Education Commons^™

Examining Motivation As A Mechanism For The Effects Of Stereotype Threat On Stem Outcomes: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis, Delaram A. Totonchi

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Although African-American students start STEM majors with higher levels of interest compared to their racial majority peers, they drop out of these majors at higher rates. One often tested explanation for this racial disparity is stereotype threat–the anxiety related to being judged stereotypically or the fear of confirming such stereotypes. Stereotype threat negatively impacts academic outcomes through a variety of psychological mechanisms including declined motivation. Accordingly, in this study, I examined expectancy-value beliefs as motivational mechanisms for the effects of stereotype threat on STEM outcomes. Participants were 362 African-American students in introductory chemistry and biology courses who completed surveys at …

The Role Of Stereotype Threat In Ethnically Minoritized Students' Science Motivation: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study Of Achievement And Persistence In Stem, Delaram A. Totonchi, Tony Perez, You-Kyung Lee, Kristy A. Robinson, Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Grounded in expectancy-value and stereotype threat theories, this four-year longitudinal study examined associations between changes in stereotype threat and motivation (self-efficacy, task values, and perceived costs) among 425 undergraduates from racial/ethnic groups typically underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Growth analyses indicated that students' stereotype threat and perceived cost of studying science increased during college, whereas science self-efficacy, intrinsic value, and attainment value declined. Parallel growth analyses suggested that higher initial stereotype threat related to a faster decline in attainment value and faster increase in perceived costs throughout college. Higher initial levels and a steeper increase in stereotype …

Motivation Profiles Of Urban Preservice Teachers: Relations To Antecedents, Outcomes, And Demographics, Bradley W. Bergey, John Ranellucci

Publications and Research

Given the perennial challenge of attracting and retaining high-quality teachers, especially in large cities, there is a need to understand why preservice teachers in urban districts choose a teaching career, their perceptions of the profession, and how these relate to their initial career commitments and aspirations. Using latent profile analysis, we examined patterns of motivational perceptions with variables from the Factors Influencing Teacher Choice model alongside perceived task effort cost, opportunity cost, and emotional cost of teaching within a diverse sample of 630 preservice teachers. We identified four distinct profiles that differentially related to theorized antecedents (prior teaching and learning …

Motivational Predictors Of Academic Risk-Taking, Danette Dee Barber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Students benefit when they are willing to engage in optimal challenges (Clifford, 1991). Engagement in challenges, however, comes with academic risks, as failure may be a result. This study investigated motivational factors, including expectancy, subjective task value, mastery goal orientation, and performance avoidance goal orientation as predictors of achievement-related outcomes, including course grade and academic risk-taking. Data were collected from 317 university students enrolled in education classes. Students were given a reading passage and asked to choose questions to answer based on the passage. Students who chose harder questions were categorized as taking more risk. Students also answered questions about …

Science Expectancy, Value, And Cost Profiles And Their Proximal And Distal Relations To Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, And Math Persistence, Tony Perez, Stephanie V. Wormington, Michael M. Barger, Rochelle D. Schwartz-Bloom, You-Kyung Lee, Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Despite efforts to attract and maintain diverse students in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline, issues with attrition from undergraduate STEM majors persist. The aim of this study was to examine how undergraduate science students’ competence beliefs, task values, and perceived costs in science combine into motivational profiles and to consider how such profiles relate to short-term and long-term persistence outcomes in STEM. We also examined the relations between underrepresented group membership and profile membership. Using latent profile analysis, we identified three profiles that characterized 600 participants’ motivation during their first semester in college: Moderate All, Very …

An Exploration Of Gifted Adolescent Motivation In Academic Learning Experiences, Vicki Ann Phelps

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine gifted adolescents’ perspectives on motivation in regard to academic learning experiences. Participants were selected based on having at least one year of attendance at a midwestern private school for the gifted, having a full-scale IQ of at least 125, and being between the ages of 11-17. This study focused on six gifted adolescents who committed to participating in one personal interview, completing two student response journals, and submitting work samples with reflection tags that were found to be examples of motivational academic learning experiences.

Data from the interviews, student response …