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Math Self-Efficacy and STEM Intentions: A Person-Centered Approach.

ABSTRACT: Research pertaining to STEM interest and persistence continues to be a top priority in the educational research arena. The current study employed a person-centered approach to examine the impact of math self-efficacy and various distal predictors, such as individuals' demographic information, beliefs about math, and social group identification, on STEM interest and intentions. Specifically, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA), thereby inferring three homogeneous subgroups of individuals or latent classes from their response patterns on the 18-item sources of math self-efficacy measure. Our analyses showed that individuals' ethnicity, implicit theories of math ability, and other group orientation were predictive of class membership (Mastery, Moderate, and Unconfident). We also found that there were significant differences in interest in STEM subjects, interest in STEM activities, individuals' majors, and retention grade point average across the three latent classes. Our findings support the importance of math self-efficacy in choice of major as well as overall academic performance regardless of whether a student is in a STEM field or a non-STEM field.

SUBMITTER: Lin L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6206556 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Math Self-Efficacy and STEM Intentions: A Person-Centered Approach.

Lin Li L Lee Taehun T Snyder Lori Anderson LA

Frontiers in psychology 20181023

Research pertaining to STEM interest and persistence continues to be a top priority in the educational research arena. The current study employed a person-centered approach to examine the impact of math self-efficacy and various distal predictors, such as individuals' demographic information, beliefs about math, and social group identification, on STEM interest and intentions. Specifically, we conducted a latent profile analysis (LPA), thereby inferring three homogeneous subgroups of individuals ...[more]

PMID: 30405504

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Project description:In daily academic life, students are exposed to a wide range of potentially stressful situations which could negatively affect their academic achievement and their health. Among the factors that could be weakened by academic stress, attention has been paid to expectations of self-efficacy, which are considered one of the most important determinants for student engagement, persistence, and academic success. From a proactive perspective, research on academic stress has emphasized the importance of coping strategies in preventing harmful consequences. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in discovering the extent to which individuals are able to combine different coping strategies and the adaptive consequences this flexibility entails. However, studies using this person-centered approach are still scarce in the academic context. On that basis, this current study had two objectives: (a) to examine the existence of different profiles of university students based on how they combined different approach coping strategies (positive reappraisal, support seeking, and planning) and (b) to determine the existence of differences in general expectations of self-efficacy between those coping profiles. A total of 1,072 university students participated in the study. The coping profiles were determined by latent profile analysis (LPA). The differences in the self-efficacy variable were determined using ANCOVA, with gender, university year, and degree type as covariates. Four approach coping profiles were identified: (a) low generalized use of approach coping strategies; (b) predominance of social approach coping approaches; (c) predominance of cognitive approach coping approaches; and (d) high generalized use of approach coping strategies. The profile showed that a greater combination of the three strategies was related to higher general self-efficacy expectations and vice versa. These results suggest that encouraging flexibility in coping strategies would help to improve university students' self-efficacy.

Project description:This study aimed to determine the relationship between self-determined motivation and time-related academic behavior (T-AB) of Korean primary school students, using a person-centered approach, and identified differences in the fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and level of achievement to explore the characteristics of each profile. This study is unique, as previous studies on this topic have used a variable-centered approach. To this end, the current study involved a latent profile analysis of 451 fifth and sixth graders (male: 48.3%, female: 51.7%) in three primary schools located in medium- and small-sized cities in the G province of Korea. First, the analysis resulted in four profiles of self-determined motivation: "low motivation" (3.3%), "controlled regulation" (43.5%), "external regulation dependent" (12.4%), and "autonomous" (40.9%). Second, three profiles were derived for T-AB: "low approach" (6.9%), "timely engagement-approach" (55.2%), and "procrastination-approach" (37.9%). Third, this study examined the relationship between the profiles of self-determined motivation and T-AB through a chi-squared test. "Low approach" represented the largest proportion in the "low motivation" profile of self-determined motivation; "procrastination-approach" represented the largest proportion in the "controlled regulation" and "external regulation dependent" profiles; and "timely engagement-approach" represented the largest proportion in the "autonomous" profile. Fourth, analysis of variance was performed (ANOVA) to understand the differences in the FNE and level of achievement of each derived type. Among the self-determined motivation profiles, "low motivation" was associated with the highest level of FNE, and "autonomous" had the highest level of achievement. Furthermore, among profiles of T-AB, "low approach" was associated with the highest level of FNE, and "timely engagement-approach" had the highest level of achievement. However, the interaction effect between self-determined motivation and T-AB profiles showed significant differences only for FNE that were highest in the "low motivation" profile of self-determined motivation and in the "low approach" profile of T-AB, and lowest in the "autonomous" and "timely engagement-approach" profiles. Lastly, the positive types of motivation and academic behavior in primary school students and some important educational implications are presented.

Dataset Information

Math Self-Efficacy and STEM Intentions: A Person-Centered Approach.

Publications

Math Self-Efficacy and STEM Intentions: A Person-Centered Approach.

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