Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect: The impact on academic self-concept

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact on the self-concept of students when they transitioned into an academically selective independent middle school. The sample consisted of 107 middle school students in an all-boys independent school in the northeast United States. Data on students' general self-concept, academic self-concept and domain specific academic self-concepts were collected using the Academic Self-Description Questionnaire I and II.;Four hypotheses were tested: 1) Newly enrolled students to the all-boys middle school will initially experience significantly more negative domain specific academic self-concepts than students who are returning or have been promoted from within the school; 2) New students to the all-boys middle school will initially experience a significant negative difference in general academic self-concept than students who are returning or have been promoted from within the school; 3) New students to the all-boys middle school will have a general self-concept that does not differ substantially from the students who are returning or have been promoted from within the school; 4) New students to the all-boys middle school will initially experience lower academic achievement than students who are returning or have been promoted from within the school.;The findings of the study do not support the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect; whereas, the students transitioning into the independent middle school were found to have self-concept scores equal to or more positive than current students. Consequently, the findings support the concept of reflected glory and expansion of the Internal/External Frame of Reference Theory.