Examining different motivational patterns in individualized learning

Past research on situated expectancy-value theory has regularly provided evidence of different motivational patterns indicating that not only can students be characterized by different levels of motivation (e.g., low vs. high), but also by divergent profiles (e.g., high success expectancies, low task values). This person-oriented two-wave study (a) identified and compared the motivational patterns of secondary school students from different learning environments (i.e., StudentCentered Learning vs. Teacher-Directed Learning), (b) analyzed the stability of and changes to these patterns during a school year, and (c) examined whether achievement-related choices and performance predicted the pattern changes. Using data from German secondary school students (T1: N = 1153; M = 13.97 years, SD = 1.37; 49% girls) multigroup latent transition analysis revealed four different motivational patterns, including a (a) High Motivational pattern, (b) Medium Motivational pattern, (c) Low Motivational pattern, and (d) Highly Confident/Hardly Interested pattern. The distribution of these patterns differed significantly between students from Student-Centered-Learning and Teacher-Directed-Learning environments. Approximately 47% of students in Teacher-Directed Learning were in the low motivational class whereas the StudentCentered Learning environment exhibited approximately half of that number. The extremely stable nature of these classes highlights the strong relevance of the educational context for student motivation and supports situated expectancy-value theory.

Automated summary

This study identified and compared the motivational patterns of German secondary school students from different learning environments and found four distinct motivational patterns. The study also highlighted the strong relevance of the educational context for student motivation and supported the situated expectancy-value theory.