Self-concept Of Ability Research Articles

The long-term effects of school education on further education: a longitudinal view on motivation and behaviour in youth and adulthood.

As school learning should enable people to self-determine their own lives, its long-lasting relevance for participation in further education is an essential outcome. Contemporary adult education research shows that beliefs and memories from one's school years have an impact on the motivation to pursue further education in working life. However, almost no longitudinal research exists that investigates the long-term forces behind adults' motivation to educate themselves. Hence, the present study examined whether students' learning-related behaviour, cognitions and emotions that developed in their school years are related to the subjective value they place on further education, their expectations of success in solving further learning tasks, and thus the likelihood of participating in further education. Corresponding structural equation analyses on data from the German panel study LifE (n = 1,110) revealed that the learning behaviour, ability self-concept and test anxiety at the age of 12, along with their individual change between the ages of 12 and 16, are associated in different ways with the attainment value and subjective costs placed on further education and expectations of success at the age of 35. In contrast, no influence of youth characteristics on the likelihood of participating in further education could be found. The findings indicate that especially the development of learning-related cognitions and emotions in secondary school is sustainably related to the individual's success expectancy and achievement value of further education. Long-term dependencies should be further investigated with regard to academic domains and socio-economic pathways.

The role of affective learner characteristics for learning about abstract algebra: A multiple linear regression analysis

Recent research has boosted the inclusion of introductory group theory into secondary and undergraduate mathematics education due to manifold potentials, e.g., with regards to the promotion of students’ abstract thinking. However, in addition to research on cognitive processes, learners’ affective characteristics have largely remained unexplored in the context of teaching and learning group theory to date. In this paper, we contribute to closing this gap: We report on an empirical study investigating n=143 students’ affective characteristics within a two-weeks course program–the Hildesheim teaching concept. In our study, this concept was used to introduce pre-service primary teachers into group theory. A multiple linear regression analysis reveals that neither mathematics-specific ability self-concept nor subject interest are significant predictors of the achieved conceptual understanding of group theory after the intervention indicating that group theory is not reserved for only the mathematically interested students or students with a high mathematics-specific self-concept.

University learners’ utilisation of online videos in a general chemistry course

The effectiveness of course videos needs to be analysed, and in doing so, it is important to consider the utilisation behaviours and opinions of learners. In this regard, this study was primarily conducted to analyse Kyrgyz learners’ utilisation of videos in a general chemistry course provided at the university level. This study was conducted during the 2019–2020 spring term at a state university in the Kyrgyz Republic and was structured using a mixed-method approach. The total number of participants was 105 Kyrgyz learners studying at the undergraduate level. Quantitative data were collected through an online survey, which consisted of demographic questions and items related to the utilisation of chemistry videos. Qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews with 13 learners. It was demonstrated through the data that learners used chemistry videos for 1–2 h per week. Also, the learners’ utilisation did not change with regard to their success from watching the videos. Learners’ utilisation of the chemistry videos was based on five factors: intrinsic motivation, self-concept of ability, self-perception of conscientiousness, video use and expectations of an online video library. This study also provided results regarding Kyrgyz learners’ problems and suggestions related to their utilisation of the videos.

Toward Gender Equality in Education—Teachers’ Beliefs about Gender and Math

Math has a strong gender-related image, even among teachers. As teachers hold beliefs about their work, their role, their subject, and their students, they shape girls’ and boys’ mathematical beliefs and attitudes. Research during the past 20 years has shown that teachers’ gender beliefs about mathematics significantly favor boys, thereby reinforcing girls’ low math ability self-concept. Still, there is a lack of studies that examine teachers’ gender-related beliefs based on their underlying assumptions. Our study provides the first empirical evidence of the relationship between general gender stereotypes and math stereotypes. To this end, we used partial correlation and MANCOVA to analyze data from an online survey in 2019/2020 conducted in Switzerland (195 women, 80 men) as part of a cross-cultural comparison study. We therefore created a differentiated profile of prospective teachers by examining their beliefs about their self-image, their image of men and women in society, their essentialist and gender role ideology beliefs, and their math stereotypes. Then, we linked prospective teachers’ beliefs about gender (based on 48 characteristics) to their beliefs about mathematics and about girls’ and boys’ competencies in math. The extensive analysis provides knowledge about prospective teachers and is particularly important for teacher education.

Motivation towards novel learning content: Perceived similarity of learning content, but not need for cognition, moderates the generalization of motivation

The generalization of established motivation hypothesis states that individuals use established motivational beliefs to predict motivational beliefs regarding novel learning content on the basis of the perceived similarity between academic domains. This study tests the generalization hypothesis by investigating the assumed moderating role of the extent of perceived similarity between known and novel learning content and need for cognition (NFC). Participants were adult students (n=576) from various study programs (Study 1) and non-students (n=628) of whom the majority held at least a bachelor's degree (Study 2). In this prospective correlational survey study, we used online self-report measures to assess participants' self-concept of ability (SCA) and intrinsic task value (ITV) regarding their established and anticipated motivational beliefs regarding a set of school subjects (known learning content) and fields of study (novel learning content), perceptions of similarity, and their NFC. Data was analysed using structural equation modelling with latent interaction variables. We found support for the generalization hypothesis and documented that the perceived similarity moderated the generalizing effect (i.e., SCA and ITV had stronger predictive validity for learning content that was perceived as more similar). However, the results obtained for the moderating effect of NFC were mostly nonsignificant. Individuals generalize established motivation regarding known learning content to anticipated motivation regarding novel learning content perceived as being similar. The extent of perceived similarity enhances this effect, whereas NFC does not. Future research should address the underlying automatic and deliberate cognitive processes of generalization.

Agency, linked lives and historical time: evidence from the longitudinal three-generation Youth Development Study.

Whereas Glen Elder and associates' principles of the life course are usually articulated and investigated individually, they reference analytic distinctions that simplify their empirical coexistence and mutual interrelation. This article illustrates this complexity by focusing on the principle of agency and its intersections with 'linked lives' and 'time and place'. Data are drawn from the Youth Development Study (YDS), which has followed a Minnesota cohort (G2, born 1973-74) from mid-adolescence (ages 14-15) to midlife (ages 45-46). The YDS also includes G1 parents and G3 children, the latter surveyed at about the same age as their parents were when the research began. The findings indicate that multiple agentic orientations, observed in adolescence, affect adult attainments; they are shaped by the 'linked lives' of grandparents, parents and children over longer periods of time than previously recognised; and their associations with educational achievement are historically specific. Whereas the 'linked lives' of parents and adolescents are generally studied contemporaneously, the agentic orientations of parents, measured as teenagers, were found to predict the same psychological resources in their adolescent children (self-concept of ability, optimism and economic efficacy) decades later. We also found evidence that parents' occupational values continue to influence the values of their children as the children's biographies unfold. Suggesting a historic shift in the very meaning and behavioural consequences of agentic orientations, optimism and efficacy replaced educational ambition as significant predictors of academic achievement.

Latent Profiles of Parental Academic Conditional Positive and Negative Regard

SYNOPSIS Objective. Parental academic conditional regard is a socialization strategy in which parents’ displays of appreciation increase (conditional positive regard; PACPR) or decrease (conditional negative regard; PACNR) depending on the children’s academic achievement. Little is known about how adolescents perceive combinations of conditional positive and negative regard and how within-person combinations of them relate to developmental outcomes. Design. This study uses a person-oriented approach to examine within-person combinations of PACPR and PACNR and their different associations with individuals’ motivation and adjustment. Three different samples reported on perceived PACPR and PACNR: adolescent students (N = 3,891), university freshmen (N = 556), and parents (N = 760). We conducted confirmatory latent profile analyses and investigated associations between profiles and outcome measures (basic need satisfaction, self-esteem level and contingency, ability self-concept, achievement goal orientation, test anxiety, and depressive symptoms). Results. The results supported a 3-class solution in all samples: low (44.4%–61.4%) or high (14.5%–24.5%) on both, and only high on PACPR (14.1%–31.3%). Groups reporting overall high levels of conditional regard scored the least favorably on all outcomes. Individuals with only high scores on PACPR differed from those with overall low scores on conditional regard primarily in terms of higher contingent self-esteem. Conclusions. The two dimensions of conditional regard are distinct. Although combination of the two dimensions is associated with individuals’ general poor adjustment, the presence of PACPR alone is related to a fragile sense of self-esteem. Implications for future research are discussed.

Latinx adolescents’ school-related science conversations with family members: Associations with adolescents’ science expectancy-value beliefs in high school

Integrating situated expectancy-value and family systems theories, the current study tested the extent to which Latinx adolescents’ 9th-grade school-related science conversations with parents and older siblings/cousins positively predicted their 10th-grade science ability self-concepts and task values. We also tested whether these links were moderated by who primarily initiated the conversations (i.e., adolescents, family members, or both). We used two-wave, multi-reporter survey data from 104 Latinx families, consisting of triads of parents, older siblings/cousins, and adolescents (89% Mexican-descent, 40% female; M age = 14.53 years). Partially supporting our hypotheses, parent-adolescent school-related science conversations predicted adolescents’ 10th-grade science ability self-concepts. Moreover, the links between parent-adolescent conversations and science ability self-concepts and task values were positive and significant when parents more frequently initiated conversations than adolescents. Similar but weaker associations were found for sibling/cousin-adolescent school-related science conversations. These findings underscore the motivational benefits of family members initiating school-related science conversations with Latinx adolescents.

How do adolescent mathematical self-concept and values explain attainment of different kinds of STEM degrees in adulthood?

Gendered participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (‘STEM’) fields remains a pressing concern. Although women have made progress in entering life sciences (LS) they remain severely underrepresented in physical sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology (PMET). Drawing on expectancy-value theory, motivational predictors of adolescents’ mathematics participation and aspirations have been intensively studied. Fewer studies have examined how adolescent motivations link to university STEM participation, and we believe our study is first to link to subsequent degree attainment. Among 212 participants (115 women) in Australia, we examined how adolescent mathematics self-concept of ability and intrinsic/importance values explained attainment of PMET or LS versus non-STEM degrees in adulthood, over and above prior mathematical achievement and perceived science talent. Despite similar mathematical achievement, adolescent boys reported higher mathematics intrinsic value, self-concept of ability and science talent than girls; and, a higher proportion of men than women subsequently attained a PMET degree. Neither mathematics self-concept of ability, mathematics importance value or perceived science talent predicted STEM degrees. Adolescent mathematics intrinsic value marginally predicted only women’s attainment of PMET (but not LS) degrees. Implications for theory, policy, and educational practice are discussed.

Feeling Capable in an Ubuntu Way: Kenyan Comprehensions of Control Beliefs Compared with the German Perspective

Abstract In Western personnel psychology, control beliefs are a valued predictor for work-related outcomes. Yet, little is known about the culture-specific functioning of control in East Africa. Kenya, as an Ubuntu culture, is examined regarding control beliefs and contrasted with a German sample considered to represent an individualistic or Western culture. Responses to N=143 quantitative personality tests were attended with qualitative interviews on control beliefs (self-concept of ability, internality, powerful others, and chance). Content validity and factor structure of control beliefs were analyzed, followed by a Procrustean target rotation. Linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictability of job performance, achievement motivation, and well-being. Item comprehension, as well as factor structure of the four control aspects, differ between the two samples. In particular, the ‘powerful others’ control aspect diverges the most between the cultures. Linear regression analyses showed comparable, but not fully congruent predictability. Results indicate that an uncritical transfer of the control beliefs measure from one culture to another is inappropriate. Results fit in the picture of African Ubuntu philosophy, emphasizing social-relational aspects shaping control beliefs. More emic-etic based research is demanded concerning intra- and intercultural variability of control beliefs to depict a transcultural applicable and invariant model.

Promoting Latinx adolescents’ math motivation through competence support: Culturally responsive practices in an afterschool program context

Early adolescence is an important period for students’ math motivational beliefs. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examined middle school students’ experiences in a university-based math afterschool program serving predominantly underprivileged Latinx adolescents. First, utilizing quantitative pre- and post-survey data (N = 129), we found that the support adolescents received in the program for their competence needs positively predicted changes in their math motivational beliefs (i.e., math ability self-concepts and subjective task-values) over one academic year. In our follow-up analysis of qualitative interview data (N = 28), we examined specifically how mentors in the program supported adolescents’ competence needs. The findings highlight culturally responsive practices - including helping adolescents leverage their funds of knowledge as well as various strategies and perspectives for problem-solving during math activities - that afterschool programs and mentors can utilize to create supportive learning environments for competence needs that help to promote adolescents’ math motivational beliefs.

Motivational profiles across domains and academic choices within Eccles et al.'s situated expectancy-value theoretical framework.

This longitudinal person-centered study aimed to identify profiles of subjective task values and ability self-concepts of adolescents in the domain of mathematics, English, biology, and physics in Grades 10 and 12. We were interested in gendered changes of profile membership, and in relations between profile membership and educational and occupational outcomes in adulthood. Data were drawn from the Michigan Study of Adolescent and Adult Life Transitions. We focused on students who participated in the data collection in Grades 10 and 12 (N = 911; 56.1% female; Mage = 16.49, SD = .63; 91.2% European American, 4.6% African American, and 2.1% other ethnic groups such as Hispanic, Asian, Native American). Data on subsequent college majors were assessed 2, 6, and 10 years after finishing high school and data on occupational outcomes was assessed up to 22 years after high school. Using Latent Profile Analyses, our findings revealed five profiles in grade 10 and four profiles in grade 12, which were meaningfully related to student gender. Latent Transition Analyses showed that motivational beliefs became more hierarchical over time. Gendered changes in profile membership occurred, with boys experiencing a process of specialization into mathematics domains. We were also able to show that gender-specific intraindividual hierarchies of motivational beliefs were related to gender-specific specialization processes in adolescence and to subsequent gendered choices throughout the life course. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Identifying predictors of performance in reading and writing in primary students with mild learning difficulties

ABSTRACT Although numerous studies have reported the predictive power of various factors for academic performance in regular students, little is known about the predictive power of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). In the present study, we investigated the relative importance of thoroughly selected factors like prior performance, intelligence, ability self-concept, domain-specific interest, gender, migration background, and school setting for reading and writing (literacy) performance of students with mild learning difficulties (MLD). Data from a representative German sample of elementary school children with MLD were examined. Our results revealed that prior performance, school setting, intelligence, and ability self-concept were significant predictors for performance in literacy. Relative weights did not differ significantly between different types of schooling. Our findings mostly resemble former research on regular students.

Reciprocal relations between adolescents’ self-concepts of ability and achievement emotions in mathematics and literacy

This longitudinal study examined cross-lagged relations of self-concepts of ability and achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment, boredom, anxiety) in two central school subjects (i.e., mathematics and literacy). Adolescents (N = 848) reported their achievement emotions and self-concepts of ability four times during Grades 6 and 7. The pattern of results was different for mathematics and literacy subjects. For mathematics the results of random intercept cross-lagged panel models showed a positive reciprocal relationship between self-concepts of ability and enjoyment and a negative reciprocal relationship between self-concept and anxiety. Lower self-concepts of ability in mathematics also predicted higher boredom in mathematics but not vice versa. For literacy, in turn, self-concept of ability did not predict any of the achievement emotions and emotions did not predict literacy self-concept of ability. The results suggest that achievement emotions act as sources as well as consequences of adolescents’ self-concepts of ability, particularly in mathematics.

Motivation Toward Novel Learning Content: Testing the Predictive Validity of School-Based Motivation

This study investigated the predictive validity of school-subject-specific self-concepts of ability, intrinsic task values, and cost (operationalized as task effort) for motivation regarding unclassified novel learning content—a fictional project management course—as a function of perceived similarity between school subject and novel learning content. Using an experimental survey design, perceived similarity was induced by presenting a description of the project management course that had some similarity to either mathematics or German (i.e., the school subject). Participants (N = 582) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions (i.e., course description hinting at mathematical versus German-related content). Results from multiple-group structural equation modeling demonstrated that individuals’ mathematics-specific self-concept of ability and intrinsic task value predicted their course-specific motivational beliefs only when the course description emphasized mathematical content. Facing mathematical course content, predictive validity of individuals’ mathematics-specific self-concept of ability and intrinsic task value, respectively, was higher than their German-specific self-concept of ability and intrinsic task value. Findings regarding cost were less consistent. Results are discussed with regard to expectancy-value theory and task choice in higher and further education.

Ability self-concepts and parental support may protect adolescents when they experience low support from their math teachers

IntroductionExperiencing low support from teachers can be associated with low academic achievement. Nonetheless, individual- (i.e., ability self-concepts) and contextual-level (i.e., parental support) protective factors may help adolescents to display academic resilience. This study examined whether high school students’ math ability self-concepts and parental support can mitigate the possible negative association between perceived low math teacher support and their math achievement. MethodCorrelational data were drawn from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 14,580, Mage = 17.42 in 11th grade, 51% female), a nationally representative study of high school students in the U.S. The measures of protective factors (i.e., math ability self-concepts and parental support) were obtained from the surveys administered to students and parents in 9th grade. Students’ perceived teacher support and their math achievement score were measured in 11th grade. A series of linear regression analyses were estimated to test our hypotheses. Results & ConclusionsPerceived low teacher support was negatively associated with adolescents’ math achievement. Adolescents’ math ability self-concepts were directly and positively associated with their math achievement. The interaction between perceived low teacher support and ability self-concepts in predicting adolescents’ achievement varied by parental support. The association between perceived low teacher support and adolescents’ math achievement was not statistically significant when adolescents were high on one of the protective factors. That is, high parental support may be protective for adolescents with low math ability self-concepts. This study highlights the interaction between adolescents’ academic motivation and parental support in demonstrating resilience to perceived low teacher support.

What Matters When? Social and Dimensional Comparisons in the Context of University Major Choice

Students compare their achievement to different standards in order to evaluate their ability. We built on the theoretical frameworks of situated expectancy-value theory, dimensional comparison theory, and the big-fish-little-pond effect literature to examine the role of social and dimensional comparisons for ability self-concept and subjective task value (STV) in secondary school and university major choice. We used two German longitudinal data sets from different cohorts with data collection in 12th grade and 2 years after high school graduation (Study 1: N = 2,207, Study 2: N = 1,710). Dimensional and social comparisons predicted students’ self-concept and domain-specific STV in school: Individual achievement was positively related to ability self-concept and STV in the corresponding domain and negatively related in the noncorresponding domain. School-level mean achievement was negatively related to ability self-concept and STV in the corresponding domain. Dimensional comparisons were directly related to university major choice, social comparisons were only indirectly related.

Only a Burden for Females in Math? Gender and Domain Differences in the Relation Between Adolescents\u2019 Fixed Mindsets and Motivation

Gendered occupational and educational choices have often been traced back to gender differences in students’ domain-specific ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation. This study explored the role of believing in an “innate” math or language arts ability (i.e., having a fixed mindset) for gender differences in students’ ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation in 423 female (49%) and 447 male (51%) tenth graders from Germany (age M = 16.09 years, SD = 0.68, range: 14–18 years). In line with math-male stereotypes, believing in “innate” math ability was associated with lower ability self-concept and intrinsic motivation in female but not male students. In language arts, students’ mindsets were unrelated to their motivation. The results suggest that a fixed mindset presents an additional burden for female students in math, but not for male or female students in language arts.

Individuals' math and science motivation and their subsequent STEM choices and achievement in high school and college: A longitudinal study of gender and college generation status differences.

Math and science motivational beliefs are essential in understanding students' science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement and choices in high school and college. Drawing on the Eccles' expectancy-value theory and Arnett's emerging adulthood framework, this study examined the relations among high school students' motivational beliefs in ninth grade and their STEM course taking and grade point average (GPA) throughout high school as well as their STEM major choice in college. In addition, we examined subgroup differences across (a) gender and (b) college generation status by testing mean-level differences as well as whether these relations between math and science motivational beliefs and STEM outcomes varied by gender and college generation status. Using nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 14,040; Mage = 14; 51% female students), this study found that adolescents' math and science motivational beliefs at the beginning of high school were positively associated with STEM achievement and course taking throughout high school and college major choices 7 years later. The results showed that female and first-generation college students had lower math and science self-concept of ability and were less likely to pursue a STEM major in college. However, in most cases, the relations among indicators did not vary by gender and college generation status. This study provided insights for policymakers and practitioners that gender and college generation gaps in STEM are evident at least by the beginning of high school and carry forward to their STEM college choices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Secondary School Leaving Examinations: The Impact of Expectancies, Values, and Dimensional Comparisons on Male and Female Students’ Science-Oriented Choices

In Germany, secondary school students have to choose at least one STEM subject (mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics) for their Secondary School Leaving Examinations. In a representative sample of students in grade 13 in one federal state in Germany, we explore boys’ and girls' subject choices in an expectancy-value framework by considering students’ prior performance, ability self-concept, and values in the chosen subject. We extend previous research by including dimensional comparisons that students make between the varying subjects they have to choose from. We discriminate between two opposing groups. One group shows a science-avoidance choice pattern by selecting only one science subject: biology (n = 439). The other group shows a science-oriented choice pattern by selecting physics or chemistry or two STEM subjects of which one was at least physics or chemistry (n = 248). We measured achievement test scores, relative and absolute midterm grades, ability self-concepts as well as attainment and utility values in chosen and non-chosen subjects and calculated logistic regressions as well as multigroup models. Our results showed that science-oriented final exam choices depended highly on ability self-concept in mathematics for boys and girls and on the relative mathematics-English midterm grade for boys. When controlling for the other predictors, attainment and utility values seemed to be irrelevant for science-oriented final exam subject choice. Our findings raise the question whether boys and girls should be encouraged differently in order to stay in the STEM pipeline and how structural conditions may shape pathways into or out of this pipeline.