[Growth trajectories of intrinsic value beliefs in mathematics and French: Relations with career orientations].
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SUBMITTER: Costache O
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9296413 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Past research has shown that growth mindset and motivational beliefs have an important role in math and science career interest in adolescence. Drawing on situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT), this study extends these findings by investigating the role of parental motivational beliefs (e.g., expectancy beliefs, utility values) and parent growth mindset in math on adolescent career interest in math-intensive fields (e.g., mathematics, computer science, statistics, and engineering; MCSE) through adolescent motivational beliefs in math. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model using data from 290 adolescents (201 girls, 69.3%; Mage = 15.20), who participate in informal STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) youth programs, and their parents (162 parents, 87.7% female) in the United Kingdom and the United States. As hypothesized, adolescent expectancy beliefs, utility values, and growth mindset in math had a significant direct effect on MCSE career interest. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of parental expectancy beliefs in math on MCSE career interest through adolescents' expectancy beliefs. Similarly, there was a significant indirect effect from parental utility values in math to MCSE career interest through adolescents' utility values. The findings suggest that parents' math motivational beliefs play a critical role in adolescent math motivational beliefs and their career interest in math-intensive fields.
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Project description:Pre-service teachers tend to devalue general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) as a valid source for deriving successful teaching practices. The present study investigated beliefs about knowledge sources and epistemic beliefs as predictors for students' perceived value of GPK. Three pre-registered hypotheses were tested. We expected beliefs that GPK originates from scientific sources to entail a devaluation of GPK (Hypothesis 1). Concerning epistemic beliefs, we expected absolute beliefs to positively, and multiplistic beliefs to negatively predict pre-service teachers' perceived practical value of GPK (Hypothesis 2). Finally, we expected relationships between epistemic beliefs and pre-service teachers' perceived practical value of GPK to be confounded by epistemic trustworthiness, perceived topic-specific consistency and topic-specific familiarity (Hypothesis 3). In a study using a split plot design, 365 pre-service teachers were presented with four texts on different educational research topics. For each topic, three text versions were constructed. Even though they were invariant in content, these versions varied in a way that the results were allegedly generated by a practitioner, an expert or by means of a scientific study. Unexpectedly, results showed that research findings allegedly generated by means of a scientific study were associated with a higher perceived value of (topic-specific) GPK for practice (Hypothesis 1). As expected, the perceived value of GPK for practice was predicted by topic-specific multiplism and domain-specific absolutism (Hypothesis 2). These predictive effects were confounded by expertise evaluations of the source and the consistency of prior beliefs with the presented research results (Hypothesis 3). In summary, our results suggest that source beliefs might not be responsible for the devaluation of GPK, but that beliefs on the nature and structure of GPK (i.e., epistemic beliefs) might play an even more important role in this respect. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
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Project description:IntroductionIn pursuing optimal health care, an adequate medical workforce is crucial. However, many countries are struggling with a misalignment of students' specialty preferences and societal needs regarding the future medical workforce. In order to bridge this gap, it is relevant to gain a better understanding of the medical career choice processes. We explored career orientations among medical students in the Netherlands and their implications for future career choices.MethodsWe used Q-methodology, a hybrid qualitative-quantitative method, to explore career orientations of medical students. Medical students from two universities in the Netherlands, varying in year of progression of medical school, ranked 62 statements with regard to importance for their future career choice. Participants explained their ranking in an interview and completed a questionnaire regarding demographics. Using by-person factor analysis we identified groups of individuals with similar orientations.ResultsTwenty-four students participated in this study, resulting in three distinct orientations towards future careers: a first career orientation that highly values lifelong self-development; a second that values work-life balance, and a third that was more concerned with achievement and recognition of their work.ConclusionMedical students' career orientations differed in the importance of challenge, work-life balance, and need for recognition. This knowledge can help to design interventions to shift career choices of medical students closer towards future needs in society. Offering career coaching to students that challenges them to explore and prioritise their values, needs and motivations, for example using the materials form this study as a tool, and stimulates them to consider specialties accordingly, could be a promising strategy for guiding students to more long-term satisfying careers.
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Project description:BackgroundSeveral European countries face a shortage of general practitioners (GPs), in part due to GP attrition. Most studies of GP attrition have focussed on why GPs decide to leave. Yet understanding why GPs decide to remain may also elicit potential interventions to reduce attrition.ObjectivesThis study examined GP graduates' career trajectories and underlying decisions to elucidate the factors influencing GP attrition.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews of early to mid-career general practice graduates having completed training in Belgian French-speaking universities between 1999 and 2013. We sampled participants from three categories: full-time GPs, part-time GPs, no longer working as GPs. We analysed each participant's career trajectory and broke it down into major phases. We performed thematic analysis of the factors influencing participants' trajectories. We compared and contrasted trajectories to develop a typology of career trajectories.ResultsWe identified six types of career trajectories: 'stable' (never considered leaving general practice), 'reaffirmed' (had considered leaving but made substantial changes whilst remaining), 'reactional reorientations' (had left to escape the challenges of general practice), 'inspired reorientations' (had left to pursue a different job), 'reorientations out of loyalty' (had never wanted to practice as GPs and had remained true to their original professional aspirations) and 'mobiles' (valued change and did not want to set-up practice).ConclusionReasons GPs leave the profession are multiple. The typology that emerged indicates that only some of the career trajectories would benefit from interventions to reduce attrition such as improving working conditions and providing psychological support for GPs.
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Project description:This study explored transactional associations among visuomotor integration, attention, fine motor coordination, and mathematics skills in a diverse sample of one hundred thirty-five 5-year-olds (kindergarteners) and one hundred nineteen 6-year-olds (first graders) in the United States who were followed over the course of 2 school years. Associations were dynamic, with more reciprocal transactions occurring in kindergarten than in the later grades. Specifically, visuomotor integration and mathematics exhibited ongoing reciprocity in kindergarten and first grade, attention contributed to mathematics in kindergarten and first grade, mathematics contributed to attention across the kindergarten year only, and fine motor coordination contributed to mathematics indirectly, through visuomotor integration, across kindergarten and first grade. Implications of examining the hierarchical interrelations among processes underlying the development of children's mathematics skills are discussed.
| S-EPMC5550379 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Considering how spatial thinking connects to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes, recent studies have evaluated how spatial interventions impact elementary students' math learning. While promising, these interventions tend to overlook other factors affecting math learning; perceptions of math abilities, beliefs about math, and math anxiety can also impact math performance. Additionally, perceptions of spatial skill and spatial anxiety impact spatial performance. This study investigated how elementary teachers' perceptions of spatial thinking connects with math perceptions. Specifically, we focused on teachers' attitudes and beliefs around three topics: teaching and learning math, spatial abilities, and spatial thinking in mathematics. We found that lower spatial anxiety related to lower anxiety about teaching math, greater alignment between math beliefs and math standards, and greater efficacy in teaching and learning math. Further, a factor analysis showed one factor that connected stereotypical math thinking with both math and spatial anxiety, and another that connected spatial competencies, teaching and learning math, and spatial thinking within math. To further evaluate spatial thinking in math, we introduced a math categorization and verified it using teachers' ratings of teaching difficulty, visualization helpfulness, and spatial-thinking involvement. Structural equation models revealed that the level of spatial-thinking categorization was the best model of all three of the teachers' ratings. Overall, results showed numerous connections between teachers' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and spatial thinking. Future intervention studies should consider teachers who are spatial and/or math-anxious, and future research should investigate the role of stereotypical thinking in spatial and math anxiety.
| S-EPMC7163003 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Patterns are often considered central to early mathematics learning; yet, the empirical evidence linking early pattern knowledge to mathematics performance is sparse. In the current study, 36 children ranging in age from 5 to 13 years old (M = 9.1 years) completed a pattern extension task with three pattern types that varied in difficulty. They also completed three math tasks that tapped calculation skill and knowledge of concepts. Children were successful on the pattern extension task, though older children fared better than younger children, potentially due in part to their explanations that considered both dimensions of the pattern (shape and size). Importantly, success on the pattern extension task was related to mathematics performance. After controlling for age and verbal working memory, patterning skill predicted calculation skill; however, patterning skill was not associated with knowledge of concepts. Results suggest that patterning may play a key role in the development of some aspects of early mathematics knowledge.
| S-EPMC9914987 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although previous research has established the association between early-grade mathematics knowledge and later mathematics achievement, few studies have measured mathematical skills prior to school entry, nor have they investigated the predictive power of early gains in mathematics ability. The current paper relates mathematical skills measured at 54 months to adolescent mathematics achievement using multi-site longitudinal data. We find that preschool mathematics ability predicts mathematics achievement through age 15, even after accounting for early reading, cognitive skills, and family and child characteristics. Moreover, we find that growth in mathematical ability between age 54 months and first grade is an even stronger predictor of adolescent mathematics achievement. These results demonstrate the importance of pre-kindergarten mathematics knowledge and early math learning for later achievement.
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Project description:The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic quickly necessitated digital learning, which bore challenges for all pupils but especially for groups disadvantaged in a virtual classroom. As some studies indicate persistent differences between boys and girls in use of technologies and related skills, the aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in the digital learning environment students faced in spring 2020. Previous studies investigating gender differences in digital learning largely used biological sex as the only indicator of gender. This study includes both biological sex and gender role self-concept in order to investigate the role of gender in different components of this stereotyped domain in a more differentiated way. A total of 19,190 Austrian secondary school students (61.9% girls, M age = 14.55, SDage = 2.49, age range 10-21) participated in an online study in April 2020 and answered questions regarding their competence beliefs, intrinsic value, engagement, and perceived teacher support in digital learning during the pandemic-induced school closures. Results showed higher perceived teacher support, intrinsic value, and learning engagement among girls than boys, while no significant sex differences were found in competence beliefs regarding digital learning. Furthermore, our results indicated clear benefits of an androgynous gender role self-concept for all studied components of digital learning. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are discussed.
| S-EPMC8043960 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceAlthough women are increasingly represented within medicine, gender disparities persist in time to promotion, achievement of academic rank, and appointment to leadership positions, with no narrowing of this gap over time. Career-specific fertility and family building challenges among women physicians may contribute to ongoing disparities and academic attrition.ObjectiveTo evaluate delayed childbearing and infertility among women in medicine and investigate the extent to which women physicians may alter career trajectories to accommodate family building and parenthood.Design, setting, and participantsThis survey study was conducted among women physicians, with surveys distributed through medical society electronic mailing lists (listserves) and social media from March to August 2022.Main outcomes and measuresBaseline demographic information and fertility knowledge were assessed. Descriptive data on delayed childbearing, infertility, use of assisted reproductive technology, and career alterations to accommodate parenthood were collected. Factors associated with timing of pregnancy and family building regret were assessed using Likert-type scales. Group differences in fertility knowledge, delayed childbearing, infertility, and family building regret were evaluated using χ2 analyses.ResultsA total of 1056 cisgender women (mean [SD] age, 38.3 [7.7] years) were surveyed across level of training (714 attending physicians [67.6%] and 283 residents or fellows [26.8%]), specialty (408 surgical [38.6%] and 638 nonsurgical [60.4%] specialties), and practice setting (323 academic [45.2%], 263 private [24.9%], and 222 community [21.0%] settings). Among respondents, 1036 individuals [98.1%] resided in the US. Overall, 910 respondents (86.2%) were married or partnered and 690 respondents (65.3%) had children. While 824 physicians (78.0%) correctly identified the age of precipitous fertility decline, 798 individuals (75.6%) reported delaying family building and 389 individuals (36.8%) had experienced infertility. Concerning measures taken to accommodate childbearing or parenthood, 199 women (28.8%) said they had taken extended leave, 171 women (24.8%) said they had chosen a different specialty, 325 women (47.1%) said they had reduced their work hours, 171women (24.8%) said they had changed their practice setting, and 326 women (47.2%) said they had passed up opportunities for career advancement among those with children. Additionally, 30 women with children (4.3%) had left medicine entirely.Conclusions and relevanceIn this survey study, women physicians reported that career-related pressures influenced the timing of childbearing and led to marked alterations to career trajectories to accommodate family building and parenthood. These findings suggest that fertility and family building concerns among women in medicine may contribute to ongoing gender disparities and attrition and represent a potentially critical area for policy reform and future change.
| S-EPMC10375303 | biostudies-literature