What Motivates Career Plan Changes Within STEM? Examining Contextualized and Co-Occurring Expectancy-Value Beliefs

• In Event: Situated Expectancy-Value Theory and Undergraduate STEM Retention: Novel Approaches to Enduring Questions

Abstract

This study examined what motivated students to change career plans within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), focusing on contextualized and co-occurring motivational beliefs from situated expectancy-value theory. We identified 561 students who changed career plans within STEM fields, from every major STEM discipline at a large U.S. university, and asked them which motivational beliefs impacted their decision-making. Students most often reported considering attainment/utility and intrinsic value related to their new career plans, but they also frequently reported considering competence-related perceptions (for both original and new career plans). Gender, race, year in school, and field of study did not impact results, but students with lower college GPAs more often considered competence-related concerns as salient influences.

Authors

• Emily Quinn Rosenzweig, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Xiao-Yin Chen, University of Tennessee

• Yuchen Song, University of Georgia

• Michael M. Barger, University of Georgia