Summer Program Teacher Support and Its Relation to Adaptive Motivation and Mathematics Standardized Test Performance

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  In Poster Session: Learning and Motivation in Social and Cultural Contexts Poster Session 2

Abstract

This study showed that diverse middle school students’ perceptions of teacher support at the end of a summer algebra intervention program related to their adaptive motivation and performance on a distal math achievement measure, the subsequent year’s mathematics standardized test. Higher reported teacher support was associated with higher personal mastery-approach goals and efficacy. Higher efficacy and lower performance-approach goal endorsement related to higher math achievement. These findings suggest that students’ positive experiences in these interventions may sustain them into the next academic year. This study has important implications for efforts to address the under-preparation of many students, including Latinos and Blacks, for a course required for access to higher-level math and science courses and, ultimately, STEM careers.

Authors

• Melissa C. Gilbert, Stanford University

• Lauren Elizabeth Musu-Gillette, National Center for Education Statistics