Further, it has been shown that not only the cognitive
abilities of the student but also the average cognitive abilities of
the group affect students’ academic self-concept. This is known as
the Big-fish-little-pond effect (Marsh, Trautwein, Lu¨ dtke, Baumert,
& Ko¨ ller, 2007). Marsh et al. (2007) point out that students with the
same cognitive abilities have a higher academic self-concept when
they attend a school where the average cognitive abilities are low.