Self-affirmation, operationalized as value-affirmation interventions, can have long-term beneficial effects on the academic performance and trajectories of members of negatively stereotyped groups, thus reducing achievement gaps. Yet, there is significant heterogeneity in the effectiveness of value affirmations, and we do not yet have a clear understanding of why. In this introduction to the special issue, we review the literature on self-affirmation theory in educational contexts, providing overviews of the heterogeneity in the effectiveness of affirmation interventions, the methods of implementation, potential moderators, and underling processes. We identify several questions that are important for researchers to address, the answers to which would progress the field towards being able to more confidently implement value-affirmations in contexts in which, and/or for groups for whom, they are most likely to produce benefits. We then introduce the articles included in this special issue, which showcase several of the latest theoretical and empirical advances to self-affirmation theory in educational contexts.

中文翻译：

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教育情境中的自我肯定理论

自我肯定作为价值肯定干预措施进行操作，可以对负面刻板印象群体成员的学业成绩和发展轨迹产生长期的有益影响，从而减少成就差距。然而，价值肯定的有效性存在显着的异质性，我们尚不清楚原因。在本期特刊的介绍中，我们回顾了教育背景下关于自我肯定理论的文献，概述了肯定干预有效性的异质性、实施方法、潜在的调节者和潜在的过程。我们确定了研究人员需要解决的几个重要问题，答案将推动该领域朝着能够更自信地实施价值肯定的方向发展，在这些背景下和/或为哪些群体最有可能产生利益。然后，我们介绍了本期特刊中的文章，这些文章展示了教育背景下自我肯定理论的一些最新理论和实证进展。