Mathematics and Science Self‐Concept: A Replication of an International Investigation

ABSTRACT A conceptual replication study was conducted using data from the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The study investigated the relationship between mathematics and science self‐concept, mathematics and science achievement, and gender. These relationships were simultaneously examined at both the student and country levels. For the most part, the study was able to replicate the findings of the earlier study, findings that remain relatively consistent after almost 25 years (1995 to 2019). At the student level, an overall positive relationship between achievement and self‐concept was documented; at the country level, this relationship was negative. This paradoxical negative country‐level relationship was explained partially by the Big‐Fish‐Little‐Pond effect, but additional country‐level differences were explained by a geographic effect suggesting cross‐cultural differences that influence self‐concept. Additional interaction effects between gender, achievement, and self‐concept associated with a geographic effect were documented. Overall, the findings provide confirmation of and validity for the findings from the earlier study as well as provide new findings that further highlight self‐concept as an important international psychological factor to be considered in mathematics and science education research and the educational classroom.