«Repetência» by Portuguese school children in relation to their self-perception and self-evaluation

Primary school pupils in Portugal who have had to repeat two years of schooling were compared with a control group of normally progressing pupils. Harter’s scales were used to measure components of self-concept and of self-worth. There was no evidence that repeating years was associated with differences in mean scores other than those for perception of personal scholastic competence. However, correlations between components of the self-concept and global self-worth in four sub-samples of pupils differing in gender and repetência yielded patterns that could be used to suggest a more complex interpretation.