High school maths motivation in Australia: its nature and the social context

Abstract

In Australia, participation in maths-related training and careers is declining and girls are under-represented amongst those who do pursue an interest in maths. Students in rural high schools are also more likely to have teachers without specialist training in maths. The purpose of this thesis was to comprehensively examine the nature, development and social context of maths motivation for Australian rural high school students.

Students from three public high schools completed the Student Motivation and Engagement Scale (Martin, 2007a) in the second semester of the school year and again a year later in a longitudinal cohort design. They also completed scales addressing affiliation with their maths teacher, parents and peers, as well as their maths attainment.

The results showed that maths motivation is complex and multifaceted. A range of core motivational theories was needed to explain the network of associations amongst the facets of motivation. Ratings of adaptive maths motivation decreased across grades 7 to 10, while disengagement increased. However, ratings of maladaptive cognitions and self-handicapping remained steady. Utility valuing showed the strongest effect with the decline of ratings accelerating after Grade 8. Girls reported stronger anxiety, uncertain control and failure avoidance than boys. However, they also showed more mastery interest and study planning. Furthermore, each adaptive facet of motivation and maladaptive behaviour was significantly predicted by affiliation with parents, maths teacher and peers. However, uncertain control and failure avoidance only showed significant paths with peer affiliation. Despite expectations, no sources of affiliation negatively predicted maths anxiety.

These results hold important implications for theories and models of academic motivation and socialisation. They demonstrate that the core theories of motivation can be incorporated into a more comprehensive model and that the quality of different social relationships are relevant to specific facets of maths motivation. This can contribute to a broader model of maths motivation within a relevant social context. The findings also have valuable practical implications for those wanting to support the learning experience of maths students and Australian rural high school maths students in particular. For example, they bring to light that adaptive facets, particularly utility values, tend to decline during high school and that girls may be more vulnerable to anxiety-based cognitions than boys. These findings can assist educators, counselors and parents to tailor effective strategies for individuals that promote students’ adaptive engagement and involvement in maths.