Competence and Autonomous Motivation as Motivational Predictors of College Students' Mathematics Achievement: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory

Autor/inn/en	Wang, Cong; Cho, Hyun Jin; Wiles, Benjamin; Moss, Jennifer D.; Bonem, Emily M.; Li, Qian; Lu, Yaheng; Levesque-Bristol, Chantal
Titel	Competence and Autonomous Motivation as Motivational Predictors of College Students' Mathematics Achievement: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory
Quelle	In: International Journal of STEM Education, 9 (2022), Artikel 41 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Wang, Cong)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2196-7822
DOI	10.1186/s40594-022-00359-7
Schlagwörter	Competence; Student Motivation; Predictor Variables; Mathematics Achievement; Personal Autonomy; Interpersonal Relationship; Undergraduate Students; Calculus + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kompetenz; Schulische Motivation; Prädiktor; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Individuelle Autonomie; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Analysis; Differenzialrechnung; Infinitesimalrechnung; Integralrechnung
Abstract	Background: Applied Calculus courses serve hundreds of thousands of undergraduates as quantitative preparation and gatekeepers across diverse fields of study. The current study investigated how motivational factors are associated with students' learning outcomes in Applied Calculus courses from the perspective of self-determination theory--a sound comprehensive motivation theory that has been supported by considerable research in psychology and education. In order to have a nuanced understanding of students' motivation and learning in Applied Calculus courses, we used three different types of learning measures to investigate students' mathematics achievement, including course grades, a standardized knowledge exam, and students' perceived knowledge transferability. Results: We tested the relationships between motivational factors and learning outcomes with a multi-semester sample of 3226 undergraduates from 188 Applied Calculus classrooms. To increase the precision of our analysis, we controlled for three demographic variables that are suggested to be relevant to mathematics achievement: gender, minority group status, and socioeconomic status. With a series of multilevel modeling analyses, the results reveal that: (1) competence satisfaction predicts college students' mathematics achievement over and above the satisfaction of needs for autonomy and relatedness; and (2) autonomous motivation is a more powerful predictor of college students' mathematics achievement than controlled motivation and amotivation. These findings are consistent across different types of learning outcomes. Conclusions: Self-determination theory provides an effective framework for understanding college students' motivation and learning in Applied Calculus courses. This study extends self-determination theory in the field of mathematics education and contributes to the dialogue on advancing undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education by providing evidence to understand how motivational factors are associated with students' learning outcomes in undergraduate mathematics courses. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01