Associations between adolescent students’ multiple domain task value-cost profiles and STEM aspirations

Abstract

According to the modern expectancy-value theory, students’ task values may differ across domains, manifesting as varying motivational patterns. In middle school, students’ motivation becomes increasingly apparent and may direct their future occupational aspirations. Using a person-oriented approach, this study examines students’ self-concept, and positive and negative task values (i.e., utility value, intrinsic value, and emotional cost) across Finnish language, math, biology, and physics, and the stability of the identified profiles. Further, the associations of the profiles with students’ subsequent academic achievement and math and natural science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)/health science STEM aspirations, and gendered effects were examined. Longitudinal data was collected through Grades 7 to 9 in 21 middle schools in Helsinki, Finland (N = 1,309, N = 1,179, N = 818, respectively; age 13–15 years; 55.9% female). Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified four task value profiles in Grades 7 and 8: Low motivation high cost STEM (13%/13%) showed low task values with high cost, especially in math and physics; High motivation low cost STEM (7%/8%) showed the highest task values with the lowest cost, especially in math and physics; High motivation high cost (18%/17%) showed high task values and cost across domains; and Moderate motivation and cost (62%/62%) showed moderate task values and cost across domains. The latent transition analysis identified Moderate motivation and cost as the most stable profile across 2 years. In comparison to the other profiles, students with a Low motivation high cost STEM profile were less likely to have STEM aspirations in Grade 9. These results suggests that majority of middle school students are highly to moderately motivated in various domains, however, some students simultaneously experience high cost. It may reflect the increasingly difficult courses and study demands in middle school.

Within-Year Stability and Changes in Adolescents’ Cross-Domain Motivational Profiles: Predictions on Academic Achievement and Educational Choices

“…Prior studies have identified profiles based on varying sets of EVT constructs: expectancies or self-concept only (e.g., Franzen et al, 2022;Umarji et al, 2018), a single value factor (e.g., Chow & Salmela-Aro, 2011;Franzen et al, 2022;Viljaranta et al, 2009), both (Lazarides et al, 2016), or a more multifaceted set of values and costs Lazarides et al, 2019Lazarides et al, , 2020Lazarides et al, , 2022Raufelder et al, 2022;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022;Watt et al, 2019;. While many studies have focused on motivational patterns for one school subject at a time, mostly math Lazarides et al, 2019Lazarides et al, , 2020Lazarides et al, , 2022Watt et al, 2019;, the involvement of two or more subjects has revealed clear intraindividual hierarchies (i.e., subject-specific preferences) in some students' motivation.…”

“…Another large group is usually formed by students with moderate motivation for all subjects (Franzen et al, 2022;Umarji et al, 2018;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022). Overall low motivation groups have typically been among the smaller (Lazarides et al, 2016;Raufelder et al, 2022;Umarji et al, 2018;Viljaranta et al, 2009;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022;see, however, Franzen et al, 2022). Notably, grouping based on a wider array of constructs has occasionally led to otherwise similar profiles that are most clearly differentiated by cost.…”

“…Notably, grouping based on a wider array of constructs has occasionally led to otherwise similar profiles that are most clearly differentiated by cost. For example, Raufelder and colleagues (2022) identified two profiles with high self-concepts and values but differing levels of cost, Struggling ambitious and Positively engaged (see also Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022;.…”

“…With respect to differentiated motivational patterns across school subjects, a profile emphasizing math over the other subject(s) has emerged almost consistently (Chow & Salmela-Aro, 2011;Franzen et al, 2022;Lazarides et al, 2016;Raufelder et al, 2022;Umarji et al, 2018;Viljaranta et al, 2009;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022). Upon the inclusion of a linguistic subject, the predominantly language-motivated have formed a group in some studies (Franzen et al, 2022;Umarji et al, 2018;Viljaranta et al, 2009), but not in others (Chow & Salmela-Aro, 2011;Lazarides et al, 2016;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022). Furthermore, not all studies have found differentiated profiles (Raufelder et al, 2022).…”

“…The interplay of contextual and motivational dynamics that guide educational pathways have been a focal area of expectancy-value research since its seminal modern conceptualizations (see Wigfield & Cambria, 2010). While much research has explored the role of motivation for academic achievement (e.g., Guo et al, 2016;Huang, 2011;Hübner et al, 2023;Jiang et al, 2018;Wille et al, 2020), educational expectations and aspirations (e.g., Lazarides et al, 2016;Olive et al, 2022;Oppermann et al, 2021;Vinni-Laakso et al, 2022;Widlund et al, 2020), and post-secondary educational and occupational choices (e.g., Gaspard et al, 2019Gaspard et al, , 2020Musu-Gillette et al, 2015;Umarji et al, 2018;Wille et al, 2020), less is known about its relevance for the choice of upper secondary school track (see, however, Jónsdóttir & Blöndal, 2023;Lazarides et al, 2016;Sinclair et al, 2019;Torppa et al, 2023;Vasalampi et al, 2023;Viljaranta et al, 2009).…”