Middle School Students' Motivational Dispositions and STEM Career Attitudes

• In Event: Research on STEM and Career/College Topics

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between middle school students’ mathematics- and science-related motivational dispositions and their attitudes towards STEM-related careers. To better understand these constructs, we regressed motivational variables from the Situated Expectancy-Value Framework (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), on attitudes towards STEM careers by gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Findings showed that, among the five motivational disposition variables (i.e. self-efficacy, identity, enjoyment, utility value, and cost), utility value was the strongest predictor of STEM career attitudes. We also found changes in the strength of the relationship between students’ motivational dispositions and STEM career attitudes by gender, race, and age. Finally, science-related motivational dispositions explained the variation in STEM career attitudes more than mathematics-related motivational dispositions.

Authors

• Elif Oz, University of Notre Dame

• Matthew J. Kloser, University of Notre Dame