Academic self-concept of talented students: Factor structure and applicability of the internal/external frame of reference model

This study examined (a) the a priori structure of self-concept of talented students and (b) Marsh's (1986) internal/external frame of reference (I/E) model with talented students. Selective high school students in China (N = 495) were administered a translated version of the verbal, Math, School, an d General self-concept scales of the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQII) . Confirmatory factor analysis showed that Verbal and Math self-concepts we re positively correlated with Academic (School) self-concept and with Gener al self-concept, although smaller in,size; but they were negatively correla ted with each other The results showed that the talented students different iated Verbal and Math self-concepts as distinct constructs. When achievemen t scores and general schoolwork were included in the model, results further validated similar domain specificity of self-concept found in previous res earch with regular students. The results support the multidimensionality an d con tent specificity of talented students' academic self-concept as well as the applicability of the I/E model to talented students across culture a nd ability.