Homework Motivation Research Articles

Influence of parental structure and chaos on homework anxiety in elementary school students: the mediating role of homework motivation.

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between parental structure, parental chaos, and homework anxiety among elementary school students, as well as the mediating roles of autonomous and controlled motivation in relation to homework. A total of 1,118 elementary school students from grades 4 to 6 completed the Parents as Social Context Questionnaire, Homework Anxiety Scale, and Homework Motivation Scale. Results indicated that parental structure was negatively associated with homework anxiety in elementary school students, while parental chaos exhibited a positive correlation with such anxiety; furthermore, both homework autonomous and controlled motivation mediated the relationship between parental structure and chaos with homework anxiety. Specifically, a structured parenting environment could mitigate homework anxiety by enhancing students' autonomous motivation; conversely, chaotic parenting environments were associated with increased homework anxiety through heightened controlled motivation while simultaneously diminishing autonomous motivation. These findings offer novel insights into alleviating homework-related anxiety among elementary school students and provide empirical support for developing educational interventions focused on parenting practices.

Student-perceived parents’ and teachers’ expectancies and feedback influence homework motivation and effort

Homework is a multifaceted process that involves a complex interplay of factors. However, the processes underlying homework behavior are not yet fully understood. In Study 1, we tested a model of homework processes by examining the influences and consequences of homework behavior based on 473 Chinese students. In Study 2 with 159 British students, we aimed to verify our homework model. We measured Year 7 to 9 children’s perceptions of parents’ and teachers’ expectancies and teachers’ feedback as well as children’s homework motivation (expectancy and value beliefs), homework effort, academic outcomes, and academic stress in both samples using two waves of data. The findings from structural equation modeling revealed that children’s perceptions of parents’ and teachers’ expectancies and teachers’ feedback are more highly associated with children’s homework motivation than children’s homework effort. Homework effort was not related to children’s academic outcomes and academic stress across both cultures.

“I’ll do it Later”: Multilevel antecedents of homework procrastination

Informed by multiple theoretical perspectives pertaining to academic procrastination, this investigation examined multilevel models aimed to predict homework procrastination using the data from 1,072 middle schoolers in China. Our model incorporated student gender, homework motivation, homework approach, homework behavior, and time allocated to extracurriculars outside of school. At the individual and class levels, homework procrastination was associated positively with homework cost and negatively with homework expectancy. Furthermore, at the individual level, homework procrastination was associated positively with surface approach and time on videogames, but negatively with homework effort. Implications for practice and further investigation (e.g. homework expectancy and surface approach) are discussed in relation to our findings.

Taking a person-centered approach to student homework motivation: combining achievement goal and expectancy-value theories

Taking a person-centered approach to student homework motivation: combining achievement goal and expectancy-value theories

Relevance Interventions in the Classroom: A Means to Promote Students’ Homework Motivation and Behavior

Many students suffer from motivational problems when doing homework. To investigate whether an intervention that effectively promoted value beliefs in mathematics promoted students’ homework motivation and behavior, we analyzed data from a cluster randomized controlled study with two classroom-based relevance interventions (writing a text or evaluating quotes from interviews) with 82 classrooms and 1,978 ninth-grade students. Students’ math-specific homework motivation and behavior were assessed with homework diaries over a period of 4 weeks after the intervention. Latent growth curve analyses revealed that students in the text condition reported higher triggered interest but also lower homework completion than students in the control condition in the first week after the intervention. Students in the quotations condition reported higher utility of homework for future life, and higher homework effort directly after the intervention. The study highlights the potential of classroom-based relevance interventions to foster homework-specific outcomes, when considering situational, behavior-related measures.

Mothers’ motivational beliefs and children's learning purpose for doing homework: The mediate effects of autonomy support and control

The study analyzed the mediational model of relationship between mothers’ motivational beliefs, type of involvement (autonomy support and control) in homework, and the children's learning-oriented purposes for doing homework. The sample included 235 boys (M age=11.09, SD=0.56 years old), 273 girls (M age=11.12, SD=0.62 years old) and their mothers (M age=37.85, SD=6.94 years old) from Mexican elementary schools. Two structural models were calculated. The first model indicated that mothers’ mastery-oriented goals and self-efficacy had a positive relationship with the support of children's autonomy and a negative one with mothers’ control on children's homework. On the other hand, the mothers’ active role in education resulted negatively related to mothers’ control. Whereas mothers’ performance-oriented goals resulted negatively related to the support of children's autonomy, they were positively related to control. Overall, mothers’ mastery-oriented goals, and self-efficacy had a positive direct and indirect association with children's learning-oriented purpose in homework whereas performance-oriented goals resulted negatively. The alternative model indicated that children's learning-oriented purpose for doing homework promoted mothers’ mastery-oriented goals, self-efficacy, and an active role in education in mothers; in turn, it hinders their performance-oriented goals. In addition, it had positive direct and indirect associate to autonomy support, but not affected control. Overall findings suggest a reciprocal relationship between mothers’ characteristics and children's motivation for homework.

Creencias motivacionales de las madres y el propósito de los estudiantes de aprender en los deberes escolares. Su relación con el apoyo a la autonomía y el control

The study analyzed the mediational model of relationship between mothers’ motivational beliefs, type of involvement (autonomy support and control) in homework, and the children's learning-oriented purposes for doing homework. The sample included 235 boys (M age=11.09, SD=0.56 years old), 273 girls (M age=11.12, SD=0.62 years old) and their mothers (M age=37.85, SD=6.94 years old) from Mexican elementary schools. Two structural models were calculated. The first model indicated that mothers’ mastery-oriented goals and self-efficacy had a positive relationship with the support of children's autonomy and a negative one with mothers’ control on children's homework. On the other hand, the mothers’ active role in education resulted negatively related to mothers’ control. Whereas mothers’ performance-oriented goals resulted negatively related to the support of children's autonomy, they were positively related to control. Overall, mothers’ mastery-oriented goals, and self-efficacy had a positive direct and indirect association with children's learning-oriented purpose in homework whereas performance-oriented goals resulted negatively. The alternative model indicated that children's learning-oriented purpose for doing homework promoted mothers’ mastery-oriented goals, self-efficacy, and an active role in education in mothers; in turn, it hinders their performance-oriented goals. In addition, it had positive direct and indirect associate to autonomy support, but not affected control. Overall findings suggest a reciprocal relationship between mothers’ characteristics and children's motivation for homework.

Factor structure and predictive validity of a homework motivation measure for use with middle school students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Many students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit deficits in motivation to pursue long-term goals. Students with ADHD have particular difficulty with motivation to complete homework-related tasks and often fail to complete assignments. Although these problems are common and may impact academic performance, no homework-motivation measures have been validated for use with students with ADHD. The primary goal of the present study was to evaluate the factor structure and predictive validity of a homework-motivation measure based upon the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. A sample of 285 middle school students with ADHD completed the measure, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the proposed factor structure and associations with parent and teacher ratings of homework performance. A 2-factor structure emerged, and model fit was excellent. Further, student-rated ability-expectancy beliefs demonstrated significant associations with parent-rated homework problems and performance and with teacher-rated homework performance and percentage of assignments turned in above and beyond ADHD symptoms. Future directions for studying the importance of motivation in students with ADHD are provided, with particular attention to the role that reward sensitivity may play in motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record

Evaluation of the Interplay Between Homework Motivation and Sluggish Cognitive Tempo in Youth With ADHD: Associations With Homework Performance

Objective: This study evaluated which Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) factors (i.e., Slow, Sleepy, Daydreamer) are most strongly associated with homework motivation, and whether homework motivation mediates the path between SCT and academic impairment. Method: Participants were 285 middle school students (boys 209) in Grades 6 to 8 (ages 10-15 years) who were comprehensively diagnosed with ADHD. Results: Parent- and self-report of SCT Slow behaviors predicted homework motivation above and beyond symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), anxiety, depression, and intelligence. The mediation models tested were multi-informant and cross-rater (parent-report of SCT to self-report of motivation to teacher-report of homework problems), and suggest that low motivation may help explain the associations between SCT and functional impairment. Conclusion: SCT and motivation are significantly associated constructs. Clinically, youth with ADHD and comorbid SCT may be more likely to present with low motivation, placing them at risk for academic failure. The manuscript discusses potential clinical implications of these findings.

Scaffolding for motivation by parents, and child homework motivations and emotions: Effects of a training programme.

Based on the principles of scaffolding for motivation and on the assumptions of self-determination theory, two studies aimed to assess the role played by perceived parental autonomy-supportive scaffolding on child homework autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, affect, and engagement. The results of Study 1, which involved 122 parents and their children, showed that the higher the parental autonomous motivation, the more their children perceived them as autonomy-supportive while scaffolding for motivation, and hence developed autonomous motivation, self-efficacy, and engagement in homework. In Study 2, 37 parents were involved in a four-session training programme that focused on sustaining autonomy-supportive scaffolding modalities. The training decreased parental negative affect, prevented child negative affect increase, and maintained child homework motivation. The discussion focuses on the strength that parents have with regard to helping their children develop less negative, and potentially also more positive attitude towards homework, through autonomy support as a scaffold for motivation.

MOTIVACIÓN E IMPLICACIÓN EN LOS DEBERES ESCOLARES: DIFERENCIAS EN FUNCIÓN DEL RENDIMIENTO ACADÉMICO Y DEL CURSO

Abstract.HOMEWORK MOTIVATION AND INVOLVEMENT THROUGHOUT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLThe current work aims to study and find out any possible variations concerning homework motivation and involvement among students with different achievement levels. The sample consists of 535 students attending the three last year levels of Elementary School. Findings suggest that as achievement grows higher the better the intrinsic homework motivation, the more the perceived homework instrumentality, the bigger the amount of homework completed and the better the homework time management are. However, homework interest, attitude towards homework and time spent on homework show no significant statistic variation relating to the different levels of achievement. On the other hand, as students progress along the elementary school year levels their intrinsic homework motivation, their homework interest and their attitude towards homework deteriorate. Although students spend longer time completing homework, their homework time management becomes worse. No statistic differences have been found among the several school year levels studied relating to the amount of homework completed.Keywords: Homework motivation, homework involvement, school achievement, Elementary SchoolResumen.El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo comprobar si hay diferencias en la motivación e implicación en los deberes escolares en función del curso y del nivel de rendimiento académico de los estudiantes. La muestra está integrada por 535 estudiantes de los tres últimos cursos de Educación Primaria. Los resultados indican que a medida que el rendimiento académico es más alto, también aumenta progresivamente la motivación intrínseca hacia los deberes, la percepción de utilidad de esos deberes, la cantidad de deberes realizados y el aprovechamiento del tiempo dedicado a los deberes. Sin embargo, tanto el interés, como la actitud y el tiempo dedicado a los deberes no varían significativamente en función de los distintos niveles de rendimiento académico. Por otro lado, según van avanzando los estudiantes de curso, disminuye progresivamente su motivación intrínseca, su interés y su actitud hacia los deberes, así como la percepción de utilidad de estos deberes. Aunque se incrementa el tiempo que dedican a los deberes, el aprovechamiento de ese tiempo disminuye. En cambio, no hay diferencias significativas en función del curso en la cantidad de deberes realizados.Palabras clave: motivación hacia los deberes escolares, implicación en los deberes escolares, rendimiento académico, Educación Primaria.

What Keeps Chinese Students Motivated in Doing Math Homework? An Empirical Investigation

Background As many students face the enduring challenge of maintaining their motivation to complete homework assignments, there is a critical need to pay close attention to homework motivation management (i.e., students’ efforts to sustain or enhance their motivation in order to complete homework assignments that might be boring or difficult). Yet, in spite of research showing that homework motivation has a powerful influence on homework performance and academic achievement, there have been few attempts to systematically investigate models of factors that influence homework motivation management. Purpose The current investigation examines empirical models of motivation management for Chinese students in the context of math homework, with models informed by key motivation theories, including self-regulation of motivation, expectancy-value, and volitional control. Research Design The study reported here used cross sectional survey data. Participants The participants were 1,799 high school students from 46 classes in China. Results Results from multilevel analyses indicated that, at the class level, motivation management was positively associated with homework interest, but was negatively associated with teacher feedback. At the student level, motivation management was positively related to managing emotion, managing time, students’ interest in homework, cognitive reappraisal, expectancy belief, and time on sports. Meanwhile, motivation management was negatively associated with value belief and time on TV. Conclusion The current investigation found that some results were in line with key motivation theories and related findings with U.S. students (e.g., managing time, and homework interest at the student level). In addition, it suggests that other results may be influenced by cultural and societal differences (e.g., gender, value belief, and teacher feedback). Consequently, it would be informative to pursue this line of research in cross-cultural settings. With respect to promoting student motivation in the homework process, it would be beneficial to pay more close attention to the role of homework interest, expectancy belief, and student initiatives (e.g., managing time, managing emotion, and cognitive reappraisal).

Investigating factors that influence students' help seeking in math homework: A multilevel analysis

The current investigation examined empirical models of help seeking in math homework. Individual- and class-level predictors of help seeking were analyzed in a survey of 796 8th graders from 46 classes. Multilevel results indicated that help seeking was positively associated with mastery orientation and homework interest at the individual and class level. At the individual level, help seeking was positively related to family help availability, homework interest, peer participation, performance orientation, monitoring motivation, value belief, and family help frequency. Our results suggest that mastery orientation exerts a powerful influence on students' help seeking in math homework. Our results further suggest that teachers can play a vital role in promoting help seeking, by placing greater emphasis on mastery goals, by making homework more interesting, by helping students learn to maintain homework motivation, and by encouraging families to make themselves available in the homework process.

Effects of homework motivation and worry anxiety on homework achievement in mathematics and English

Direct and mediating effects of homework worry anxiety on homework effort and homework achievement and the differences in the structural relations among homework motivation constructs and homework achievement across mathematics and English homework were examined in 268 tenth graders in China. Homework motivation included task value, homework self-efficacy, homework worry anxiety, and motivation application. Homework accomplishments were rated by mathematics and English teachers. Homework value had positive effects on homework effort and worry anxiety in both subjects. Homework self-efficacy had positive and negative effects on homework effort and worry, respectively. Homework worry mediated the relation of homework value to effort and to achievement; the relation was more prominent in mathematics than in English homework. The mediating effects of worry anxiety in the relation of self-efficacy to homework effort and to achievement were significant only in mathematics. The domain specificity and direct and mediating effects were discussed in the cultural and educational context.

Predicting approach to homework in Primary school students.

The goal of this research was to study the weight of student variables related to homework (intrinsic homework motivation, perceived homework instrumentality, homework attitude, time spent on homework, and homework time management) and context (teacher feedback on homework and parental homework support) in the prediction of approaches to homework. 535 students of the last three courses of primary education participated in the study. Data were analyzed with hierarchical regression models and path analysis. The results obtained suggest that students’ homework engagement (high or low) is related to students´ level of intrinsic motivation and positive attitude towards homework. Furthermore, it was also observed that students who manage their homework time well (and not necessarily those who spend more time) are more likely to show the deepest approach to homework. Parental support and teacher feedback on homework affect student homework engagement through their effect on the levels of intrinsic homework motivation (directly), and on homework attitude, homework time management, and perceived homework instrumentality (indirectly). Data also indicated a strong and significant relationship between parental and teacher involvement.

More motivation for homework

More motivation for homework

Applying an observational lens to identify parental behaviours associated with children's homework motivation.

Extant research has traditionally associated children's achievement motivation with socio-emotional parental behaviours such as demonstrations of affect, responsiveness, and the degree of parental control. This study explored the extent to which parental socio-emotional and instructional behaviours (including the contingency of instructional scaffolding) both related to children's mastery and performance tendencies towards homework-like activities. The study involved nine underachieving primary-aged children and their parents, with four children showing predominantly mastery-oriented behaviours in the homework context and five showing predominantly performance-oriented behaviours. An in-depth observational analysis of video-recorded parent-child interactions during four homework-like sessions was carried out for each case. Socio-emotional and instructional parental behaviours were coded and subjected to nonparametric quantitative analyses. Subsequently, thick descriptions of parent-child interactions were used to identify critical aspects of parental assistance. Moderate cognitive demand was associated with mastery orientation, while negative affect was related to performance orientation. As revealed quantitatively and qualitatively, socio-emotional and instructional parental behaviours were also associated with each other, forming distinct profiles of parental behaviours related to children's homework motivation. The findings support the idea that instructional parental behaviours are as important as socio-emotional ones in the analysis of children's homework motivation. The value of observational methods in investigating the target variables is discussed.

Junior-High School Students’ Homework Effort and Its Influencing Factors

Homework effort, including students' compliance, investment, concentration and number of tasks completed or percentage attempted, is one of the important indicators of evaluating students' behavior in homework. Its antecedents mainly include individual factors such as gender, conscientiousness, homework motivation, homework emotion, as well as environmental factors such as teachers’ feedback and support, homework quality and parental involvement, etc. The study in the future is mainly focused on the mechanism of interactions between influential factors and the intervention of effects. At the same time, it is necessary to pay more attention to the homework effort of special students and the influential factors of homework effort in computer-based homework.

“I’ll do it later”: Type of motivation, self-efficacy and homework procrastination

The aim of this study is to explore the role of motivation in the relations between self-efficacy and procrastination. One hundred seventy-one-fifth-grade students completed questionnaires that assessed the type of motivation the students have for homework, the level to which they procrastinate on doing homework, and their self-efficacy regarding homework. The results indicated that autonomous motivation both mediates and moderates the relations between self-efficacy and procrastination. These results highlight the importance of students’ type of motivation for homework, suggesting procrastination cannot be reduced simply by addressing students’ self-efficacy; but, they must be supported to adopt a more autonomous type of motivation.

Synergistic Effects of Expectancy and Value on Homework Engagement: The Case for a Within-Person Perspective

Historically, expectancy–value models of motivation assumed a synergistic relation between expectancy and value: motivation is high only when both expectancy and value are high. Motivational processes were studied from a within-person perspective, with expectancies and values being assessed or experimentally manipulated across multiple domains and the focus being placed on intraindividual differences. In contrast, contemporary expectancy–value models in educational psychology concentrate almost exclusively on linear effects of expectancy and value on motivational outcomes, with a focus on between-person differences. Recent advances in latent variable methodology allow both issues to be addressed in observational studies. Using the expectancy–value model of homework motivation as a theoretical framework, this study estimated multilevel structural equation models with latent interactions in a sample of 511 secondary school students and found synergistic effects between domain-specific homework expectancy and homework value in predicting homework engagement in 6 subjects. This approach not only brings the “×” back into expectancy–value theory but also reestablishes the within-person perspective as the appropriate level of analysis for latent expectancy–value models.