Poster #30 - The Associations Between School Motivation and Academic Achievement of Students from Low-Income Backgrounds

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

Students from low-income backgrounds are more at risk of school dropout and are less likely to pursue post-secondary education compared to their peers from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. In Quebec, Canada, students are expected to complete secondary school in five years, up to the 11th grade. The consequences for students who do not complete secondary school can be dire: they are more likely than graduates to lose their jobs or be unemployed, collect government welfare, commit a crime, and suffer from negative health outcomes (Lansford et al., 2016; Sum et al., 2009). A protective factor for these adolescents is school motivation, a construct that can explain the process (i.e., sense of direction and perseverance) by which an academic goal is pursued (Usán, et al., 2019). Previous research has shown that school motivation is a significant predictor of post-secondary school enrollment (Amrai et al., 2011; Tsai et al., 2020) and is protective against secondary school dropout (Hardre & Reeve 2003; Vallerand et al., 1997; Caprara et al., 2008). The goal of the present mixed-method study was to examine the associations between school motivation, secondary school graduation, and post-secondary school enrollment in a sample of students from low-income families in Quebec, Canada. More specially, the objectives were: (1) to examine through quantitative analyses, whether school motivation was associated with secondary school graduation and post-secondary school enrollment, (2) to describe, through qualitative analyses, the mechanisms underlying school motivation and academic achievement, and (3) to explore gender differences in school motivation and educational attainment.
Method: Participants were 185 young adults (33.5% male and 66.5% female) between the ages of 18 and 35 years old (M = 23.92 years old, SD = 3.57). They completed a sociodemographic questionnaire to provide information on their age, sex, years of education, current employment status, and annual family income, as well as a French version of the School Motivation questionnaire (Véronneau, 2008). Results: A higher proportion of females (55.3%) enrolled in traditional post-secondary institutions (e.g., college and university), compared to males (40.3%), who enrolled in shorter-term professional trades, programs that prepare individuals for the labor market (32.3% for males versus 17.1% for females). Logistic regressions demonstrated that school motivation was consistently associated with secondary school graduation and post-secondary school enrollment, with moderate and large effect sizes respectively. Semi-structured interviews with a sub-sample of 47 participants, coded using NVIVO software, revealed several reasons for completing secondary school or enrolling in post-secondary education. These included themes related to individual characteristics, family expectations, career plans, peer attitudes, and perceived expectations and social pressure to conform to gender-roles. For example, societal pressures pertaining to gender in choosing educational and career paths were raised. Results are discussed in terms of implications for interventions that can help increase school motivation for adolescents from low-income families. The role of gender and gender-role attitudes in adolescents’ decision to pursue post-secondary school enrollment (or not) will also be discussed.

Authors

• Shaneha Patel, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
  Presenting Author

• Neha Verma

• Dale M Stack, Concordia University

• Alison Kirkpatrick, Concordia University

• Lisa A Serbin, Concordia University