Perceived academic expectations, academic self-concept and well-being in full subject based banding

The present study examined the mediating role of academic self-concepts in the associations between perceived parents’ and teachers’ academic expectations and well-being in a sample of secondary school students in Singapore. The study tested this model in both English and Mathematics at two time points, at the start and the end of the academic school year, across ability bands in each of these two subjects (G1 = lower ability; G2 = middle-ability; G3 = higher ability).

The sample comprised 915 Time-1 and Time-2 matched students. The English sample included 465 students (Mage = 13.99, SDage = 0.95), of which 46.7% were female and 53.3% were male. A total of 28.8% were in Secondary 1, 36.6% in Secondary 2, and 34.6% in Secondary 3. In terms of ability groups, 9.9% were in G1, 36.6% in G2, and 53.5% in G3. For the Mathematics sample, the sample comprised of 450 students (Mage = 13.98, SDage = 0.94, of which 47.6% were female and 52.4% were male participants. A total of 29.6% were in Secondary 1, 36% in Secondary 2, and 34.4% in Secondary 3. The ability group distribution was also comparable, with 10% in G1, 36% in G2, and 54% in G3.

The three main instruments employed were the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQII; Marsh, 1990a), the EPOCH measure of adolescent well-being (Kern et al., 2016), and the Teacher and Parents Expectations Scale (Liu & Wang, 2007). Path analysis was used to test the multivariate relationships between predictors and outcome variables; thus, direct, indirect, and total effects could be determined to understand the mediating role played by academic self-concept in the links between students’ perceived academic expectations and well-being.

The findings suggest that perceived academic expectations both from parents and teachers significantly predict the students’ ASC, which in turn plays a role in several dimensions of well-being. Notably, ASC was found to mediate the relationships between perceived expectations and well-being outcomes. While the mediating role of ASC remained consistent across subjects, the results further varied based on the level of the students’ ability and the subject of study. For example, perceived teachers’ expectations had more significant relationships with wellbeing in Mathematics than in English. Higher-ability (G3) students had the strongest positive well-being outcomes linked to perceived mathematics teachers’ expectations, while middle-ability (G2) and lower-ability (G1) had weaker associations, with G1 students even experiencing a negative outcome in perseverance.

This study has highlighted the importance of realistic academic expectations by both parents and teachers, coupled with support tailored to meet students’ needs. Besides adding to research, this study has the potential for parents, teachers and the education system to gain insight into and inform interventions for students’ academic self-concepts and overall well-being, given recent changes in education policies in Singapore, namely Full Subject Based Banding.