Short-Term Trajectories of Expectancy-Value Motivation at the Middle School Level (Poster 3)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 9:00 am
  In Poster Session: Motivational Beliefs, Context, and Consequences

Abstract

Motivational theorists point to middle school as a critical period for the maintenance of mathematics motivation; however, little research exists that focuses on repeated measurement of motivation across intervals shorter than one year. The purpose of the present study was to track middle school students’ efficacy and task values monthly across three months to determine variability in short-term trajectories as well as whether those trajectories predicted mathematics performance. The findings suggest that there is variance in students’ intercepts and trajectories for the measured constructs. Higher intercept levels in efficacy were associated with higher performance on a mathematics assessment at the end of the year. In addition, increases in utility value across the 3-month focal period were associated with higher performance.

Author

• Bridget V. Dever, Lehigh University