Younger children's changing self-concepts: boys and girls from preschool through second grade

The author investigated age- and gender-related changes in self-evaluative judgments of 87 children followed from preschool through 2nd grade. Focusing on cognitive, physical, and peer competence assessed by the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance (PSPCSA; S. Harter & R. Pike, 1984), the author tested PSPCSA subscale measures for changes in their mean levels, for intercorrelations, and for correlations with external criteria, and then analyzed results for gender and grade trends. Gender effects were not identified in the analyses. Mean-level changes occurred, but patterns of change differed. External measures (teacher ratings) did not relate to children's self-perceptions (physical and social competences). Whereas external measures of academic competence correlated significantly with children's self-evaluations, the correlations across grade levels did not differ significantly.