Navigating aspirations
The role of self-concept in shaping academic performance among diverse adolescents
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22166099 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nonhlanhla Masinga (0000-0001-9353-1385, Human Sciences Research Council, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-15 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2504-284X • E-ISSN: 2504-284X |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/feduc.2025.1634375 |
| OpenAlex | W4415240023 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 70 |
This manuscript investigates the relationship between adolescents’ aspirations and academic performance, focusing on self-concept dimensions such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. Using empirical data and a longitudinal design, the study examines how these elements of self-concept mediate the link between aspirations and academic success, with particular attention to adolescents from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds in South Africa. Although the research is situated in a historically racialized educational system, the findings reveal that socio-economic disparities, rather than race alone, are key drivers of educational outcomes. By applying the lens of critical racial consciousness, this study highlights how systemic inequalities in schooling contexts interact with psychological factors to influence learner development. Findings showed that self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, and self-esteem were positively linked to performance. In addition, systemic inequalities such as resource deprivation, underfunding and curriculum marginalisation restricted students’ possibilities. The manuscript offers actionable insights for educators and policymakers by advocating for interventions that support self-concept development in under-resourced environments. It argues that fostering self-efficacy, self-regulation, and self-esteem is essential for enabling students to bridge the aspiration-attainment gap. Through the lens of critical racial consciousness, the manuscript contributes to the discourse on educational psychology and adolescent development by emphasizing the need for targeted interventions that consider the structural and social determinants shaping youth aspirations and achievement
Curriculum · Educational psychology · Inequality · Psychological intervention · Situated · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
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Multiple goals, multiple pathways
Possible Identities
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The Dynamic Self-Concept
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The Measurement of Observer Agreement for Categorical Data
Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance.
Critical Race Theory
Possible Selves across the Life Span
Future Orientation in the Self‐System
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Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem and Their Impact on Academic Performance
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Possible selves as roadmaps
Student factors affecting academic success among undergraduate students at two South African higher education institutions
Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests
Big-Fish--Little-Pond effect on academic self-concept
Do people's self-views matter? Self-concept and self-esteem in everyday life
Development of a Structured Interview for Assessing Student Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
Critical race theory
Possible selves and academic outcomes
A critical look at a technologically sophisticated initiative to address the problem of unequal educational opportunities in South Africa
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Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |