Parent Involvement, Expectancy Values, and STEM Outcomes among Underrepresented Adolescents

• In Event: The Social Context of STEM Processes and Outcomes among Underrepresented High School Students

Abstract

Pervasive achievement gaps show that ethnic/racial minority students are significantly less proficient in math and science compared to their white and Asian counterparts (Else-Quest, Mineo, & Higgins, 2013; NCES, 2015) and a significant consequence of these achievement gaps is the lack of underrepresented minorities in STEM-related careers. The proposed research is grounded in the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation (Eccles, 2005; Wigfield & Eccles, 2002) which posits that motivation is influenced by social-cognitive variables such as self-efficacy and beliefs about the usefulness or utility of the task. These social-cognitive variables (self-beliefs and task beliefs), in turn, are influenced by numerous ecological factors including previous achievement, cultural milieu, and important socializer’s behaviors (i.e., parental involvement). There is a need to understand the contextual factors that allow racial/ethnic minority youth opportunities to develop confidence in their STEM abilities and see the value and utility of STEM for their futures (LaForce et al., 2016). Eccles’ expectancy-value model highlights the role of parents as role models and socializers in their children’s activity choices and achievement motivation (Wigfield & Eccles, 2002). Parent involvement can promote children’s self-efficacy and task beliefs which is important for STEM interest and persistence (Amarnani, et al., 2016; Simpkins et al., 2016). Grounded in expectancy-value framework, this study examined links among parent involvement and underrepresented students’ STEM self-efficacy, utility, interest and achievement.

Data were drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study: 2009 (HLS: 2009) and included 7,033 (50.8% male; 49.2% female) who identified as Hispanic or African American. Parent involvement in STEM was assessed from the parent questionnaire and was indexed with five variables reflecting STEM socialization (e.g., worked on a computer together; discussed a STEM program). STEM self-efficacy and utility were assessed with items from the student questionnaire that reflected students’ confidence in their abilities to succeed in their math and science courses (efficacy) and their perceptions of the usefulness of the math and science classes to attain their STEM goals (utility). Outcomes included STEM interest (e.g., feelings about their math and science classes) and achievement (GPA).

A series of concurrent and longitudinal models conducted in MPlus tested whether parent involvement in 9th grade predicted STEM interest and achievement directly and indirectly via self-efficacy and utility. Concurrent models showed that parent involvement in STEM was a significantly related to adolescents’ STEM self-efficacy which in turn was significantly related to STEM interest (see Figure 1) and achievement. Longitudinal models showed that parents’ STEM involvement in 9th grade predicted adolescents’ STEM efficacy in 11th grade which in turn predicted adolescents’ cumulative GPA in STEM courses (see Figure 2). Interestingly, parent involvement in STEM was more strongly and consistently linked to self-efficacy than to utility. These results suggest that parents co-activity or STEM involvement helps adolescents to feel more confident in their STEM abilities but it does not necessarily contribute to adolescents STEM utility values.

Author

• Aryn M Dotterer, Utah State University
  Presenting Author