"'Fitting' Sense of Belonging in an Expectancy-Value Framework: Directionality and Development Among First-Year College Students"

AERA 2018 Annual Meeting: “The Dreams, Possibilities, and Necessity of Public Education”
April 13-17, 2018
New York

Title: "'Fitting' Sense of Belonging in an Expectancy-Value Framework: Directionality and Development Among First-Year College Students"
Authors: Peter McPartlan, Osman Umarji 

Abstract

Sense of belonging is an increasingly studied motivational construct, but its role in understanding choices between fields of study in college has yet to be acknowledged by motivational frameworks used to predict choice, such as the Expectancy-Value theory. The present study is the first to use longitudinal data to model directionality of effects among sense of belonging and various components of E-V theory. Cross-lag models show bi-directional influences, suggesting a mutually reinforcing relationship. Moreover, growth curves across students' first year suggest sense of belonging can guard against declines in motivation.