Social influences of interest: Conceptualizing group differences in education through a self-regulation of motivation model

Abstract

journals.sagepub.com/home/gpi Students' choices about which educational and career paths to pursue, including their selection of college majors, shape many aspects of their future lives. Although people often believe that educational interests and choices are determined primarily by intrinsic factors, initial selection and retention rates in specific majors (e.g., STEM) vary systematically as a function of gender, social

Curricular Tracking, Students’ Academic Identity, and School Belonging

“…In the current study, the increases in school belonging associated with placement in honors math were mediated by students’ academic identity: Honors math placement was associated with increases in academic identity, which, in turn, predicted increases in school belonging. As described by Thoman et al (2019), social influences often play a heavy role in the shaping of youth’s interests and goals, with significant consequences for their academic motivation. Results of the current study suggest that math track placement led to changes in students’ perceptions of their “fit” within the school context, and that these changes in school belonging were mediated by the degree to which they viewed academic success as an important aspect of their personal identities.…”

Highlighting Prosocial Affordances of Science in Textbooks to Promote Science Interest

“…One way groups may differ is in the extent to which prosocial affordance beliefs influence interest (e.g., Thoman et al. , 2015 , 2019 ). Our results revealed no statistical differences by gender or ethnic group, such that affordance beliefs positively influenced interest for all students (i.e., no differences in valuation of prosocial goals).…”

“…Although student competence (or doing well) in science is a necessary component for retention, it is not sufficient and does not offer a full picture as to why students choose to persist in or leave science majors (e.g., Seymour and Hewitt, 1997 ; Renninger et al. , 2015 ; Thoman et al. , 2019 ).…”

Introduction to the special issue on group-based inequalities in educational outcomes

“…However, the decision of which academic path to forego or pursue varies systematically with students’ gender, ethnicity, and social class. Thoman et al (2019) propose a theoretical framework to highlight the social influences that shape students’ motivation and lead to group-based inequality in education. Elaborating from the self-regulation of motivation model (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 1996), the authors explain how students’ choice (goal-defined motivation) and interests (experience-defined motivation) are shaped by society.…”