Gendered pathways to educational aspirations: The role of academic self-concept, school burnout, achievement and interest in mathematics and reading PDF

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Learning and Instruction 46 (2016) 21e33 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Learning and Instruction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/learninstruc Gendered pathways to educational aspirations: The role of academic self-concept, school burnout, achievement and interest in mathematics ...

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Gendered pathways to educational aspirations: The role of academic selfconcept, school burnout, achievement and... Pirjo Aunio, Anna Tapola, Johan Korhonen

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Learning and Instruction 46 (2016) 21e33

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Learning and Instruction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/learninstruc

Gendered pathways to educational aspirations: The role of academic self-concept, school burnout, achievement and interest in mathematics and reading €ki a, Pirjo Aunio b Johan Korhonen a, *, Anna Tapola b, Karin Linnanma a b

Åbo Akademi University, Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies, PB 311, Vasa, 65101, Finland University of Helsinki, Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, PB 9, Helsinki, 00014, Finland

a r t i c l e i n f o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 7 July 2015 Received in revised form 22 August 2016 Accepted 30 August 2016

The aim of this study was to examine lower secondary school students' (N ¼ 1152) pathways to educational aspirations. The study used multi-group structural equation modelling to investigate the predictions of academic self-concept, school burnout, achievement, and interest in mathematics and reading, in relation to educational aspirations for boys and girls. While certain factors were influential for students' academic aspirations irrespective of gender, some interesting differences also emerged. Academic self-concept and interest in reading predicted educational aspirations for both groups. However, gendered pathways emerged in how achievement and interest in mathematics predicted educational aspirations. Interest in mathematics predicted girls’ educational aspirations, whereas mathematics achievement was a significant predictor for boys. School burnout had negative indirect effects through interest in reading and mathematics in both groups, but for girls, there was also a direct positive effect on educational aspirations. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Educational aspirations Gender Mathematics Reading School burnout

1. Introduction According to previous research, educational aspirationsdthe nature and level of students' academic goalsdare influential not only regarding adolescents' career and occupational decisions and outcomes (Eccles, 2009; Schoon & Parsons, 2002), but also their overall well-being later in life (Ashby & Schoon, 2012). The research has also identified several academic and motivational individual difference factors that play a role in the process by which educational aspirations are formed (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Moreover, recent studies have suggested that the pathways to aspirations may, at least in some respect, be different for boys and girls (Watt et al., 2012). Uncovering the mechanism underlying the ‘gendered pathways’ (Domene, Shapka, & Keating, 2006) to educational aspirations might offer a means of better understanding and intervening in adolescents stereotyped belief-systems. As such beliefsystems may unnecessarily limit future educational choices and occupational possibilities, examining their role in adolescents' goals and plans is important.

* Corresponding author. E-mail address: johan.korhonen@abo.fi (J. Korhonen). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.08.006 0959-4752/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Previous research has mainly focused on identifying the predictors of adolescents’ educational aspirations in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (Guo, Marsh, Parker, Morin, & Yeung, 2015; Watt et al., 2012) and, to a lesser degree, within the domain of reading (Durik, Vida, & Eccles, 2006). Only a few studies have combined the indicators relating to €ller, & these two academic domains (Nagy, Trautwein, Baumert, Ko Garrett, 2006; Viljaranta, Nurmi, Aunola, & Salmela-Aro, 2009). As the effects of performance and motivational beliefs on educational aspirations seem to differ both by gender and academic domain, the importance of examining multiple domains simultaneously to be able to control for the effects of the other domains on educational aspirations, is highlighted. Furthermore, the factors that researchers have used to predict educational aspirations have mainly included indicators of the students' performance-related outcomes (e.g., grades; Durik et al., 2006) and different sets of motivational beliefs (e.g., self-concept and interest; Nagy et al., 2006), and largely ignored the factors reflecting the students' psychological well-being. As researchers have found that problems in students' socio-emotional functioning (e.g., school burnout) relate to low academic achievement (Kiuru, Aunola, Nurmi, Leskinen, & Salmela-Aro, 2008), depression

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J. Korhonen et al. / Learning and Instruction 46 (2016) 21e33

(Bakker et al., 2000; Salmela-Aro, Savolainen, & Holopainen, 2009), unfavourable motivational tendencies (Tuominen-Soini, SalmelaAro, & Niemivirta, 2008, 2012) and educational dropout €ki, & Aunio, 2014), we can expect them to (Korhonen, Linnanma play a role also in adolescents' educational aspirations. Consequently, our study aimed to contribute to previous research by (a) examining adolescent students' gendered educational aspirations at the end of compulsory education, using indicators relating to both mathematics and reading, and (b) including an indicator of students’ socio-emotional functioning among the predictive variables. In the following sections we will review the literature in the field. First, educational aspirations are discussed in the light of different operationalisations and gender differences. Second, the most influential predictors of educational aspirations are presented and finally, gendered pathways emerging from these predictors to educational aspirations are acknowledged. 1.1. Educational aspirations Educational aspirations during adolescence have been studied to explain educational disparities in general, and individuals' occupational choices and attainment later in life, in particular (Domina, Conley, & Farkas, 2011; Rojewski, 2005). There is no universally accepted definition for the term educational aspirations, but it is generally used as referring to a person's goals and plans within an academic setting (Trebbels, 2015). Researchers have defined and measured educational aspirations via the number of career plans per adolescents (Mendez & Crawford, 2002), the prestige of their educational aspirations (Leung, Conoley, & Scheel, 1994; Viljaranta et al., 2009), and the level of self-set educational goals (Vasalampi, Salmela-Aro, & Nurmi, 2009; Watt et al., 2012). Educational aspirations have also been theorized as being either idealistic or realistic. While idealistic aspirations refer to the attainment level that the student desires, realistic aspirations reflect the actual perceived likelihood of success and more pragmatic expectations of completing a certain level of education (Rojewski, 2005). However, in several studies focusing on educational choices, the operationalisations of educational aspirations have covered both idealistic and realistic alternatives, while no clear distinction has been made between the two terms (Chow, Eccles, & Salmela-Aro, 2012; Durik et al., 2006; Guo, Marsh, Parker et al., 2015). There has also been a tendency to examine educational aspirations within a specific academic domain, and the most common domain of interest has been mathematics (Chow et al., 2012; Watt, Eccles, & Durik, 2006). In some studies, girls have reported higher educational aspirations (Mahaffy & Ward, 2002; Mau & Bikos, 2000), whereas in other studies, boys' aspirations have been higher (Inoue, 1999; Mendez & Crawford, 2002). There have also been studies that found no gender differences in educational aspirations (e.g. Ireson & Hallam, 2009; Watt et al., 2012). Besides the possible gender differences in the level of educational aspirations, it also seems that the processes or paths that lead to these aspirations may differ as a function of gender (Domene et al., 2006; Watt et al., 2012). 1.2. Predictors of educational aspirations 1.2.1. Academic achievement Students' abilities and academic success shape their educational and occupational aspirations. Adolescents' aptitudes (e.g., IQ) and achievement (e.g., grades or grade point average) have been shown to display from moderate to strong effects on the level of educational aspirations (Guo, Marsh, Morin, Parker, & Kaur, 2015; Liu, Cheng, Chen, & Wu, 2009; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) and later

achievement-related choices (e.g., university entry, Schoon, 2008). In adolescent samples, mathematics (Ozturk, 2006; Shapka, Domene, & Keating, 2006) and reading achievement (Savolainen, Ahonen, Aro, Tolvanen, & Holopainen, 2008) have both been found to influence educational aspirations, and it also seems that the effects within these domains are similar for both genders (Durik et al., 2006; Shapka et al., 2006; Simpkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006). However, there is a lack of studies addressing the effects of both achievement in more than one school domain and gender, at the same time. As an exception, Mau (1995) included mathematics, reading, and science achievement in the prediction of educational aspirations. While achievement in all three domains predicted students’ educational aspirations, the role of gender was not addressed. In other words, for now it is not well known whether the effects of mathematics and reading achievement on educational aspirations would differ when considered simultaneously, and as a function of gender. Moreover, academic abilities and achievement are not, by themselves, sufficient factors to explain students' educational aspirations and choices. For example, it is a familiar phenomenon identified in several countries that irrespective of adolescent girls' high mathematics and science grades, they are underrepresented in advanced STEM courses and occupational fields (Ceci & Williams, 2010; Else-Quest, Hyde, & Linn, 2010). Further, it has been documented that along with the possible direct effects, the influence of academic achievement may be indirect, mediated by different motivational constructs (Parker, Nagy, Trautwein, & Lüdtke, 2014). Besides cognitive abilities, students’ motivational beliefs play a crucial role in educational goal-setting and decision-making processes (Eccles, 2009). 1.2.2. Motivational beliefs According to prominent theories of motivation (e.g., the expectancy-value model, self-concept and interest theories), both students’ competence-related perceptions (e.g., self-concept) and value-laden motivational beliefs (e.g., utility and interest perceptions) are influential in terms of the nature and level of academic goals (Eccles, 2009; Wigfield & Cambria, 2010). While competence perceptions seem to ensure that the goal is experienced as attainable (i.e., one has sufficient ability and skills to reach it), the perceived value of the engagement itselfdintrinsic interest in learning or in specific academic domain, for exampledsupports persistence and commitment to the goal (Hofer, 2010; Schunk & Pajares, 2005). Several studies have investigated the relationship between motivational beliefs and educational aspirations. In general, individual differences in competence perceptions (Ireson & Hallam, 2009) and interest (Nagy et al., 2006) have been the most powerful predictors (Guo, Marsh, Morin, et al., 2015; Wigfield & Eccles, 1992). In many of the studies, students' competence perceptions have been conceptualized through self-concept da mental representation of one's personal competencies in academic domains in general, or in relation to a specific school-subject (Marsh & Craven, 1997; Marsh, Craven, & Debus, 1991). In addition to educational aspirations (Guo, Marsh, Parker, et al., 2015), academic or domainspecific self-concept has been shown to be positively associated with students' academic achievement (Marsh, Hau, & Kong, 2002; Valentine, DuBois, & Cooper, 2004), interest (Viljaranta, Tolvanen, Aunola, & Nurmi, 2014), and students' overall psychological well€ ller, & being (Chui & Wong, 2016; Marsh, Trautwein, Ludtke, Ko Baumert, 2006). In fact, current research suggests a reciprocal developmental relationship between achievement, self-concept, and interest, with a strengthening tendency during the school € ller, Retelsdorf, Ko €ller, years (Denissen, Zarrett, & Eccles, 2007; Mo & Marsh, 2011).

J. Korhonen et al. / Learning and Instruction 46 (2016) 21e33

Educational aspirations have also been positively predicted by intrinsic value and domain-specific interest (Guo, Marsh, Morin et al., 2015; Watt et al., 2012), d the latter being close to the concept of individual interest, a tendency to re-engage and enjoy a particular content domain (Frentzel, Goetz, Pekrun, & Watt, 2010; Renninger & Hidi, 2011). Individual interest towards an academic domain is likely to develop when engagement with it is experienced as inherently rewarding (Renninger & Su, 2012). Once interest deepens, it becomes intertwined with students' personal values, and may even form a part of one's identity (Renninger, 2009:; Renninger & Hidi, 2011). Previous studies have shown interest to predict educational choices (Gottfried, Marcoulides, Gottfried, & Oliver, 2013), whereas academic self-concept is a stronger predictor of achievement (Nagy et al., 2006; Perez, Cromley, & Kaplan, 2014). However, in their recent cross-cultural study, Watt et al. (2012) found that self-concept and interest predicted educational aspirations differently depending on the culture. The researchers explained their finding by the differing educational contexts that emphasized and valued individual choice and achievement-related outcomes differently. These results may be taken to illustrate the notion that both selfconcept and interest represent personal belief- and value-systems that are prone to stereotypical identifications and biases (Eccles, 2009). Culture, education, family, and peer-groups convey stereotypical expectations and values that shape students' beliefs about what they are expected to be good at and which academic domains are typically valued within their reference-group (Cvencek, Meltzoff, & Greenwald, 2011; Tomasetto, Mirisola, Galdi, & Cadinu, 2015). One of the most salient reference-groups that children and adolescents become identified with, and which also has been shown to play a role in the formation of students' motivational beliefs, is gender (Cvencek, Kapur, & Meltzoff, 2015). In a number of studies it has been shown that from early school years onwards, girls' and boys' self-concepts differ depending on the academic domain (Herbert & Stipek, 2005; see Spinath, Eckert, & Steinmayr, 2014; for a review), and that they are more likely to show interest in gender-typical academic contents (Fredricks & Eccles, 2002). These kinds of stereotypical self-evaluations (e.g., domain-specific selfconcept and interest) have been suggested to work as mediators between academic achievement and students’ educational aspirations and choices (Eccles & Wang, 2016). Besides mediation effects, it has been suggested that gendered motivational beliefs might also exert moderation effects, thus influencing the relational patterns between motivational beliefs and educational outcomes (Eccles, 2009). However, the results of testing such a hypothesis have been not only scarce but also mixed. In some studies, no relational differences have been observed (Simpkins et al., 2006), while a few have identified certain differences as a function of gender (Watt et al., 2012). For example, Watt et al. (2012) found that among Australian high-schoolers, mathematics intrinsic value predicted the level of students’ general educational aspirations for girls but not for boys. Most notably, the observed effect was negative, showing that female adolescents with higher intrinsic value for mathematics held lower educational aspirations. 1.2.3. School burnout As summarized above, the level of students' educational aspirations is supported by different motivational and cognitive factors that can also be considered as individuals' psychological resources that facilitate their goal commitment. One of the less studied, but highly relevant resources is students' socio-emotional well-being that has been found to be related to students’ motivational tendencies during adolescence, and to bear consequences for later educational and occupational trajectories (Samuel, Bergman, &

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Hupka-Brunner, 2013; Tuominen-Soini et al., 2008, 2012). While there is no general consensus on the definition of students' well-being, it is most often considered to comprise several sub-dimensions, covering both positive (e.g., self-esteem) and negative (e.g., stress) indicators (Pollard & Lee, 2003). In this study, well-being is examined in relation to educational context (i.e., academic well-being), and restricted to the examination of burnout, which may develop as a result of high imbalance between perceived demands and personal resources (Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2014a). School burnout has been defined through dimensions that describe students' exhaustion due to school-related demands, cynicism and detached attitude towards schooling, and feelings of inadequacy as a student (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Leskinen, & Nurmi, 2009). These dimensions have been shown to be associated with adolescent students’ motivational strivings, whereby a tendency to minimize schoolwork and effort (i.e., work avoidance orientation) increases the likelihood of cynicism and sense of inadequacy. It is also noteworthy that even high-achieving and motivated students, and especially girls, have been found to be vulnerable to exhaustion (Tuominen-Soini & Salmela-Aro, 2014; Tuominen-Soini et al., 2012). In general, the overall mean-level trend seems to be that girls are more likely to report higher levels of school burnout than boys (Salmela-Aro & Tynkkynen, 2012; Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, & Nurmi, 2008). Studies on the relationship between school burnout and educational aspirations are still scarce. Vasalampi et al. (2009) found that school burnout negatively predicted educational aspirations for girls, but not for boys during the upper secondary school years. However, they did not control for other possibly relevant predictors, such as academic self-concept or interest. In another study examining trajectories of school burnout among Finnish adolescents across their transition to post-comprehensive education, it was found that adolescents with lower level of educational aspirations were more likely to belong to the high-decreasing school burnout group, than to groups with either low-increasing or lowstable school burnout profiles (Salmela-Aro & Upadyaya, 2014b). Moreover, comparisons between genders revealed that girls were over represented in the high-decreasing burnout group. In the expectancy-value framework, some studies have also examined how self-perceived drawbacks predict educational choices (Perez et al., 2014). The concept of cost has been utilized to describe the perceived negative consequences of engaging in learning, such as required effort, or psychological well-being (see Eccles et al., 1983; for a detailed discussion). In addition, these studies have identified that cost measures predict and correlate negatively with students' interest (Flake, Barron, Hulleman, McCoach, & Welsh, 2015; Gaspard et al., 2015) and educational aspirations (Battle & Wigfield, 2003; Luttrell et al., 2010; Perez et al., 2014). In fact, the conceptualisations (and operationalizations) of cost and school burnout seem to share some common features. The exhaustion component of school burnout is related to both dimensions of cost, namely, the amount of effort and emoti...