Motivation and Mathematics Achievement:

In recent years, there has been much interestregarding motivation and its effect on achievementpatterns. When students enjoy learning, they aremore likely to show interest, value, and efforttoward achievement, perform well, and persist inschool (e.g., Vallerand et al., 1989). The purposeof the study is to develop and test a model, basedon Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The modelincorporates the assumption that intrinsicmotivation positively affects math performance,whereas external regulation negatively affects mathperformance. It is assumed that math self-conceptaffects math performance both directly andindirectly through the mediating variable ofintrinsic motivation. Finally, autonomy support canaffect math performance both directly and indirectlythrough the mediator of math self-concept.Consistent with the predictions of SDT, whenteachers support autonomy of students in theclassroom, they provide a classroom climate thatfosters math achievement. As teachers try to supportstudents' competencies, they are more likely tofoster students' self-perceptions of competence,which, in turn, promotes math achievement.

Autorentext

Dr. Eun Um is a statistician, with a Master's from Stanford and a Doctorate degree from Columbia. She is data manager at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. She served as university professor. She has written books, including Motivation and Mathematics Performance: A Structural Equation Analysis.

Klappentext
In recent years, there has been much interest regarding motivation and its effect on achievement patterns. When students enjoy learning, they are more likely to show interest, value, and effort toward achievement, perform well, and persist in school (e.g., Vallerand et al., 1989). The purpose of the study is to develop and test a model, based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The model incorporates the assumption that intrinsic motivation positively affects math performance, whereas external regulation negatively affects math performance. It is assumed that math self-concept affects math performance both directly and indirectly through the mediating variable of intrinsic motivation. Finally, autonomy support can affect math performance both directly and indirectly through the mediator of math self-concept. Consistent with the predictions of SDT, when teachers support autonomy of students in the classroom, they provide a classroom climate that fosters math achievement. As teachers try to support students' competencies, they are more likely to foster students' self-perceptions of competence, which, in turn, promotes math achievement.