Grade retention and children's academic self-efficacy and use of self-protective strategies

Research consistently identifies negative outcomes associated with grade retention. However, grade retention continues to be accepted by educators as an appropriate intervention to poor academic progress. The purpose of this study was to extend current research to examine psychological constructs influential to academic achievement in order to further understand the needs of over-age and low-achieving students. Considering the impact of self-efficacy and self-protective strategies on performance, the current study focused on examining interactions between these factors in the context of achievement and grade retention.; Using a causal comparative design, 4th and 5th grade students (N = 648) comprised three groups (retained, low-achieving-promoted, and normal achieving-promoted). Normal achieving-promoted students reported higher academic self-efficacy and less frequent use of self-protective strategies when compared to both retained and low achieving-promoted students. Experiencing poor academic progress was associated with low self-efficacy and high use of strategies detrimental to academic success.; Retained students were not statistically different from low-achieving-promoted peers in strength of academic self-efficacy, self-handicapping, or disruptive behaviors. This result indicated that over-age students in late elementary school were similar to low-achieving students, despite retention. No benefits were noted in either academic self-efficacy or self-protective strategy use, suggesting continued risk for failure for retained students.; Regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictive power of self-protective strategies, self-reported grades, and actual academic achievement with regards to academic self-efficacy. Results supported the conclusion that multiple determinants of academic self-efficacy exist. Based on current findings, academic achievement, self-handicapping, and disruptive behavior are among the factors that contribute to formation of academic self-efficacy beliefs.; The interaction between academic achievement and self-reported grades was also investigated. Results indicated that self-reported GPA was not a valid estimate of academic achievement as measured by actual GPA. Further results indicated that academic self-efficacy beliefs varied as a function of academic achievement. Additionally, being over-age was associated with low actual and perceived academic achievement. Results of this study confirm that while the relationship between academic achievement, self-efficacy, use of self-protective strategies, and grade retention is complex, by late elementary school there were no benefits associated with having been retained. Further research is needed to clarify the developmental course of academic self-efficacy for over-age students over time.