeking a rapprochement between these apparently contradictory conclusions, Marsh and Craven (2006) argued that from their multidimensional perspective, it is entirely logical that there are few significant linkages between self-esteem and school achievement even though the reciprocal linkages between academic self-concept and achievement are strong. Ironically, both reviews cited classic Youth in Transition studies as providing particularly strong support of their respective claims. Marsh and O’Mara (in press) used new statistical techniques to reanalyze these data, expanding the REM to include academic self-concept, self-esteem, achievement, and longterm (8-year) educational attainment. Integrating apparently discrepant findings under a common theoretical framework based on a multidimensional perspective, academic self-concept had consistent reciprocal effects with both achievement and educational attainment, whereas self-esteem had almost none.

This research is critically important in that it has established that increases in academic self-concept lead to increases in subsequent academic achievement and other desirable educational outcomes. Hence, not only is self-concept an important outcome variable in itself, it also plays a central role in mediating the effects of other desirable educational outcomes. These findings have significant implications for international educational policy and practice, and are the basis for further ongoing research.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W. (1990). Causal ordering of academic self-concept and academic achievement: A multiwave, longitudinal panel analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 646-656.

Marsh, H. W. & Craven, R. G. (2006). Reciprocal effects of self-concept and performance from a multidimensional perspective: Beyond seductive pleasure and unidimensional perspectives. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 133-163

Marsh, H. W., & O’Mara, A. (In press). Reciprocal effects between academic self-concept, self-esteem, achievement and attainment over seven adolescent years: Unidimensional and multidimensional perspectives of self-concept. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

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Big Fish Little Pond Effect: Effects of Academically Selective Schools & Classes

Self-concept cannot be adequately understood if the role of frames of reference is ignored. The same objective characteristics and accomplishments can lead to disparate self-concepts depending on the frame of reference or standards of comparison that individuals use to evaluate themselves. More than a century ago, William James (1890/1963) discussed “the paradox of a man shamed to death because he is only the second pugilist or the second oarsman in the world” (p. 310). Almost half a century ago, Festinger (1954) introduced social comparison theory that provides one approach for studying frame of reference effects.

Marsh (1984; 1991; Marsh & Parker, 1984) proposed a frame of reference model called the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) to encapsulate frame of reference effects affecting self-concept in educational settings. He hypothesised that students compare their own academic ability with the academic abilities of their peers and use this social comparison impression as one basis for forming their own academic self-concept. In its simplest form, the BFLPE predicts that equally able students have lower academic self-concepts when attending schools where the average ability level of other students is high than when attending schools where the school-average ability is low. Subsequent research in this ongoing research program demonstrates that these BFLPE findings are remarkably robust, generalizing over a wide variety of different individual student and contextual level characteristics, settings, countries, longterm followups, and research designs. The results also have important policy implications for the ways in which schools are organized (e.g., ability grouping, tracking, selective schools, gifted education programs, etc. See recent reviews by Marsh, 2007; O’Mara & Marsh, 2007). Notable findings include:

• Marsh & Hau (2003) study showing the negative effects of school-average ability generalised over nationally representative samples of students from 23 countries from the OECD/PISA study.
• Marsh & Tracey (2006) study showing that students with learning disabilities had higher academic self-concepts in special education classes with children of similar abilities than in mainsteam (mixed-ability) classes. These results are consistent with the BFLPE but contradict “labelling theory” that is one basis for special classes.
• Marsh, Trautwein, Ludtke, Baumert, & Köller (2007) study found that BFLPEs established early in high school grew the longer students were in the same school, and were maintained two and four years after graduation from high school.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W. (1991). The failure of high ability high schools to deliver academic benefits: The importance of academic self-concept and educational aspirations. American Educational Research Journal, 28, 445-480.

Marsh, H. W. (2007). Self-concept theory, measurement and research into practice: The role of self-concept in educational psychology. Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society.

Marsh, H. W. & Hau, K. T. (2003). Big fish little pond effect on academic self-concept: A crosscultural (26 country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools. American Psychologist, 58, 364-376.

Marsh, H. W., & Parker, J W. (1984). Determinants of student self-concept: Is it better to be a relatively large fish in a small pond even if you don't learn to swim as well? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 213-231.

Marsh, H. W., Trautwein, U., Ludtke, O., Baumert, J. & Köller, O. (2007). Big fish little pond effect: Persistent negative effects of selective high schools on self-concept after graduation. American Educational Research Journal.

O’Mara, A. J. & Marsh, H. W. (2007). Big-Fish-Little-Pond effect: The negative effects of academically selective schools. The Psychology of Education Review, 31, 2-7

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The Internal/External Frame of Reference (I/E) Model: Math & Verbal Self-concepts

People think of themselves as mostly math or verbal persons, but rarely both - even though individuals who are good at one also tend to be good at the other (see Marsh, 1986). Why is there this stark contrast between these academic self-perceptions and corresponding objective accomplishments? According to the I/E model, academic self-concept in a particular school subject is formed in relation to an external (social comparison) reference in which students compare their self-perceived performances in a particular school subject with the perceived performances of other students in the same school subject, and an internal (ipsative-like) reference in which students compare their performances in the particular school subject with their own performances in other school subjects. Hence, students may have a favourable math self-concept if math is their best subject, even if they are not particularly good at math relative to other students.

Stronger tests of the I/E model are possible when math and verbal achievements are related to math and verbal self-concepts. The external comparison process predicts that good math skills lead to higher math self-concepts and that good verbal skills lead to higher verbal self-concepts. According to the internal comparison process, however, good math skills should lead to lower verbal self-concept (once the positive effects of good verbal skills are controlled). For instance, “the better I am at mathematics, the poorer I am at verbal subjects (relative to my good math skills)”. Similarly, better verbal skills should lead to lower math self-concept (once the positive effects of good math skills are controlled). In models used to test this prediction, the horizontal paths leading from math achievement to math self-concept and from verbal achievement to verbal self-concept are predicted to be substantially positive. However, the cross paths leading from math achievement to verbal self-concept and from verbal achievement to math self-concept are predicted to be negative.

Marsh (2007) summarized support for these predictions in diverse studies based on different self-concept instruments and samples of students from different countries and different ages. Marsh and Hau (2004) provided particularly persuasive support for the cross-cultural generalisability of the I/E model predictions based on the OECD/PISA study of nationally representative samples of 15-year-olds from 26 countries. Marsh, Ludtke, et al. (2007) applied new latent profile analyses to evaluate the I/E predictions from a person-centred approach. In this ongoing research program we are extending models to include more school subjects and evaluating mediators and moderators of the effects.

The I/E model also has practical implications for educational practice and understanding of self-concept formation. Particularly for poorer students, they are likely to have an average or even above-average self-concept in their (relatively) best subject. Understanding these principles should assist teachers to give positive feedback that is credible to particularly weaker students.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W. & Hau, K. T. (2004). Explaining paradoxical relations between academic self-concepts and achievements: Cross-cultural generalizability of the internal-external frame of reference predictions across 26 countries. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96,  56-67.

Marsh, H. W. (2007). Self-concept theory, measurement and research into practice: The role of self-concept in educational psychology. Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society.

Marsh, H. W., Ludtke, O., Robitzsch, A., &Trautwein, U. (2007) Latent profile analysis of academic self-concept dimensions: Synergy of person- and variable-centered approaches to the internal/external frame of reference models. (In review).

Marsh, H. W. (1986). Verbal and math self-concepts: An internal/external frame of reference model. American Educational Research Journal, 23, 129-149.

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 Bullies, Victims, Violence and Aggression

Why don’t anti-bullying programs work?

Bullying, violence, and victimisation in schools are pervasive problems with long-term psychological consequences for bullies, victims, and communities. Anti-bullying programs, although popular internationally, are rarely developed to capitalise on recent theoretical advances or systematically analysed by rigorous research. Grounded on cutting edge research in anti-bullying, school ethos, self-concept, and cognitive psychology, we have developed an innovative whole-school anti-bullying intervention in collaboration with the Department of Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatry, Redbank House, and the Marist Education Centre/Catholic Education Office in New South Wales, Australia. We critically evaluated its impact on desirable social and educational outcomes for victims, bullies, and other students using a powerful multi-cohort-multi-occasion experimental design and sophisticated quantitative and qualitative analyses, tracking both individual students and whole schools over time.

What is the role of self-concept in bullying?

One of the first studies to come from this new research project evaluates the pivotal role of self-concept in relation to bullying (Marsh, Parada, Yeung, & Healey, 2000). Aggressive Troublemaking and being a Victim were related to three components of self-concept (General, Same Sex, and Opposite Sex) based on the large, nationally representative NELS database. Longitudinal structural equation models for students in Grades 8, 10, and 12 showed that the Troublemaker and Victim constructs were reasonably stable over time and moderately correlated (many students were both troublemakers and victims). The Victim factor was negatively correlated with self-concepts and had negative effects on subsequent self-concepts. Whereas the Troublemaker factor was also correlated somewhat negatively with self-concepts, the Troublemaker factor had small positive effects on subsequent self-concept. This suggests that low self-concept may trigger troublemaking behaviour in an attempt to enhance subsequent self-concept. Although boys had higher Troublemaker and Victim scores than girls, the effects of these constructs on subsequent self-concepts were similar for boys and girls. The results indicate that bullies derive a sense of self-worth from their anti-social activities and suggest that this may be reinforced by others. Hence, an effective means to undermine bullying behaviours may be to alter the social ethos within a school that reinforces bullying behaviours.

Are bullies and victims more alike than different?

There are some obvious differences between bullies and victims, but what may be more surprising is the similarity between bullies and victims on a wide variety of psychological constructs such as: attitudes toward bullying, roles taken on when confronted with a bullying situation, strategies for coping with problems, inability to control anger, depression, life event stress, low self-concept on most of the different areas of self-concept measured, and global self-esteem. These similarities seem surprising from an historical, bi-polar perspective of bullies and victims, whereby being a bully and being a victim has been assumed to be bi-polar opposites. However, our research showed that bullies tend to be victims of bullying, and victims tend to be bullies. Furthermore, our causal modelling also revealed support for a reciprocal effects model such that previous bullying leads to subsequently being bullied, whereas previously being bullied leads to subsequently being bullied. Thus, when results are interpreted from the fresh perspective of our reciprocal effects model, it is not surprising that bullies and victims are similar on a variety of psychological constructs.

Do low self-concepts and depression lead to being victimised or are these merely by-products of being a victim?

Our results provide reasonably clear evidence that low self-concepts and high levels of depression do lead to being a victim. Thus, positive self-perceptions provide a strategic approach to developing psychological tools and resiliency that serve to protect students from becoming victims. However, by drawing upon our reciprocal effects model, our results also extend these findings by demonstrating that these positive self-perceptions also protect students from becoming bullies.

Do school bullies successfully use bullying behaviours as a strategy to enhance their self-concepts and reduce depression?

Our results provide reasonably clear evidence that there are no benefits to being a bully in terms of increased levels of self-concept or lowered levels of depression. However, even if the use of bullying for this purpose is not a successful strategy, it is still possible that it remains a motivation for students to become bullies. For this reason, it is important that the school community of students, teachers, administrators, and parents reinforces the unacceptability of bullying behaviours so that students cannot delude themselves into thinking that such socially inappropriate behaviours can result in enhanced social status and self-perceptions—real or self-perceived.

What works?

Our research also has some potentially important implications for interventions. Bullies have particularly low self-concepts on the Honesty/Trustworthy, Parent Relationships, and School scales. This suggests that interventions aimed at building moral values associated with home and school may provide a deterrent to bullying behaviours. Interestingly, these are three of the self-concept scales where victims scored higher than bullies. In contrast, victims generally had lower self-concepts than bullies, particularly on the two peer-relationship (same-sex and opposite-sex relations) scales. This supports interventions designed to improve the social skills particularly of victims. Whereas both bullies and victims were low on anger control, victims tended to internalise anger whereas bullies tended to externalise it. Both bullies and particularly victims tended to use avoidance to deal with potentially stressful situations. Thus, anger control and effective coping strategies may be an important ingredient in intervention programs. Whereas both bullies and victims tended to be depressed, victims were much more depressed than bullies. Finally, a successful intervention must be able to alter the pattern of positive pro-bully and negative pro-victim attitudes held by bullies.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W., Parada, R. H., Yeung, A. S. & Healey, J. (2001). Aggressive School Troublemakers and Victims:A Longitudinal Model Examining the Pivotal Role of Self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 411-419.

Parada, R., Craven, R. G., & Marsh, H.W. (in press). The beyond bullying secondary program: An innovative program empowering teachers to counteract bullying in schools. In H. W. Marsh, R. G. Craven, & D. M. McInerney (Eds.), International Advances in Self Research (Volume 3, pp. xx-xx). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

Marsh, H. W., Parada, R. H., Craven, R. G. & Finger, L. (2004). In the looking glass: A reciprocal effects model elucidating the complex nature of bullying, psychological determinants and the central role of self-concept. In C. S. Sanders & G. D. Phye (Eds.), Bullying: Implications for the classroom (pp. 63-106). Orlando, FL: Elsevier Academic Press.

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 OECD/PISA and Cross-Cultural Applications: An International Perspective

A major component of the SELF Research Centre research focuses on the cross-cultural validity of our empirical findings. We are well positioned to take on this challenge because our instruments measuring self-concept and related constructs have been used all over the world, translated into many languages, incorporated into several large-scale international projects, and applied extensively at the Satellites of the SELF Research Centre in Hong Kong, Germany, Norway, USA, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. Our collaboration with international colleagues provides unique opportunities to: test the generalisability of our research findings; extend our research into new areas of international significance; strengthen our international links, and enhance recognition of this established area of SELF Research Centre research strength.

Our International SELF Conferences attract delegates from more than 30 countries who work on interrelated problems using similar instruments, use similar terminology, employ state of the art methodologies, and build on each other’s research. The cross-cultural, international appeal of self-concept research adds to the vibrancy of this field of study. Through these networks we have established important research networks and conducted large-scale research studies in Europe, Asia, and North America, e.g., studies of self-concept in relation to the reunification of East and West German school systems following the fall of the Berlin Wall (e.g., Marsh, Köller & Baumert) and language of instruction (English vs Cantonese) following Hong Kong’s return to China (Marsh, Hau & Kong, 2001).

Ongoing collaboration with OECD/PISA research has been a particularly fruitful area of SELF cross-cultural research. In most cross-cultural research, apparent cross-cultural differences are typically confounded with potential differences in the composition of non-representative samples from different countries and, perhaps, the appropriateness of materials. These issues are addressed in the PISA research. Every three years, OECD/PISA compares nationally representative samples of 15-year olds from a growing number of countries in terms of educational systems, student achievement, and a range of psychosocial variables related to educational quality—including items from the SDQ self-concept instrument.

Important work with PISA data has shown the generalisability of the big-fish-little-pond effect (Marsh & Hau, 2003) and the internal/external frame of reference model (Marsh & Hau, 2004). An international team of SELF researchers (Marsh, Hau, Artelt, Baumert, & Peschar, 2006) subsequently validated PISA’s survey instrument (Student Approaches to Learning, SAL). SAL’s 13 constructs were selected as being the best known, psychometrically strongest, and most useful measures in the educational research literature. Supporting its cross-national validity, the results showed that the factor structure, and relations between the 13 SAL constructs and criterion variables (gender, SES, math and verbal achievement), were reasonably invariant across countries. The authors concluded that SAL provides a standard set of educational psychological measures that have been translated into many languages with nationally representative norms that have been validated across the world. These should be a useful focus or supplement in diverse educational psychology research settings, and should provide the longitude and latitude against which to map new and existing educational psychology constructs.

On the basis of previous research with PISA, OECD invited SELF to pursue new analyses based on the PISA2006 data (that became available near the end of 2007). PISA2006 is especially designed to provide policy-relevant information on 15-year-old students’ literacy in reading, mathematics, and science, with a particular focus on science engagement. This ongoing research program will extend previous evaluations of theoretical self-concept models, applying more sophisticated multilevel contextual models to test the generalisability of effects in relation to science (the focus of PISA2006) and to a much larger, more diverse group of countries, including many more non-Western and developing countries with different cultural orientations. An important new direction will be on student engagement in science and how this relates to the worrying shortage of students pursuing careers in science.

Selected References

Marsh, H. W. (2007). Self-concept theory, measurement and research into practice: The role of self-concept in educational psychology. Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society.

Marsh, H. W. & Hau, K. T. (2003). Big fish little pond effect on academic self-concept: A crosscultural (26 country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools. American Psychologist, 58, 364-376.

Marsh, H. W. & Hau, K. T. (2004). Explaining paradoxical relations between academic self-concepts and achievements: Cross-cultural generalizability of the internal-external frame of reference predictions across 26 countries. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 56-67.

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K-T., Artelt, C., Baumert, J., Peschar, J. L. (2006). OECD’s brief self-report measure of educational psychology’s most useful affective constructs: Cross-cultural, psychometric comparisons across 25 countries. International Journal of Testing, 6, 311–360.  (special issue of journal).

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 Student Evaluations of Teaching Effectiveness In Higher Education

Students’ evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETs) are increasingly being used in universities throughout the world to assess effective teaching for purposes of improving teaching, personnel decisions, and quality assurance exercises. They are widely endorsed by teachers, students, and administrators, have stimulated much research, and continue to be very controversial. Based on his review of this literature and his own research programme spanning more than 30 years, Marsh (1987; 2007) concluded that when appropriately measured, SETs are:

• multidimensional;
• reliable and stable;
• primarily a function of the instructor who teaches a course rather than the course that is taught;
• relatively valid against a variety of indicators of effective teaching;
• relatively unaffected by a variety of variables hypothesized as potential biases, such as grading leniency, class size, workload and prior subject interest;  and
• demonstrably useful in improving teaching effectiveness when coupled with appropriate consultation.

Although there is a persistent myth that good researchers are necessarily good teachers, a large meta-analysis (Hattie & Marsh, 2002) showed teaching effectiveness to be almost unrelated to research productivity. University lecturers are expected to be good teachers and good researchers, but receive little teacher training. Hence, it is not surprising that many lecturers lack confidence about their teaching effectiveness and do not know how to use SET feedback to improve their teaching effectiveness without additional consultation.

Marsh and Roche (1993) developed a feedback intervention based on SETs, teacher self-perceptions of their own teaching effectiveness, and booklets containing concrete strategies on how to improve teaching effectiveness for each evaluation factor (e.g., Organisation, Learning, Group Interaction, Enthusiasm, Breadth of Coverage, Exams). In consultation with a consultant, teachers used this information to select specific SEEQ factors and appropriate strategies to improve their teaching effectiveness. This feedback intervention led to significantly improved teaching effectiveness in subsequent courses compared to randomly assigned control teachers in a no-feedback condition.

Roche and Marsh (2000) argued that surprisingly little attention has been paid to the nature, measurement and practical implications of university teachers’ self-concepts—their self-perceptions of their own teaching effectiveness. Consistent with predictions from self-concept research, they demonstrated that feedback from significant others (students) influenced self-concept. They discussed implications for further research on teacher reflection and for improving teaching effectiveness in higher education.

In the UK and Australia, graduating students from all universities are asked to evaluate the effectiveness of their educational programme. These ratings are used to “benchmark” universities within each country. This research differs fundamentally from other SET research in that the target of student ratings is a broad educational experience covering many years and a large number of different teachers – rather than one specific teacher in one specific course. Marsh, Rowe, and Martin (2001, 2003) evaluated issues, complexities, challenges, and appropriateness for using such ratings to make benchmarking comparisons between different universities and programs. Based on Australian evaluations of post-graduate research programmes, they found that there were no significant differences between universities or disciplines within universities – a conclusion that undermines support for this type of benchmarking exercise.

In this ongoing research programme, the Oxford SELF group has been asked by the UK Higher Education Academy (and HEFCE) to evaluate responses to the UK National Student Survey that is completed by graduating undergraduates from all UK universities and used to benchmark UK universities in publications like the “Good University Guide” (see National Student Survey research grant for more detail).

Selected References

Hattie, J, & Marsh, H. W. (1996). The relationship between research and teaching -- a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 66, 507-542.

Marsh, H. W. (2007). Students' evaluations of university teaching: A multidimensional perspective. In R. P. Perry & J C. Smart (Ed.), The scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education: An evidence-based perspective (pp.319-384). New York: Springer.

Marsh, H. W., Rowe, K., & Martin, A. (2002). PhD students' evaluations of research supervision: Issues, complexities and challenges in a nationwide Australian experiment in benchmarking universities. Journal of Higher Education, 73 (3), 313-348.

Marsh, H. W., & Roche, L. A (1997). Making students’ evaluations of teaching effectiveness effective. American Psychologist, 52, 1187-1197.

Marsh, H. W., & Roche, L. (1993). The use of students' evaluations and an individually structured intervention to enhance university teaching effectiveness. American Educational Research Journal, 30, 217-251.

Marsh, H. W. (1987). Students' evaluations of university teaching: Research findings, methodological issues, and directions for future research. International Journal of Educational Research, 11, 253-388 (whole issue).

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In physical education and sport psychology, there is growing recognition of the importance of physical self-concept as both an outcome variable and as a mediating variable that facilitates the attainment of other desirable outcomes at both the elite and non-elite levels. Two physical self-concept instruments developed by SELF (Physical Self Description Questionnaire and Elite Athlete Self Description Questionnaire) instruments are now becoming widely used internationally and have resulted in several important cross-cultural comparisons (Marsh, 2001, in press). This research shows that specific components of physical self-concept are logically and systematically related to multidimensional measures of physical fitness and levels of physical activity.

Increasingly sedentary lifestyles and physical inactivity constitute the major health problem in the Western world. Despite well-known benefits of physical activity, existing medical-oriented interventions do not have long-term effects. Related concerns are also evident in the shift in emphasis in sport/exercise and physical education research from a narrow focus on sport to a broader focus on health-related physical activity. In our ongoing research programme, we propose a psychological approach that emphasises physical self-concept, quality of subjective experience (flow), motivation, and the transtheoretical model of behavioural change. We seek to establish psychological determinants of physical activity and implement new approaches to enhance health-related physical activity. In our research we apply innovative statistical methodology to a combination of research designs (cross-sectional descriptive; longitudinal causal modelling; multioccasion-multicohort analyses, experimental intervention), focusing on the psychological constructs (flow, enjoyment, physical self-concept, and motivation) posited as both determinants and consequences of physical activity, and the transtheoretical model of behavioural change.

Research with a large, nationally representative, longitudinal sample of high school students shows that participation in school-based physical activity has many positive benefits on subsequent academic and non-academic accomplishments (Marsh & Kleitman, 2002; 2003). Our recent research has shown that physical self-concept is reciprocally related to a variety of outcomes at non-elite physical outcomes:

• gymnastics performance in French physical education classes (Marsh, Chanal, Sarrazin, & Bois, 2005);
• involvement in sport and physical activity German students in childhood and early adolescence (Marsh, Gerlach, et al, 2007); and
  
• health related physical activity and exercise behaviour for Greek Students (Marsh, Papaioannou, & Theodorakis, 2006).
  

At the elite level, Marsh and Perry (2005) demonstrated that elite athlete self-concept contributed to winning gold medals by the world’s top swimmers competing at international swimming championships.

Selected References

Marsh, H.W., Papaioannou, A., Theodorakis, Y. (2006). Causal ordering of physical self-concept and exercise behavior: Reciprocal effects model and the influence of physical education teachers. Health Psychology, 25 (3): 316-328

Marsh, H. W., & Perry, C. (2005). Does a positive self-concept contribute to winning gold medals in elite swimming? The causal ordering of elite athlete self-concept and championship performances. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 27, 71-91.

Marsh, H. W. & Kleitman, S. (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72, 464-502.

Marsh, H. W. (1997). The measurement of physical self-concept: A construct validation approach. In K. Fox (Ed.), The physical self-: From motivation to well-being (pp. 27-58). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Marsh, H. W., Gerlach, E., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, U. Brettschneider, W-D. (2007). Longitudinal Study of Preadolescent Sport Self-Concept and Performance: Reciprocal Effects and Causal Ordering. Child Development, 78, 1640-1656.

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