The Role of Self Regulatory Strength in the Expectancy-Value Model: Explaining Differences in Academic Effort as a Function of Race and Class.

[摘要] The gap in achievement between low-income and minority youth and their higher-income and European American counterparts is a pressing issue, with severe consequences for the economic health of our nation. While a great deal of research has been conducted over the past several decades in an effort to understand and eliminate this gap, it has remained stubbornly persistent. A variety of theoretical explanations have emerged from this research, many of which address multiple barriers to education that poor and minority youth face. In particular, the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation reconciles both distal, macro-level precursors to achievement by linking them to what are thought to be the most proximal, motivational precursors to achievement – expectancy of success and value of the task at hand. Although this model has shown promise in predicting achievement outcomes, it does not account for differences by race or class, as low-income and minority youth report levels of expectancy and value that are as high or higher than their higher-income and European-American counterparts. In light of this discrepancy, I have suggested that a third variable – self-regulatory strength – may be needed to ;;catalyze” these motivational intentions into effortful action when tasks are valued primarily for their utility. Furthermore, I hypothesized that levels of self-regulatory strength may be lower in at-risk populations due to the strains associated with poverty and racism. Using the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study for Income Dynamics, this dissertation explores whether inclusion of an interaction between self-regulatory strength and utility value in the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation explains differences in homework completion tendencies. In addition, I examine whether self-regulatory strength mediates a relationship between parental warmth and homework completion.Results indicate that there were main effects for expectancy and self-regulatory strength, but inclusion of these variables did not attenuate the disparities in homework completion. The effects of an interaction between self-regulatory strength and utility value remain unclear, as the nature of the relationship differed across math and reading. Finally, parental warmth appears to indirectly impact homework completion via self-regulatory strength. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] African American

[关键词] Achievement;African American;Poverty;Self-Regulation;Effort;Expectancy-Value;Social Work;Social Sciences;Social Work & Psychology