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Self-concept-one's knowledge about oneself including personal awareness of one's competencies (Sherrill, 1998)-has been a central construct in academic and sport settings largely because of its persistent relationship to achievement (Weiss, 1987). Researchers have studied self-perceptions of ability within the framework of Harter's (1978) theory of competence motivation. Perceived competence is a multidimensional, dynamic, and interactional concept that influences both the initiation of mastery attempts in the cognitive, social, or physical domains and the development of such achievement behaviors as effort and persistence (Kosma, Cardinal, & Rintala, 2002; Sherrill, 1998).
Perceptions of competence can vary across domains. Children may perceive themselves as having high ability in the social domain but low ability in the athletic domain. Within a given domain, an individual's goal is to develop skills, learn new skills, and demonstrate mastery at a task. Each successful mastery experience increases their perceptions of ability. Children with high perceptions of competence exert more effort, persist longer, feel more in control, experience pride, and are intrinsically motivated to continue to participate in areas in which they feel competent. Conversely, experiencing failure to master a task leads to lower perceptions of competence, avoidance of participation, little effort, increased anxiety, and low levels of achievement and results in withdrawal from attempts to achieve (Roberts, Kleiber, & Duda, 1981; Weiss & Horn, 1990). Perceptions of competence also can affect the way people cognitively construct their identities. For example, in childhood, athletic competence is difficult to separate from physical appearance as early feelings about the body and its capacity for movement form the basis for self-concept (Sherrill, 1998). In addition, perceptions of competence become more stable and resistant to change with age, an outcome that supports the need to intervene early in the development of self-perceptions of competence.
Participation in physical education and sport is a primary environment for teaching children physical competencies (Weiss & Duncan, 1992). Many physical educators emphasize that all children, including those with a disability, need positive self-concepts to feel competent enough to participate in the common games and sports of childhood in a variety of physical activity (Shapiro, 1999). Children with visual impairments generally have fewer opportunities and incentives to engage in physical activities that provide the amounts and kinds of stimulation that are typical of...