Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance

With a significant amount of research highlighting the enduring effect of early mathematical skills on mathematical achievement during formal school age, understanding the modifiable predictors of mathematical performance before formal education is paramount. Hence, this study emphasised preschooler...

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Main Author: Lee, Tiffany Yanyi
Other Authors: Gianluca Esposito
Format: Final Year Project
Language:English
Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149147
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1491472023-03-05T15:42:15Z Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance Lee, Tiffany Yanyi Gianluca Esposito School of Social Sciences Anne Rifkin-Graboi gianluca.esposito@ntu.edu.sg Social sciences::Psychology::Motivation Social sciences::Psychology::Applied psychology With a significant amount of research highlighting the enduring effect of early mathematical skills on mathematical achievement during formal school age, understanding the modifiable predictors of mathematical performance before formal education is paramount. Hence, this study emphasised preschoolers’ internal task experiences – influenced by self-efficacy and mastery motivation – as predictors of early mathematical skills when the child was age 4 (N = 58) and 5 (N = 44) in the context of Singapore. The study was particularly interested in elucidating the domain-specific effects of self-efficacy and mastery motivation. It was observed that preschoolers with higher self-efficacy beliefs displayed higher mastery motivation in the same task, and vice versa, thereby suggesting both constructs reinforce each other. Moreover, self-efficacy and mastery motivation exhibited during the mathematical game were significantly different from some other parent-child activities. Mathematical self-efficacy and mastery motivation were also positively correlated with 4-year-olds' concurrent mathematical outcomes, and the effects were domain-specific. However, 4-year-olds’ mathematical experiences did not predict their mathematical outcomes a year later. Nonetheless, with a larger sample size, an indirect effect through prior mathematical abilities may be observed. Therefore, preschoolers’ internal experiences should be highly regarded to maximise their learning experiences since they are correlated with preschoolers’ current mathematical abilities and possibly subsequent school readiness. The domain-specific hypothesis validated in this study also shed light on better teaching and parenting strategies such that a more targeted approach can be implemented to improve preschoolers’ outcomes in a specific domain. Keywords: Self-efficacy, mastery motivation, internal task experiences, mathematical outcomes, domain specificity, preschoolers Bachelor of Arts in Psychology 2021-05-27T10:12:43Z 2021-05-27T10:12:43Z 2021 Final Year Project (FYP) Lee, T. Y. (2021). Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance. Final Year Project (FYP), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149147 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149147 en application/pdf Nanyang Technological University
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic Social sciences::Psychology::Motivation
Social sciences::Psychology::Applied psychology
spellingShingle Social sciences::Psychology::Motivation
Social sciences::Psychology::Applied psychology
Lee, Tiffany Yanyi
Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
description With a significant amount of research highlighting the enduring effect of early mathematical skills on mathematical achievement during formal school age, understanding the modifiable predictors of mathematical performance before formal education is paramount. Hence, this study emphasised preschoolers’ internal task experiences – influenced by self-efficacy and mastery motivation – as predictors of early mathematical skills when the child was age 4 (N = 58) and 5 (N = 44) in the context of Singapore. The study was particularly interested in elucidating the domain-specific effects of self-efficacy and mastery motivation. It was observed that preschoolers with higher self-efficacy beliefs displayed higher mastery motivation in the same task, and vice versa, thereby suggesting both constructs reinforce each other. Moreover, self-efficacy and mastery motivation exhibited during the mathematical game were significantly different from some other parent-child activities. Mathematical self-efficacy and mastery motivation were also positively correlated with 4-year-olds' concurrent mathematical outcomes, and the effects were domain-specific. However, 4-year-olds’ mathematical experiences did not predict their mathematical outcomes a year later. Nonetheless, with a larger sample size, an indirect effect through prior mathematical abilities may be observed. Therefore, preschoolers’ internal experiences should be highly regarded to maximise their learning experiences since they are correlated with preschoolers’ current mathematical abilities and possibly subsequent school readiness. The domain-specific hypothesis validated in this study also shed light on better teaching and parenting strategies such that a more targeted approach can be implemented to improve preschoolers’ outcomes in a specific domain. Keywords: Self-efficacy, mastery motivation, internal task experiences, mathematical outcomes, domain specificity, preschoolers
author2 Gianluca Esposito
author_facet Gianluca Esposito
Lee, Tiffany Yanyi
format Final Year Project
author Lee, Tiffany Yanyi
author_sort Lee, Tiffany Yanyi
title Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
title_short Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
title_full Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
title_fullStr Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
title_full_unstemmed Domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
title_sort domain specificity of self-efficacy and mastery motivation in relation to preschoolers' mathematical performance
publisher Nanyang Technological University
publishDate 2021
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149147
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