Teachers’ estimates of their students’ motivation and engagement: being in synch with students

Being aware of, monitoring and responding constructively to students’ signals of motivation and to students’ signals of engagement represent two important teaching skills. We hypothesised, however, that teachers would better estimate their students’ engagement than they would estimate their students’ motivation. To test this hypothesis, Korean high-school teachers rated three aspects of motivation and four aspects of engagement for each student in their class, while students completed questionnaires to provide referent self-reports of these same aspects of their motivation and engagement. Multi-level analyses showed that, after statistically controlling for the potentially confounding information of student achievement, teachers’ engagement estimates corresponded significantly to their students’ self-reports while their motivation estimate did not. These findings validate teachers’ skill in inferring their students’ classroom engagement and lead to the recommendation that teachers monitor classroom engagement to be in synch with their students during instruction.     

Do I belong in my math class? The importance of perceived racial/ethnic context and math course sequence

As careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) continue to grow, so has attention to Algebra 1 enrollment timing that serves as a critical predictor of STEM success. The present study adds to the literature by examining if Algebra 1 enrollment timing from 8th to 9th grade is related to sense of belonging in math, and whether this association changes as a function of the students’ perceived school and math race/ethnic context. To capture the dynamic nature of these contexts, we examined racial/ethnic incongruence, or the difference in the perceived number of same-race/ethnic peers in math class and the school of Black, White, Latino, and Asian students. Mixed effects linear modeling analyses were conducted on a sample of 2,938 participants (46% males; 54% females) who attended 26 racially/ethnically diverse middle schools and who transitioned to 142 public high schools in California. The results showed that enrolling and successfully passing 8th Algebra was protective for sense of belonging but this association depended on students’ race/ethnicity and the racial/ethnic incongruence between the math class and school context. Findings have important implications for math education, teaching, and policy.     

Personal best (PB) and ‘classic’ achievement goals in the Chinese context: their role in predicting academic motivation,engagement and buoyancy

Prior research has shown personal best (PB) goals to be significantly related to students’ motivation, engagement and achievement. However, research thus far has investigated PB goals only among Western samples and it is unclear to what extent PB goals hold academic merit in the Asian context. It is also unclear whether PB goals explain variance in motivation and engagement beyond that explained by ‘classic’ performance, mastery and avoidance goals. With a sample of 3753 middle school students in China, the present study showed that mastery and PB goals explained the bulk of variance in motivation, engagement and academic buoyancy outcomes. It therefore appears that the effects of PB and ‘classic’ goals derived in Western contexts generalise to the Chinese context. Further, although correlated, mastery and PB goals explain unique variance in distinct academic outcomes such that mastery goals appear more salient in mapping onto motivation factors while PB goals appear more salient in mapping onto engagement and buoyancy factors.     

Adolescents’ motivation for reading: group differences and relation to standardized achievement

The purpose of this study was to extend the research on adolescents’ motivation for reading by examining important group differences and the relation of motivation to standardized achievement. Adolescents (N = 406) ranging from grade 7 to grade 12 completed a self-report survey that assessed 13 different aspects of their reading motivation including multiple forms of expectancy beliefs, value, achievement goals, and social goals. Group comparisons indicated important differences between readers who had struggled and those who were more adequate readers, but relatively few differences based on gender or grade in school. Regression analysis showed that the motivational beliefs as a group, and perceived control individually, were able to predict students’ performance on a standardized measure of reading comprehension.     

Gender differences in adolescents’ academic motivation and classroom behaviour

The present study investigated gender differences in adolescents’ academic motivation and classroom behaviour and gender differences in the extent to which motivation was associated with, and predicted, classroom behaviour. Seven hundred and fifty students (384 boys and 366 girls) aged 11–16 (M age?=?14.0, 1.59 SD) completed a questionnaire examining academic motivation and teachers completed assessments of their classroom behaviour. Girls generally reported higher levels of academic motivation, whilst teacher reports of behaviour were poorer for boys. Interestingly, boys’ reported levels of academic motivation were significantly more closely associated with teacher reports of their classroom behaviour. Furthermore, cognitive aspects of boys’ motivation were better predictors of their classroom behaviour than behavioural aspects. On the other hand, behavioural aspects of girls’ motivation were better predictors of their behaviour. Implications for understanding the relationship between motivation and behaviour among adolescent boys and girls are discussed, in addition to interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ classroom behaviour.     

Adolescents’ developing awareness of inequality: Racial and ethnic differences in trajectories

To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age-related change in awareness of inequality by race and ethnicity, gender, parent education, generation status, and their interactions. With longitudinal data (2013–2017) from 5019 adolescents in grades 6–12 (55.0% female) from California, Minnesota, and West Virginia, multigroup second-order latent growth curves were estimated for Black (13.7%), Latinx (37.0%), Asian (8.1%), and white (41.3%) youth. Black, Latinx, and Asian adolescents increased awareness of inequality longitudinally; white youth showed no change. Multiracial youth accelerated awareness of inequality in mid-adolescence; changes in race and ethnicity predicted decline, followed by increases. Girls with more educated, immigrant-origin parents started out more aware of inequality. Results signal the need for race-specific and intersectional approaches to studying critical consciousness development.     

The effects of perceived parental math support on middle school students’ math engagement: the serial multiple mediation of math self-efficacy and math enjoyment

The present study explored the direct and indirect (serial multiple mediation of math self-efficacy and math enjoyment) effects of perceived parental math support on middle school students’ math engagement. A total of 374 middle school students ranging the age of 11 to 15 years completed a set of questionnaires assessing perceived parental math support, math self-efficacy, math enjoyment, and math engagement. In the analysis of structural model, a multiple-step multiple mediation analysis was employed. The findings indicated that perceived parental math support was directly and positively associated with math engagement. Additionally, math self-efficacy and math enjoyment sequentially mediated the relationship between parental math support and math engagement. The limitations and implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for future research are proposed.

     

The role of personal best (PB) and dichotomous achievement goals in students’ academic motivation and engagement: a longitudinal investigation

This study assessed the role of prior personal best goals in predicting subsequent academic motivation and engagement. A total of 1160 high school students participated in a longitudinal survey study exploring the extent to which personal best and mastery and performance (dichotomous) achievement goals predict students’ academic motivation and engagement across the course of a full academic year. Findings showed that personal best goals predicted higher motivation and engagement a year later. Along with personal best goals, mastery goals also predicted higher motivation and engagement, while the role of performance goals was either neutral or negative. These findings provide support for the contention that personal best goals are associated with higher motivation and engagement across time.     

Adolescents’ preparedness and motivation across the transition to post-comprehensive education

This longitudinal study aims to test the concept of transition preparedness in the context of educational transitions. The study investigates how adolescents’ transition preparedness, conceptualized as their self-efficacy beliefs and their inoculation against setbacks, before an educational transition affect the adolescents’ school value and effort related to educational goals after the transition through the effects on achievement goal orientations. Student data from three waves of a longitudinal study are used, first collected in 2004 (before the students’ transition from comprehensive school to upper secondary education) and then collected twice after the transition. The students included in the analyses are those who participated at all three measurement points (N = 588; 49.5% girls; age M_T1 = 15.01, SD = 0.13). Longitudinal structural equation modeling revealed that adolescents’ self-efficacy beliefs (Time 1) positively predicted school value and effort (Time 3) through their effect on mastery goal orientation (Time 2). Furthermore, self-efficacy moderated the relation between performance-approach goal orientation (Time 1) on school value (Time 2). Results are discussed in terms of their relevance for enhancing adolescents’ adaptive motivational development across educational transitions.     

The role of affective teacher-student relationships in adolescents’ school engagement and achievement trajectories

This longitudinal study investigated the role of teacher-student closeness and conflict in adolescents' school engagement trajectories, and how school engagement dimensions predict achievement trajectories. A sample of 5,382 adolescents (M_age.wave1 = 13.06, SD = 0.51; 49.6% boys) were followed from Grade 7 to 9. Yearly measures included student reports on school engagement dimensions, teacher reports on closeness and conflict, and standardized tests for math achievement. Latent growth models revealed that closeness positively and conflict negatively predicted students' school engagement. Furthermore, adolescents' behavioral and emotional engagement, and disaffection in particular, played an important role in predicting achievement within the same schoolyear. Moreover, increases in behavioral disaffection and emotional engagement aligned with reduced and steeper increases in achievement between Grade 7 and 9, respectively. In general, this study underscores the importance of adolescents’ affective teacher-student relationships for their engagement in school, and the role of school engagement in predicting achievement.     

Adolescents’ autonomous functioning and implicit theories of ability as predictors of their school achievement and week-to-week study regulation and well-being

Research on students’ motivation has mainly focused on interpersonal differences rather than on the ongoing, intrapersonal dynamics that forge students’ everyday life. In this five-month longitudinal (diary) study, we recruited a sample of 179 high school students from Greece (35.8% males; M_age = 16.27; SD = 1.02) to investigate through multilevel analyses the ongoing dynamics of students’ motivation. We did so by examining the relation between autonomous functioning and aspects of study regulation (namely, study efforts and procrastination) and well-being (namely, subjective vitality and depressive feelings). After controlling for perceived competence, we found week-to-week autonomous functioning to relate positively to study efforts and subjective vitality and negatively to procrastination and depressive feelings. Interestingly, implicit theories of ability - the degree to which one believes that ability is fixed or amenable - were found to moderate the week-to-week relations of autonomous functioning to study efforts and homework procrastination. In particular, autonomous functioning co-varied positively to study efforts and negatively to homework procrastination only among students who believed that ability is malleable. Also, beliefs that ability is fixed predicted poorer grades, lower mean levels of study efforts, and higher homework procrastination. The results underscore the necessity of taking a more dynamic view when studying motivational phenomena and the importance of jointly considering the implicit theory framework and self-determination theory.     

Chinese Australians’ Chineseness and their mathematics achievement: the role of habitus

Large-scale international comparative studies and cross-ethnic studies have revealed that Chinese students, living either in China or overseas, consistently outperform their counterparts in mathematics. Empirical research has discussed psychological, educational, and cultural reasons behind Chinese students’ better mathematics performance. However, there is scant sociological investigation of this phenomenon. The current mixed methods study aims to make a contribution in this regard. The study conceptualises Chineseness through Bourdieu’s sociological notion of habitus and considers this habitus of Chineseness generating, but not determining, mechanism that underpins commitment to mathematics learning. The study firstly analyses the responses of 230 Chinese Australian participants to a set of questionnaire items. Results indicate that the habitus of Chineseness significantly mediates the relationship between participants’ commitment to mathematics learning and their mathematics achievement. The study then reports on the interviews with five participants to add nuances and dynamics to the mediating role of habitus of Chineseness. The study complements the existing literature by providing sociological insight into the better mathematics achievement of Chinese students.     

Undergraduate students’ motivation and engagement in China: an exploratory study

Viewing student engagement as a multidimensional construct, this study explored the motivation and engagement of undergraduate students in China. A sample of 1131 students from 10 full-time universities in Beijing participated in a survey. The results showed that the Motivation and Engagement Scale for university/college students is a promising and valid instrument for assessing student engagement in Chinese universities. Chinese undergraduates simultaneously performed well in both adaptive and maladaptive motivation and engagement, indicating some influence from the cultural context of China. Four categories of learners were generated according to their motivation and engagement characteristics. Some consistent patterns of individual differences related to gender, grade level, discipline and institution type were revealed. The results have implications for enhancing student engagement.     

Does academic and social self-concept and motivation explain the effect of grading on students’ achievement?

The purpose of the study was to investigate if academic and social self-concept and motivation to improve in academic school subjects mediated the negative effect of summative assessment (grades) for low-ability students’ achievement in compulsory school. In two previous studies, summative assessment (grading) was found to have a differentiating effect on students’ subsequent achievement in school (Klapp et al. 2014; Klapp 2015). Differences between subgroups of students (cognitive ability, gender, and socioeconomic status) were controlled for in the analyses. Data was retrieved from the Evaluation Through Follow-up (ETF) longitudinal project containing register and questionnaire data on a large national representative sample of Swedish compulsory school students (N = 8558). Due to a unique natural circumstance, municipalities in Sweden could decide whether or not to grade their students in sixth grade which made it possible to apply a quasi-experimental design. In the sample, 50% of the students were graded in sixth grade while all students were graded in seventh grade. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) have been estimated. The results show that the negative effect of summative assessment (grading) for low-ability students on their subsequent achievement is fully mediated by academic self-concept in mathematics and Swedish, and motivation to improve in academic school subjects.

     

The roles of engagement and competition on learner’s performance and motivation in game-based science learning

Educational technology research and development - In a game-based learning (GBL) environment for seventh-grade students, this study investigated the impact of competition, engagement in games, and...     

Gender differences in mathematics and science: the role of the actiotope in determining individuals’ achievements and confidence in their own abilities

Despite changes, gender differences in math and science continue to exist in some countries. We examined whether the actiotopes of boys and girls at the high school level in math and science differed and the extent to which (a) their actiotope components, (b) the progressive development of their actiotopes (dynamic perspective), and (c) the co-adaptation of their actiotopes (systems perspective) function as predictors for girls’ and boys’ achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science. To answer these questions, we examined girls and boys (N?=?361) in Canada, the Czech Republic, and Germany with a questionnaire. The results suggest that girls are less effective at progressively developing their actiotopes in the fields of math and science and that modifications in their actiotopes were less well balanced by stabilizing forces. Independent of gender, the actiotope aspects considered here are suited to predicting achievements and confidence in one’s own abilities in math and science.     

Self‐determined motivation and social achievement goals in children’s emotions

In this cross‐sectional study we investigated to what extent autonomous and controlled motivation and social achievement goals are associated with students’ emotional experiences at school. We found in a sample of 426 elementary school students, aged from 10 to 12 years, autonomous motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they find such activities enjoying or personally important) and social development goals (i.e. students’ focus on developing meaningful social relationships) to be positively associated with positive emotions. In contrast, controlled motivation (i.e. students’ engagement in class activities because they feel coerced to do so) and social demonstration‐approach goals (i.e. students’ focus on demonstrating popularity) were positively associated with negative emotions. These associations remained significant even after controlling for perceived competence. Cluster analysis further showed that students high in autonomous motivation and social development goals and low in controlled motivation and social demonstration‐approach goals exhibited a better motivational profile compared to students high or low in all the above motivational variables. Results are discussed within the self‐determination theory and the social achievement goal perspective.     

The case of high motivation and low achievement in science: what is the role of students’ epistemic beliefs?

The importance of motivation-related factors in shaping students’ academic achievement across a range of areas, including science, has been consistently acknowledged by the existing research literature. In an effort to improve students’ science achievement, many education systems put particular emphasis on the enhancement of intrinsic (i.e. enjoyment and interest) and instrumental motivation in the subject. However, based on the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, many of the countries that managed to increase their motivation indices between 2006 and 2015 did not necessarily note a rise in science performance, with many still performing below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average. Interestingly, although students’ motivation increased in some of these countries (e.g. Luxembourg, Iceland and Greece), their average performance in science decreased. Using the PISA 2015 data for Greece, this study examined the case of high motivation and low achievement in science by incorporating epistemic beliefs in the discussion. The multilevel analysis confirmed the importance of 15-year-old students’ motivation for learning science in predicting their science achievement and highlighted the positive predictive power of their epistemic beliefs. Policy and practice recommendations are provided based on the study findings, stressing the key role of students’ epistemic beliefs.