Poster #31 - The Patterns of Change in Math Motivation Across High School by Race/Ethnicity: The Role of Teachers and Parents

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

Racial/ethnic disparities remain in STEM where Latinx and Black individuals continue to be underrepresented in most math-intensive fields (NSF, 2019). Students who are racially/ethnically marginalized in math may face numerous challenges, such as unfair treatment from their teachers, that hinder their motivation to pursue math over time (Roeser et al., 2000; Wong et al., 2003). According to situated expectancy-value theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), parents have the power to positively promote adolescents’ motivation (Simpkins et al., 2015), but it is unclear if parent support can help adolescents overcome institutional challenges to maintain their positive motivation towards math. Because students’ motivation develops over time, in part, due to their situated social context (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), we tested the following research questions: What are the changes in racial/ethnically diverse students’ math motivation during high school, such as maintaining high motivation versus switching from high to low motivation? To what extent are parent STEM socialization and perceived teacher unfairness related to students’ transitions in their math motivation over time?
We utilized data from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 19,010; 49% female; 62% White; 18% Latinx; 9% Asian; 11% Black). Students reported their math motivation (i.e., expectancies for success, interest, utility value) in Grades 9 and 11 (α = .78 - .90) and perceived teacher unfairness in Grade 9 (e.g., teacher treats some students better than others; 3 items; α = .80). Parents’ STEM socialization was measured by students and parents in Grade 9 (e.g., discuss about taking math courses; 3 items; 0 = No, 1 = Yes).
As shown in Figure 1, latent transition analyses demonstrated that despite the leaky pipeline metaphor in the literature, many students, across race/ethnicity, maintained their high math expectancies for success (12% - 83%) or switched from low to high motivation (33% - 64%). For example, though similar rates of Black and Asian students (68% and 65%) endorsed lower expectancies for success in Grade 9, 64% of Black students whereas only 40% of Asian students switched from low to high motivation by Grade 11. Additionally, similar patterns of stability and switches from low to high math motivation for interest and utility value were observed and will be further discussed in the presentation.
Second, we conducted logistic regression analyses to test the extent to which perceived teacher unfairness and parent STEM socialization predict the transitions across Grade 9 through 11 (see Figure 2). We found that parent STEM socialization was positively related to maintaining high expectancies for success rather than switching from high to low expectancies for both White and Latinx students (B = .39 (.10), p < .001 & B = .74 (.34), p < .05, respectively). The findings from this study contribute to understanding racial/ethnic differences in adolescents’ motivation development. Further, it emphasizes the role of socializers in shaping students’ motivation. Potential explanations for the observed racial/ethnic differences in the change patterns and the associations with the socializers, the results with covariates, as well as educational implications will be further discussed in the presentation.

Authors

• Glona Lee, University of California - Irvine
  Presenting Author

• Sandra Simpkins, University of California - Irvine