Processes of Students’ Effort Exertion, Competence Beliefs and Motivation: Cyclic and Dynamic Effects of Learning Experiences within School Days and School Subjects

Publication date: Available online 10 April 2019Source: Contemporary Educational PsychologyAuthor(s): Lars-Erik Malmberg, Andrew J. MartinAbstractWe pose a process perspective of learning experiences of effort exertion, competence beliefs, and motivation (autonomous and controlled motivation). Following a process-model of cyclic (”self-sustaining”, auto-regressive) and dynamic (”self-enhancing” and ”self-diminishing”, cross-lagged) associations over time, we investigated the effects of lagged within-day and within-school-subject constructs, and associations with teacher-perceptions of each student (nteacher= 22). In total, 231 students in grade 5 and 6 in primary schools in England (108 boys and 123 girls; Mage = 10.5 years) responded to the Learning Experience Questionnaire an average of 15.1 time-points during a week (SD = 3.3; Range = 10 to 26, in total 3,490 time-points). Multilevel structural equation models (MSEM) showed that effort exertion was the least self-sustaining. Competence beliefs and autonomous motivation were sustained within school-subjects. Controlled motivation was sustained both within days and school subjects. Teachers were more involved with students who felt less competent during the week. Within days controlled motivation showed a self-enhancing effect on effort, while effort showed a self-diminishing effect on controlled motivation. Within school-subjects controlled motivation showed a self-diminishing effect on competence belief and aut...
Source: Contemporary Educational Psychology - Category: Child Development Source Type: research