Currently, the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) jobs are expanding faster than the U.S. labor market; yet many individuals with STEM degrees choose to work in other fields. The present study uses social cognitive career theory as a framework for researching the impact of several variables on future expectations to…

This study examined the longitudinal associations of Hispanic youths' 9th-grade math expectancy-values and their subsequent participation (course taking and advanced course taking), performance, and preparedness (high school graduation and university eligibility) across 9th to 12th grades. Gender moderation associations of expectancy-value and…

The psychometric qualities of the six- and eight-item implicit theories of intelligence scales that Dweck suggested were compared using a confirmatory factor analysis with data from 239 gifted students (100 students in Grades 5-7, 139 students in Grades 8-11). The results indicate that the six-item scale fits the data better than the eight-item…

Although students' motivational frameworks (entity vs. incremental) have been linked to academic achievement, little is known about how early this link emerges and how motivational frameworks develop in the first place. In a year-long study (student N = 424, Teacher N = 58), we found that, as early as 1st and 2nd grade, children who endorsed an…

This study investigated how teachers' achievement goals for teaching and implicit theories of their students' intelligence are associated with the goal structures that they create in their classrooms. Teachers ("N" = 209) reported their achievement goals for teaching (mastery, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals),…

A classic distinction in the literature on achievement and motivation is between fear of failure and success orientations. From the perspective of self-worth theory, these motives are not bipolar constructs but dimensions that interact in ways that make some students particularly vulnerable to underachievement and disengagement from school. The…

Relationships between cultural factors (ethnicity and religiosity) and dimensions of students' attributions for their success and failure (locus of control, stability, personal control and external control), along with motivational goals (learning, performance approach, performance avoidance, and work avoidance), self-efficacy, intelligence…

Background: A program of research is needed that assesses the psychometric properties of instruments designed to quantify students' achievement goal orientations to clarify inconsistencies across previous studies and to provide a stronger basis for future research. Aim: We conducted traditional psychometric and modern Rasch-model analyses of the…

Purpose: The main aim of the present investigation was to examine the role of teacher, peer, and parental academic and emotional support in predicting adolescent cognitive engagement, especially within the context of ESL classrooms. Method: The present study examined the availability of academic and emotional support from teachers, classmates and…

There are many factors that influence the academic success and motivation of students. Social cognitive theory contends that individuals learn and perform based upon a triadic reciprocality of personal factors, behavior, and the environment. Personal factors such as beliefs, behaviors, and the environment equally influence one another. Existing…