Abstract The unequal mathematics education system in the U.S. highlights the need to examine racial and ethnic differences in mathematics subjective task values as precursors to participation in mathematics-related careers. We investigated whether and to what extent mathematics subjective task values (i.e., interest, utility, and attainment) vary across the four largest U.S. racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White) among boys and girls, separately. We also tested whether these patterns replicated across high school years and across datasets. Using two U.S. large-scale longitudinal datasets (i.e., CAMP and HSLS), results showed that adolescents of color reported higher mathematics subjective task values than White adolescents, with differences favoring Asian over White adolescents and Black over Latine adolescents. These patterns were consistent across gender, though slightly more pronounced among boys, and replicated across both datasets. The findings demonstrate racial and ethnic variability in mathematics values within gender groups, highlighting the need for intersectional approaches to understanding adolescents' motivational experiences and identifying the barriers that prevent Black and Latine adolescents from fully leveraging their motivational strengths in mathematics learning.

The developmental processes underlying in-group-favoring math stereotypes (i.e., beliefs that favor one's own gender over another gender in math ability) and their associated motivational benefits in adolescence remain understudied. Guided by developmental intergroup theory and situated expectancy-value theory, the current study examined (a) the reciprocal relations between in-group–favoring math stereotypes and perceived math teacher support; (b) their associations with math motivational outcomes (i.e., math expectancies, math identity, and math GPA); and (c) gender differences in these associations among adolescents within each of four largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White). Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (N=18,419; Mage=14.53, SD=0.63 in 9th grade), we found that Asian and White girls' female-favoring math stereotypes and their perceived math teacher support reinforced one another from early to late adolescence, but not among other groups. In-group-favoring math stereotypes positively predicted math motivational beliefs among boys across all racial/ethnic groups, but only among Black and White girls. These stereotypes indirectly predicted math GPA via motivational beliefs only for White adolescents. Findings suggest that gender differences in the development of in-group-favoring math stereotypes and the benefits of stereotype lift are not the same across race/ethnicity. Rather, gender norms that vary across different racial/ethnic groups may shape who develops and benefits from in-group-favoring math stereotypes, underscoring the need to consider intersectionality to better capture motivational processes in real-world contexts.

Abstract Parents' science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) support is theorized to influence adolescents' choices to pursue STEM majors and careers (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020). Theory posits that parents' STEM support is situated within the immediate contexts and, thus, is shaped by both parents' beliefs about education and STEM as well as adolescents' achievements and interests (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), but the current empirical evidence testing these theoretical tenets remains limited. Using data from the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS; n = 12,070; M age = 14.37; 50% female adolescents; 57% White, 16% Latine, 10% Black, 8% Asian, and 10% other ethnic adolescents), this paper examined two parent-level factors (i.e., parents' educational expectations for adolescents and their math/science parenting self-efficacy) and two adolescent-level factors (i.e., adolescents' math/science interests and math achievement) to understand what predicts parents' STEM support in 11th grade, controlling for parents' STEM support in 9th grade. In addition, we examined the extent to which parents' STEM support in 11th grade predicted adolescents' STEM college major, controlling for other major predictors. Parents' math/science parenting self-efficacy beliefs positively predicted the relative changes in parents' STEM support from 9th to 11th grade, which positively predicted adolescents' STEM college major. Additionally, the parents of female and male continuing-generation college students provided more STEM support and had higher educational expectations for their adolescents than parents of first-generation college students. This study provides insights for policymakers and practitioners to focus on the potential precursors of parental socialization of STEM choices during high school and college.

The developmental processes underlying in-group-favoring math stereotypes (i.e., beliefs that favor one's own gender over another gender in math ability) and their associated motivational benefits in adolescence remain understudied. Guided by developmental intergroup theory and situated expectancy-value theory, the current study examined (a) the reciprocal relations between in-group–favoring math stereotypes and perceived math teacher support; (b) their associations with math motivational outcomes (i.e., math expectancies, math identity, and math GPA); and (c) gender differences in these associations among adolescents within each of four largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White). Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (N=18,419; Mage=14.53, SD=0.63 in 9th grade), we found that Asian and White girls' female-favoring math stereotypes and their perceived math teacher support reinforced one another from early to late adolescence, but not among other groups. In-group-favoring math stereotypes positively predicted math motivational beliefs among boys across all racial/ethnic groups, but only among Black and White girls. These stereotypes indirectly predicted math GPA via motivational beliefs only for White adolescents. Findings suggest that gender differences in the development of in-group-favoring math stereotypes and the benefits of stereotype lift are not the same across race/ethnicity. Rather, gender norms that vary across different racial/ethnic groups may shape who develops and benefits from in-group-favoring math stereotypes, underscoring the need to consider intersectionality to better capture motivational processes in real-world contexts.

IntroductionIndividuals' math value beliefs are theorized to influence who persists in STEM. However, the existing findings on gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs are inconsistent. The goal of this study was to use three existing datasets to help clarify when gender differences emerge for high school adolescents and for whom (i.e., adolescents across historical time, grade level, and race/ethnicity). Specifically, we examined the extent to which gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs (i.e., interest, utility, and attainment) replicated (1) across three datasets spanning the 1990s to 2010s, (2) from 9th-12th grade, and (3) within each of the four largest U.S. racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White adolescents).MethodsWe tested these aims with three existing longitudinal U.S. datasets: the California Achievement Motivation Project (CAMP) (n = 8855), the Childhood and Beyond Study (CAB) (n = 582), and the High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS) (n = 21,000). Students were in high school (9th-12th grade) and half were girls (49%-53%). All three datasets included measures with the same or similar math value belief items, making conceptual replication possible.Results and ConclusionsOverall, we did not find strong evidence for meaningful gender differences in adolescents' math value beliefs overall. We did find meaningful gender differences in the oldest data set (CAB). When examined within each racial/ethnic group, we found no evidence of gender differences in math value beliefs among Black or Latine adolescents, but some differences among Asian and White adolescents. The findings align with the gender similarities hypothesis, suggesting adolescent girls and boys had similar math value beliefs.

Abstract The unequal mathematics education system in the U.S. highlights the need to examine racial and ethnic differences in mathematics subjective task values as precursors to participation in mathematics-related careers. We investigated whether and to what extent mathematics subjective task values (i.e., interest, utility, and attainment) vary across the four largest U.S. racial/ethnic groups (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White) among boys and girls, separately. We also tested whether these patterns replicated across high school years and across datasets. Using two U.S. large-scale longitudinal datasets (i.e., CAMP and HSLS), results showed that adolescents of color reported higher mathematics subjective task values than White adolescents, with differences favoring Asian over White adolescents and Black over Latine adolescents. These patterns were consistent across gender, though slightly more pronounced among boys, and replicated across both datasets. The findings demonstrate racial and ethnic variability in mathematics values within gender groups, highlighting the need for intersectional approaches to understanding adolescents' motivational experiences and identifying the barriers that prevent Black and Latine adolescents from fully leveraging their motivational strengths in mathematics learning.

The developmental processes underlying in-group-favoring math stereotypes (i.e., beliefs that favor one's own gender over another gender in math ability) and their associated motivational benefits in adolescence remain understudied. Guided by developmental intergroup theory and situated expectancy-value theory, the current study examined (a) the reciprocal relations between in-group–favoring math stereotypes and perceived math teacher support; (b) their associations with math motivational outcomes (i.e., math expectancies, math identity, and math GPA); and (c) gender differences in these associations among adolescents within each of four largest racial/ethnic groups in the United States (i.e., Asian, Black, Latine, and White). Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (N=18,419; Mage=14.53, SD=0.63 in 9th grade), we found that Asian and White girls' female-favoring math stereotypes and their perceived math teacher support reinforced one another from early to late adolescence, but not among other groups. In-group-favoring math stereotypes positively predicted math motivational beliefs among boys across all racial/ethnic groups, but only among Black and White girls. These stereotypes indirectly predicted math GPA via motivational beliefs only for White adolescents. Findings suggest that gender differences in the development of in-group-favoring math stereotypes and the benefits of stereotype lift are not the same across race/ethnicity. Rather, gender norms that vary across different racial/ethnic groups may shape who develops and benefits from in-group-favoring math stereotypes, underscoring the need to consider intersectionality to better capture motivational processes in real-world contexts.

This study explored 7th-grade students' help-seeking behaviors in a digital mathematics learning game.In particular, we applied response time decomposition to examine the relationships among the amount of time a student spent reading a hint (i.e., hint reading time), hint type, and in-game performance.The results showed significant differences in hint reading time by the following action and hint type.Overall, hint reading time was positively related to problem solving efficiency scores.However, this association varied by hint type.The use of an indirect hint was negatively correlated with efficiency on the problem in which the hint was accessed but positively correlated with efficiency on the next problem.These findings suggest that prompting students to pause and think about the hint presented may support efficient problem solving.Although indirect hints may cause students to struggle through the problem, they show the benefits of that struggle in subsequent performance.

The heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of math motivational beliefs (i.e., expectancies for success and subjective task value beliefs) was examined among Asian and Latinx male and female students from Southern California across Grades 8 through 10 (n = 2,710; 50% female; 85% Latinx; 15% Asian; M-age = 13.77). By conducting growth mixture modeling, we identified two classes of stable trajectories for expectancies for success; five classes of stable, decreasing, or increasing trajectories for interest and utility value; and three classes of stable, decreasing, or increasing trajectories for attainment value. The group comparisons demonstrated that variability exists in adolescents' motivational belief development at the intersection of their race/ethnicity and gender for some trajectories. For example, Latina adolescents were more likely to maintain moderate expectancies for success than high expectancies for success compared to Latino and Asian male adolescents, but Asian female adolescents did not differ in their level of expectancies for success from the two male groups. Also, we found Latina adolescents displayed smaller decreases in interest compared to Asian female adolescents and in utility value compared to Latino adolescents. The findings from the present study challenge traditional stereotypes in math and highlight positive motivational belief development in students who are marginalized in math (e.g., Latina adolescents).