Seminar of the Dept. of Psychology, UNIMIB

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Interactions between motivational components in the TIMSS Mathematics assessment and their associations with achievement and socio-demographic variables.

Dott. Michalis Michaelides, Department of Psychology, University of Cyprus

Items measuring motivation and affect are regularly administered in the Trends In International Mathematics And Science Study (TIMSS) Background Questionnaires. These variables have been shown to be positively associated with achievement in mathematics and science. Theoretical frameworks like Expectancy-Value theory attempt to integrate motivation components in explanations of student achievement. However, in models combining multiple predictors, not all of them are equally predictive of academic outcomes. Confidence in mathematics for example, is a stronger predictor than enjoyment or value for the subject. I will present a study that utilized a person-centered analytic approach: Confidence, Enjoyment, and Value for mathematics were used as input variables in cluster analysis using data from TIMSS 2015 across 12 countries in grades eight and four. Results indicated that some clusters consisted of students who scored consistently high, moderate, or low on all three motivational variables; however, there were clusters with inconsistent ratings, e.g. students endorsing high value but low confidence and enjoyment.Clusters were compared with respect to gender composition, home educational resources, and average mathematics achievement. Systematic patterns appeared across the datasets which suggest that (a) achievement is positively associated with motivation, (b) not all motivation variables are equally important in predicting high achievement, and (c) that clusters are not independent from gender or home educational resources. Country differences in cluster numbers or composition were small. Further analyses with older TIMSS administrations in 2007 and 1995 revealed similar clusters and trends, and support the generalization of the findings.

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Mon Dec 13th 2021, 3 PM

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