Are Homework Self-Concept, Interest, Effort, and Achievement Reciprocally Related? A Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Informed by modern self-concept theory and expectancy-value theory, the present study examines the temporal ordering of homework self-concept, interest, effort, and math achievement. Participants were 702 8th-grade students in China. Positive reciprocal effects were found between (a) self-concept and achievement, (b) effort and achievement, and (c) interest and effort. Particularly, as no previous study has ever examined relations among these four constructs using reciprocal effects models, one unique contribution of our study is that it extends prior research by lending support to the reciprocal effects of interest and effort in the context of math homework. Our findings were discussed in the context of related theoretical frameworks and empirical studies.

Authors

• Ruiping Yuan, Mississippi State University

• Jianzhong Xu, Mississippi State University

• Fuyi Yang, East China Normal University