Examining developmental relationships between utility value, interest, and cognitive competence for college statistics students with differential self-perceived mathematics ability

Abstract

Although there is a growth of interest in student motivation in higher education, not enough is known about the developmental relationships between motivational components among college students. In this study, a sample of 503 students in a five-year combined Bachelor?s/Master?s degree program at a Belgian university reported their statistics cognitive competence, utility value, and interest at the beginning of or prior to each of three progressively more advanced statistics courses. Results from latent growth curve analysis (LGCA) revealed that students? self-perceived mathematics ability at the beginning of the first course was positively associated with initial levels of statistics interest, utility value, and cognitive competence but not with their developmental trends. Moreover, results from multigroup LGCA suggested that students who reported lower mathematics ability began the first statistics courses with lower initial levels of interest, utility value and cognitive competence, but experienced development in these constructs at similar rates as their peers reporting higher mathematics ability. We also found that rates of growth in cognitive competence or value were positively associated with rates of decrease in interest. Implications of these findings for instructional practice are discussed.