Abstract
Self-concept is one important yet understudied construct, often associated with healthy children’s well-being, and particularly crucial for those raised in rural disadvantaged communities. Also, commonly acknowledged is that adults, including parents and teachers, play an important role in fostering self-concept. The overall aim of the current study was to explore self-concept differences between rural and urban children in the state of Victoria, Australia, and to investigate relationships between student–teacher relationships, parental school engagement and self-concept in both groups. The sample comprised 219 triads of children (aged between 7–14 years), parents and teachers, representing rural (n = 33) and urban (n = 186) areas. Children, parents, and teachers completed measures related to self-concept, parental engagement with school, and quality of student–teacher interactions, respectively. No significant differences were detected between the self-concept levels of rural and urban children. However, associations between the student–teacher relationship, parental engagement, and self-concept differed between demographic groups. The unique selfconcept experiences of children from rural and urban areas in Australia have important intervention and research implications. The role of the student–teacher relationship in the development of self-concept in children from rural locations should be considered in addition to parenting and home factors typically associated with fostering selfconcept.
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Gavidia-Payne, S., Denny, B., Davis, K. et al. Children’s self-concept: parental school engagement and student–teacher relationships in rural and urban Australia. Soc Psychol Educ 18, 121–136 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-014-9277-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-014-9277-3