Who loses motivation and who keeps it up? Investigating factors for changes in motivational profiles across multiple domains

In this three-year-longitudinal study, we examined how students' gender, conscientiousness, academic specialization, and perceived need satisfaction predict stability and change in students' extrinsic and intrinsic value beliefs across mathematics, German, English, and French. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between changes in these motivational profiles and students' domain-specific academic achievement. Multilevel latent transition analyses based on a sample of 850 Swiss-German upper-secondary students (M_age = 15.6 years, 54 % female) revealed four domain-independent profiles of extrinsic value beliefs and five domain-specific profiles of intrinsic value beliefs. Transitions into profiles with lower extrinsic value beliefs were related to stable personal factors such as students' gender, choice of specialization domain, and conscientiousness. In contrast, changes in intrinsic value beliefs depended on students' year-specific perceived need satisfaction, notably in mathematics and French. There were no significant associations between a decline in intrinsic value beliefs and students' domain-specific achievement at any measurement point.

Educational relevance statement

Across math and languages in 9th to 11th grade, some students' ascribed value to these subjects declines whereas others' remains stable. Being male, choosing a STEM major, and being less conscientious predict loss in value ascribed to grades. Lack of perceived autonomy, competence, and social embeddedness predicts loss in subject likeability. Interventions aimed at improving students' perceived autonomy, competence, and social embeddedness may prevent motivational decline.