Universal Journal of Educational Research Vol. 2(1), pp. 10 - 18
DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2014.020102
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Growth Trajectories of Task Value and Self-efficacy Across an Academic Semester

Marcus Lee Johnson ^1,*, Ordene V. Edwards ², Ting Dai ^3
1 Developmental and Learning Sciences Research Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 45221-0105, Ohio, United States
² Lamar University, 400 South M L King Junior Parkway, Beaumont, 77705, Texas, United States
³ Department of Psychological, Organizational and Leadership Studies in Education, Temple University, 2129 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, 19122, Pennsylvania, United States

ABSTRACT

Many scholars have argued that motivation is dynamic and malleable across time and contexts. In this article, we investigated changes in undergraduates’ task value and self-efficacy across an academic semester. Sixty three undergraduate students completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire across five time points in their introductory educational psychology class. We predicted that, across the semester, students’ expressiveness of these constructs would change. Using growth curve modeling, we found both constructs to fluctuate in a cubic fashion. The implications of these findings are discussed.

KEYWORDS
Task Value, Self-Efficacy, Growth Curve

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Marcus Lee Johnson , Ordene V. Edwards , Ting Dai , "Growth Trajectories of Task Value and Self-efficacy Across an Academic Semester," Universal Journal of Educational Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 10 - 18, 2014. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2014.020102.

(b). APA Format:
Marcus Lee Johnson , Ordene V. Edwards , Ting Dai (2014). Growth Trajectories of Task Value and Self-efficacy Across an Academic Semester. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 2(1), 10 - 18. DOI: 10.13189/ujer.2014.020102.