Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.)

In this chapter we review the research on the development of children's motivation and engagement We organize our review into four major sections: the development of children's achievement motivation; gender, cultural, and ethnic differences in children's motivation; socialization of motivation in the family; and socialization of motivation in school We take a social-cognitive expectancy-value theoretical perspective to organize our discussion of this work We first discuss the development of children's motivation and engagement and take another look at the often-observed decline in motivation, focusing on new work showing different patterns in these declines among different groups of children We also discuss how children's motivation relates to their performance and choice, two kinds of outcomes of major importance to children's healthy development The second major section discusses gender, ethnic, and cultural differences in children's motivation and the important advances researchers have made in understanding these over the past 10 years



In the family and school socialization sections we focus on processes by which parents, teachers, and schools can impact children's motivation both positively and negatively We note the similarities of these processes across socializers: Providing appropriate challenges and emotional warmth and support, and having high expectations for children We discuss the need for more integrative studies of how parents and also teachers impact children's motivation We conclude the chapter with a discussion of important future directions: A continuing focus on culture and motivation, further examination of motivation in specific domains and contexts, a stronger focus on biological influences on the development of motivation, and a consideration of unconscious processes and their impact on the development of motivation


Keywords:

achievement;
culture;
development;
engagement;
family influences;
gender;
goals;
intrinsic motivation;
motivation;
school influences;
self-efficacy;
self-regulation;
values

Development of Achievement Motivation and Engagement

Background. A four-wave longitudinal study tested the demands–resources model in the school context. Aim. To examine the applicability of the demands–resources to the school context. Method. Data of 1,709 adolescents were gathered, once during the transition from comprehensive to post-comprehensive education, twice during post-comprehensive education, and once 2 years later. Results. The hypotheses were supported, path analysis showing that study demands were related to school burnout a year later, while study resources were related to schoolwork engagement. Self-efficacy was positively related to engagement and negatively to burnout. School burnout predicted schoolwork engagement negatively 1 year later. Engagement was positively related to life satisfaction 2 years later, while burnout was related to depressive symptoms. Finally, burnout mediated the relationship between study demands and mental health outcomes. Conclusions. The demands–resources model can usefully be applied to the school context, including the associations between school-related burnout and engagement among adolescents. The model comprises two processes, the energy-depleting process and the motivational process.

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School burnout and engagement in the context of demands-resources model

This review examines the development of students’ engagement with school and how it may contribute to future academic success and individual well-being in different social contexts. The review discusses the two main approaches of school engagement research: one examines students’ behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement (North American approach), while the other examines study-related vigor, absorption, and dedication (European approach). This research shows that a high level of school engagement is positively associated with academic success, and negatively associated with students’ ill-being, such as depressive symptoms and burnout. High engagement with school also fosters several aspects of students’ well-being, such as positive emotions and life satisfaction. Moreover, several contextual factors, including parental affect, teachers’ support, and a mastery-oriented atmosphere in the classroom, promote students’ engagement with school.

Development of school engagement in association with academic success and well-being in varying social contexts: A review of empirical research.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which middle and late adolescents' depressive symptoms predict their later school burnout and, in turn, the extent to which school burnout predicts depressive symptoms. Drawing on data gathered at ages 15-19 in two-three-wave longitudinal studies, we investigated cross-lagged paths between school burnout and depressive symptoms. In Study 1 the participants were 15-year-old adolescents (Time 1: N = 611, Time 2: N = 614, Time 3: N = 725) who completed the School Burnout Inventory and depressive symptoms twice during their final term of comprehensive school and once after the transition to upper secondary high school or vocational school. In Study 2 the participants were 17-year-old adolescents whose school burnout and depressive symptoms were measured three times annually (Time 1: N = 474, Time 2: N = 412, Time 3: N = 414) during their 3 years of secondary education. Results of both studies revealed moderate stability for both school burnout and depressive symptoms. They also showed that school burnout more strongly predicted subsequent depressive symptoms later on than vice versa. Lastly, they revealed cumulative cycles between school burnout and depressive symptoms.

Depressive symptoms and school burnout during adolescence: evidence from two cross-lagged longitudinal studies.

Achievement Goal Orientations and Subjective Well-Being: A Person-Centred Analysis.

Achievement goal orientations and academic well-being across the transition to upper secondary education.

Applying a person-centered approach, the primary aim of this study was to examine what profiles of schoolwork engagement and burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, inadequacy) can be identified in high school (N = 979) and among the same participants in young adulthood (ages ranging from 17 to 25). We also examined gender differences, group differences in academic and socioemotional functioning and long-term educational outcomes, and temporal stability in the group memberships. Latent profile analysis identified 4 groups of students in high school. Both engaged (44%) and engaged-exhausted (28%) students were engaged and doing well in school, although engaged-exhausted students were more stressed and preoccupied with possible failures. Cynical (14%) and burned-out (14%) students were less engaged, valued school less, and had lower academic achievement. Cynical students, however, were less stressed, exhausted, and depressed than burned-out students. Six years later, engaged students were more likely than predicted by chance to attend university. In young adulthood, 4 similar groups were identified. Configural frequency analysis indicated that it was typical for engaged students to stay in the engaged group and for engaged-exhausted students to move into a more disengaged group. The results on broadband stability from adolescence to young adulthood showed that 60% of the youth manifested stable engaged and 7% stable disengaged patterns, whereas 16% displayed emergent engagement and 17% emergent disengagement patterns. Overall, the findings demonstrate that adolescence is not a uniform time for either school engagement and well-being or disengagement and distress.

Schoolwork engagement and burnout among Finnish high school students and young adults: Profiles, progressions, and educational outcomes.

Stability and change in achievement goal orientations: A person-centered approach

The present four-wave longitudinal study, conducted in Finland, investigated the extent to which life satisfaction changed among adolescents during the transition from comprehensive school to an academic or a vocational track. The participants were 15-year-old adolescents (Time 1: N = 687, Time 2: N = 642, Time 3: N = 818, Time 4: N = 749) who filled in the Diener et al. (J Pers Assess 49: 71–75, 1985). Satisfaction With Life Scale twice during their final term of comprehensive school and twice after the transition either to upper secondary or vocational education. At comprehensive school they reported their academic achievement, expected educational track, educational aspirations, self-esteem, and background information, while at the last measurement point they reported their school engagement and attained educational track. Latent Growth Modeling showed, first, that life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Second, the higher the adolescents’ academic achievement and self-esteem, the higher the level of their life satisfaction during the transition. Third, among girls, the lower their self-esteem, the more their life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Fourth, among both boys and girls, a high level of life satisfaction during the transition predicted academic track and school engagement at the last measurement point. Finally, among girls, an increase in life satisfaction during the transition predicted school engagement and an academic track. The results support the stage-environment fit theory according to which the nature of the educational environment is more important than the transition per se for changes in adolescents’ life satisfaction (see Eccles and Midgley in Research on motivation in education. Academic Press, New York, pp. 139–186, 1989).

Heta Tuominen-Soini

Papers

Achievement Goal Orientations and Subjective Well-Being: A Person-Centred Analysis.

Achievement goal orientations and academic well-being across the transition to upper secondary education.

Schoolwork engagement and burnout among Finnish high school students and young adults: Profiles, progressions, and educational outcomes.

Stability and change in achievement goal orientations: A person-centered approach

Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction During the Transition to Post-Comprehensive Education: Antecedents and Consequences