Math and science motivation: A longitudinal examination of the links between choices and beliefs.

Abstract

This study addresses the longitudinal associations between youths' out-of-school activities, expectancies-values, and high school course enrollment in the domains of math and science. Data were collected on 227 youth who reported on their activity participation in 5th grade, expectancies-values in 6th and 10th grade, and courses taken throughout high school. Math and science course grades at 5th and 10th grade were gathered through school record data. Results indicated youths' math and science activity participation predicted their expectancies and values, which, in turn, predicted the number of high school courses above the predictive power of grades. Although there were mean-level differences between boys and girls on some of these indicators, relations among indicators did not significantly differ by gender.

Validación de la Versión en Español del Mathematics Value Inventory (MVI) entre Estudiantes Universitarios Uruguayos

“…Debe señalarse el contexto diferente en el que se llevaron a cabo las dos investigaciones. En nuestro caso hemos trabajado con estudiantes de carreras científi cas, con una alta carga obligatoria de matemática, por oposición a los estudiantes de Luttrell et al Las investigaciones de Eccles y sus colaboradores con estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria muestran que las valoraciones que hacen los jóvenes resultan buenos predictores de los cursos en los que optan por matricularse en los últimos años de la secundaria y en la universidad (e.g., Chow, Eccles, & Salmela-Aro, 2012;Durik, Vida, & Eccles, 2006;Eccles, Vida, & Barber, 2004;Simpkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006). No es de extrañar, pues, que entre estudiantes de carreras universitarias donde la matemática no es esencial, aquellos que eligen un mayor número de cursos de matemática sean los que tienen mayor interés y los que creen que les será más útil, o aquellos a los que les demande menos esfuerzo y por lo tanto tengan mayor expectativa de éxito.…”

The Effects of a Collaborative Problem-based Learning Experience on Students’ Motivation in Engineering Capstone Courses

“…We measured success using the 4-item Perceived Competence Scale (Williams & Deci, 1996;Williams, Freedman, & Deci, 1998) to assess students' feelings of competence in the course. We measured situational interest with a 3-item scale used by Jones (2010a) that included items similar to those used by other researchers (e.g., Simpkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006;Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) to measure "intrinsic interest value" and "situational interest. " This scale measures the extent to which students enjoy and are interested in the course.…”

Perceptions of the Social Relevance of Science: Exploring the Implications for Gendered Patterns in Expectations of Majoring in STEM Fields

“…Yet, we argue that what is currently lacking are empirical studies that go beyond focusing on individuals' skills and perceptions of their own abilities and attitudes, and instead focus explicit attention on how young people actually see and make sense of science itself, and how this may have implications for gendered choices. Specifically, while research on gender disparities often assumes (either implicitly or explicitly) that girls' and boys' views of science likely play a role in shaping their decisions to later enter such fields [4,[13][14][15], they typically do not attempt to actually measure such views nor investigate their potential impact on the choices that students subsequently make.…”