I can do this! The development and calibration of children’s expectations for success and competence beliefs

By Katherine Muenks, Allan Wigfield, Jacquelynne S. Eccles. Developmental Review, 2018

218 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract We review work on the development of children and adolescents’ expectancy and competence beliefs for academic achievement domains across the elementary and secondary school years, and how they become calibrated to children’s performance. The work reviewed stems from prominent achievement motivation theories: expectancy-value theory, social cognitive theory, self-worth theory, and self-determination theory. Broadly, research on the development of children’s expectancy and competence beliefs for different achievement tasks shows that these beliefs decline from kindergarten to 12th grade, although there are different patterns of decline. Across age children’s expectancy beliefs relate more strongly to, or become better calibrated with, their performance on achievement activities. Such calibration impacts students’ motivation and self-regulation for exams and other assignments. Children’s expectancies are influenced by the feedback (supportive or critical) given to them by parents and teachers, as well as by parents’ and teachers’ expectancies for them. School instructional practices, notably ability grouping and tracking, differentially influence children’s developing expectancies. Peers also impact each other’s expectancy beliefs. We conclude the article with suggestions for future research.

Subfields: Education, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/64e5af79f0e4e29e07ee6d9fbc79556b0044116d

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In Education

In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

In Social Psychology

Citations in the corpus

A Case for Domain-Specific Curiosity in Mathematics (2019, background): “At the start of schooling, students have high levels of perceived competence across academic domains, but over time, particularly in mathematics, perceived competence tends to decrease (Jacobs et al. 2002; Muenks et al. 2018; Watt 2004).”
A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relations Between Motivation and Reading Achievement for K–12 Students (2020, background): “Grade Level Past research has noted decline in levels of motivation as students get older, and this trend has been reported for a range of motivation constructs (e.g., motivations for reading, academic intrinsic motivation, competence and value beliefs; Gottfried et al., 2001; Guthrie & Wigfield, 20”
Perseverant grit and self-efficacy: Are both essential for children’s academic success? (2019, background): “For example, Muenks et al. (2018) found that the perseverance of effort facet of grit and self-efficacy both positively predicted high school students’ grades.”
The impact of mathematics anxiety on self-regulated learning and mathematical literacy (2020, background): “Self-efficacy – beliefs in one’s own abilities in relation to completing specific tasks (Muenks et al., 2018) – could be considered as a form of control appraisal outlined in the control-value theory.”