Abstract
Why do some students benefit from interventions and others do not? By investigating the antecedents and effects of students’ responsiveness to a classroom-based motivation intervention, the current study aims to shed light on the intervention processes that make educational interventions in real-life settings work. Using data from a cluster-randomized controlled experiment with 1916 ninth-grade students, students’ responsiveness to two written intervention activities about the personal relevance of mathematics (evaluating quotations or writing a text) was assessed. Based on the hypothesized theory of change, 1280 student essays were coded on three indicators of responsiveness (positive arguments, personal connections, in-depth reflections) which were combined into a continuous index. Linear regression analyses showed that students’ conscientiousness, gender, math-related motivation, and achievement predicted the responsiveness index. This research highlights the importance of investigating intervention processes in order to optimize the theories and designs of classroom interventions.
Translated title of the contribution | Who sticks to the instructions—and does it matter? Antecedents and effects of students’ responsiveness to a classroom-based motivation intervention |
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Original language | German |
Pages (from-to) | 121-144 |
Number of pages | 24 |
Journal | Zeitschrift fur Erziehungswissenschaft |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2020 |
Keywords
- Classroom intervention
- Mathematics
- Motivation
- Relevance intervention
- Student responsiveness
- Utility-value intervention