Self-Generated Utility Among a Diverse Sample of Adolescent Students: An Analysis of Grade Level and Gender

Perceived utility value has been related to students’ motivation in academic domains, and a selfgenerated utility intervention has been found to promote academic interest and performance among students with low expectancies for success. This study tested the effects of a selfgenerated utility intervention among 7 and 9 grade science students. Students given the intervention wrote essays about how the material in their science course was useful whereas students given the control task were prompted to summarize a course topic. The results showed that the utility value intervention promoted interest in science for 9 grade girls with low expectancies for success but undermined interest for girls with high expectancies for success. The effects were not strong among 9 grade boys overall, and the data for 7 graders showed effects in the opposite direction. An analysis of a subset of the utility essays suggested considerable variability in how students self-generated utility value for science, which may affect subsequent interest. UTILITY, GRADE LEVEL, AND GENDER 3 Self-Generated Utility Among a Diverse Sample of Adolescent Students: An Analysis of Grade Level and Gender Interest involves an enduring link between a person and a content domain that includes appreciation for the domain content as valuable (Renninger, 2000). Although value can take different forms (Eccles et al., 1983; Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), utility value describes the extent to which a task or domain is relevant for achieving personal goals. In this sense, perceived utility is a form of personal relevance, and students who perceive utility value in an academic domain may identify that domain as a personal interest. Consistent with this, the extent to which learners perceive utility value in what they are learning is typically strongly and positively correlated with interest in the material (e.g., Eccles & Wigfield, 1995; Hulleman, Durik, Schweigert, & Harackiewicz, 2008; Simkins, Davis-Kean, & Eccles, 2006). Utility value has also been shown to correlate with task performance, which is likely a consequence of increased effort and commitment to tasks that are perceived as useful (Bong, 2001; Hulleman et al., 2008; Simons, DeWitte, & Lens, 2000; 2004). Given that perceived utility value is related to important positive outcomes, interventions have been developed to foster students’ perceptions of utility value. One approach that has been tested prompts learners to self-generate utility value for what they are learning. In one study, 9 grade science students were asked to self-generate descriptions of how learning about science was personally useful to them (Hulleman & Harackiewicz, 2009). Compared with a control group that was asked to summarize course-related content, the group that received the prompts to self-generate utility showed higher interest and performance, but only if they initially had low expectancies for success. The self-generated utility prompts helped individuals with low expectancies for success perceive value in what they were learning and to put effort into UTILITY, GRADE LEVEL, AND GENDER 4 performing well. Subsequent studies replicated the effect found on interest among college students, again suggesting that self-generated utility is more helpful for individuals who have low expectancies for success (Hulleman et al., 2010). The current research aimed to extend this line of research by examining a similar intervention introduced to 7 as well as 9 graders from a racially and ethnically diverse population of students. We also tested how gender might influence the unfolding processes initiated by prompts to self-generate utility value. We reasoned that it may be especially revealing to test the effects of self-generated utility value within a younger sample and within gender because of the link between utility value and learners’ futures (Husman & Lens, 1999). Utility value is personally meaningful because it is conceptualized in the context of individuals’ shortor long-term goals. As such, when individuals recognize utility value in tasks, they must conceptualize the task not only in the present, but also in the context of a hypothetical future. In other words, utility value requires that learners consider the task at a more abstract level, and apply the knowledge or skills to some other time and/or situation. The effects of perceived utility value may be potent because it holds the potential to connect the present learning context to individuals’ developing sense of self. However, this feature of utility value may have implications for learners of different ages. As adolescents develop, they are in a better position to engage in abstract thinking and planning, both of which are implicated in perceived utility value in tasks. In other words, utility value may not be as meaningful for younger learners if they are still struggling to think abstractly in general. Younger learners may be thinking about themselves and their lives on a much short time scale (Husman & Lens, 1999). This developmental change across adolescence may limit the effectiveness of a utility value intervention on interest and performance. UTILITY, GRADE LEVEL, AND GENDER 5 Second, the connection between utility value and personal goals also suggests that gender may play a role in how individuals think about domains and how those domains fit with their developing identities. Given that science is often thought of as a domain that is more consistent with the male stereotype (Francis, 2000; Lightbody & Durndell, 1996; Whitehead, 1996), girls’ and boys’ sense of utility value within science may differ. Even if girls and boys self-generate utility value for science, the effects of doing so may vary depending on the extent to which they perceive their developing identities fitting with the goals implied by the utility of various academic domains. These open questions regarding the processes initiated by utility interventions and how these might play out for individuals of different ages and gender, prompted us to examine the effects of self-generated utility for 7 and 9 grade students, across gender. Method Participants The participants were 7 (N=192) and 9 (N=123) graders enrolled in science classes in a single school district. Seventh grade participants were drawn from 9 different classes taught by 2 teachers. Ninth grade participants were drawn from 6 different classes taught by 2 teachers. The participation rate was over 90% in each classroom, with some classrooms having a 100% participation rate. The sample was half male and half female. The student sample was 18% White, 49% Latino, 12% African American, 2% Asian, 1% Native American, and 18% multiracial. According to school records, 61% of students in the sample were eligible to receive free or reduced lunch.