Evaluación de modelo social cognitivo

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An assessment of a socialndashcognitive model of academic performance in mathematicsin Argentinean middle school students

Marcos Cupani a Mariacutea Cristina Richaud de Minzi b Edgardo Rauacutel Peacuterez a Ricardo Marcos Pautassi ac

a Laboratorio de Psicologiacutea de la Personalidad Universidad Nacional de Coacuterdoba Ciudad Universitaria Coacuterdoba 5000 Argentinab Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicologiacutea Matemaacutetica y Experimental (CIIPME-CONICET) Buenos Aires Argentinac Instituto de Investigaciones Medicas M y M Ferreyra (INIMEC ndashCONICET) Friuli 2434 Coacuterdoba Coacuterdoba 5016 Argentina

a b s t r a c ta r t i c l e i n f o

Article historyReceived 20 February 2009

Received in revised form 18 March 2010

Accepted 20 March 2010

Keywords

Self-ef 1047297cacy

Outcome expectations

Performance goals

Academic performance

This study tested a set of hypotheses derived from the model of academic achievement in mathematics of theSocial Cognitive Career Theory in a sample of Argentinean middle school students To this aim 277 students

(male and female age 13ndash15 years) were assessed using the following instruments logicalndashmathematical

self-ef 1047297cacy scale mathematics outcome expectations mathematics performance goals and mathematics

ability test All of these instruments had been adapted for use in Argentinean students Academic

achievement in mathematics (ie grades obtained on regular school exams) was the variable to be modeled

through the path analysis technique The analysis allowed identi1047297cation of interrelations among the

variables and identi1047297cation of direct and indirect effects Academic achievement in mathematics was

partially explained by the model Overall the results support the theoretical postulates of Social Cognitive

Career Theory

copy 2010 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved

1 Introduction

Recent years have seen a growing trend toward applying Banduras

socialndashcognitivetheory (1986) to career behavior (Lent Brown amp Hackett

2002) A parallel line of research uses socialndashcognitive theory as a

framework for scrutinizing academic motivation and achievement These

two branches have focused on developmentally linked skill domains

produced complementary 1047297ndings on the correlates and effects of

cognitive-expectancy variables and been guided by similar conceptuali-

zations of educationalndashvocational functioning Noting such commonali-

ties a theory has been proposed to unify the socialndashcognitive framework

in order to conceptualize and study both career and academic behavior

(Lent Brown amp Hackett 1994)

The Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) explains the devel-

opment of vocational interests career choice and academic

performance using different but interrelated theoretical models

Based on Bandurasgeneral socialcognitivetheory(1986)theSCCT

focuses on the triadic interaction among person environment and

behavior and howthis interaction shapes careerdevelopment Self-

ef 1047297cacy beliefs (ie a persons judgment about his or her ability to

properly execute a set of actions) outcome expectations (ie

imagined consequences of performing particular behaviors) and

goals (ie determination to engage in a particular activity or affect

a particular outcome) are central among these variables The SCCTis also focused on the causalpaths by which additional personal and

environmental inputs (eg raceethnicity ability and educational

experiences) in1047298uence career outcomes

The SCCTs performance model (Fig 1) hypothesizes that cognitive

ability in1047298uences student performance directly (through academic-

related skills) and indirectly (through self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and outcome

expectations) College academic achievement therefore could relate to

abilities and knowledge acquired during the educational and social

trajectories of a given student These trajectories involve a sequence of

challenges and key events (such as performance accomplishments)

occurring in high school and college in which students are given the

opportunity to develop skills (eg studying and taking tests) academic

self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and outcome expectations that contribute to

academic success Those who develop these expectations will be more

likely to approach (and less likely to avoid) challenging academic tasks

(Lent et al 1994)

The SCCT posits that self-ef 1047297cacy and outcome expectations affect

performance through the intervening in1047298uence of students performance

goals Thus students with stronger self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and outcome

expectations will set and work toward more challenging academic goals

than those with weaker self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs or less positive outcome

expectations (Lent et al 1994)

Studies have examined subsets of this model Meta-analyses have

yielded correlations of 38and 50between self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs andcollege

academic performance(MultonBrown amp Lent 1991 Robbins et al 2004

respectively) Robbins et al (2004) reported a fully corrected correlation

Learning and Individual Differences 20 (2010) 659ndash663

This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Promocion Cienti1047297ca y Tecnologica

(Argentina) PICT 07-255grant fromConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientiacute1047297cas(MC)

and grant PRH-UNC (FONCyT-SPU) (Argentina) to RMP

Corresponding author Telfax +54 351 4334104

E-mail address mcupanipsycheunceduar (M Cupani)

1041-6080$ ndash see front matter copy 2010 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved

doi101016jlindif201003006

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Learning and Individual Differences

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e w w w e l s ev i e r c o m l o c a t e l i n d i f



of 39 between cognitive ability and academic performance This meta-

analysis found support via fully corrected bivariate correlations for each

hypothesized path (28 between self-ef 1047297cacy and cognitive ability 49

between academic self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and academic goals 18 betweenacademic goals andperformanceall pb 05)Recently Brown et al(2008)

provided substantial support for SCCTs model of academic performance

but the correlation between goals and academic performance did not

achieve statistical signi1047297canceTo ourknowledge a large scale assessment

of the complete performance model has yet to be published

Mathematics self-ef 1047297cacy can be operationalized at different

speci1047297city levels (Betz amp Hackett 2006 Lent amp Brown 2006) The

present work de1047297ned this concept as the students belief in his or her

ability to perform math-related tasks Self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs also act in

concert with other common mechanisms of personal agency such as

self-concept beliefs (Pajares amp Graham 1999) Self-concept is usually

measured at a broader level of speci1047297city and includes the evaluation of

a given competence and the feelings of self-worth associated with that

skill Self-concept differs from self-ef 1047297cacy in that it is a context-speci1047297cassessment of thecompetence to perform a speci1047297ctask(Pajares 1996)

Self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs represent an important bridge between educa-

tional and vocational psychology (Betz amp Hackett 2006) The area of

mathematics hasbeen thefocus of substantial research (Pajaresamp Schunk

2001) Mathematics knowledge and scores are usually decisive for level

placement and admission to college and have been usually considered a

critical barrier for high school students aiming at scienti1047297c and technical

careers (Sells 1980) Most empirical research on the SCCT has focused on

the 1047297eld of science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM)

STEM-relatedself-ef 1047297cacy explains a substantial amountof thevariancein

STEM goals interests choices and performance (Ferry Fouad amp Smith

2000 OBrien Martinez-Pons amp Kopala 1999) Social cognitive research

has also mainly focused on high school (eg Lopez Lent Brown amp Gore

1997 OBrien et al 1999) or college students (eg Ferry et al 2000Lentet al 2001) Only a few studies assessed the utility of SCCT to measure

math and science goal intentions of an ethnically diverse group of middle

school students (eg Fouad amp Smith 1996 Navarro Flores amp Worthing-

ton 2007) Moreover US college students have been the subjects in the

vast majority of SCCT studies Still unknown however is how well the

SCCT generalizes to the educational and career development of younger

(or older) persons from diverse national contexts and across different

domains of academic and career activity (eg Lent Brown Nota amp Soresi

2003)

Lent et al (1994) focused their research on late adolescence and

early adulthood developmental periods likely to involve exploration

and implementation of career choices Previous research however

found that it is during middle school when students begin to acquire

academic abilitiesand take decisions that will have a strongimpact on

later academic outcomes (eg Fouad amp Smith 1996 Turner amp Lapan

2005) It is thus important to understand how social cognitive

mechanisms in1047298uence the development of performance in middle

school studentsThe present study executed a global comprehensive assessment of

the SCCT model in the domain of mathematics in a sample of

Argentinean middle school students According to the Argentine

Program for InternationalStudent Assessment academic mathematics

performance in this population has been very disappointing ( Organi-

zation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2001) Therefore

the present study also sought to provide information relevant to

increase academic success in this population

Consistent with the SCCTs basic academic performance hypotheses

(Lent et al 1994) we predicted that (i) mathematics abilities will be

signi1047297cantly and positively related to academic performance in

mathematics (hypothesis 1 H1) (ii) logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy

beliefs will partially mediate the relationship between mathematics

abilities and academic performance in mathematics (H2) (iii) mathe-matics outcome expectations will fully mediate the relationship

between mathematics abilities and academic performance in mathe-

matics (H3) (iv) self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs will be signi1047297cantly and positively

related to academic performance in mathematics (H4) (v) performance

goals in mathematics will partially mediate the relationship between

logical and mathematical self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and academic perfor-

mance in mathematics (H5) (vi) performance goalsin mathematicswill

fully mediate the relationship between math outcome expectations and

academic performance in mathematics (H6) and (vii) performance

goals in mathematics will be signi1047297cantly and positively related to

academic performance in mathematics (H7)

2 Methods

21 Participants

Two-hundred seventy-seven 8th (458) and 9th (534) graders

participated in the study (175 boys and 102 girls M age=1374plusmn

67 years) Students were enrolled in private educational institutions

in Cordoba Argentina thus representing a socioeconomic microcosm

of the larger society and belonging to families of skilled workers

large-production farmers professionals and local merchants

22 Instruments

221 Mathematics outcome expectations

The Mathematics Outcome Expectations Scale (MOES Cupani in

press) is a modi1047297ed version of the MathematicsScience Outcome

Fig 1 Social Cognitive Career Theory Performance Model Model of task performance highlighting the role of ability self-ef 1047297cacy outcomes expectations and performance goals

(adapted from Lent et al 1994)

660 M Cupani et al Learning and Individual Differences 20 (2010) 659ndash663



Expectations Scale (MSOES Fouad Smith amp Enochs 1997) The scale

consists of nine items assessing middle school students beliefs about

the potential consequences of mathematics-related courses activities

and achievements Participants rated each item (eg ldquoIf I learn math I

will have more options when choosing my majorrdquo) on a 5-point scale

ranging from 1 (agreetotally)to 5 (disagreetotally) Item scoreswere

summed and divided by 9 MOES have adequate reliability and

construct validity (Cupani in press) The present study yielded a

Cronbachs alpha of 83 for MOES scores

222 Mathematics performance goals

The Mathematics Performance Goals Scale (MPGS Cupani in

press) isthemodi1047297ed version of the subscale for MathematicsScience

Intentions and Goals Scale (MSIGS Fouad et al 1997) It has 10 items

assessing middle school students intentions to pursue and persist in

mathematics-related courses in high school Participants rated each

item (eg ldquoThis year I propose to get good gradesin mathematicsrdquo) on

a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (agree totally) to 5 (disagree totally)

Scores were summed and divided by 10 MPGS have adequate

reliability and construct validity (Cupani in press) The present study

yielded a Cronbachs alpha of 87 for MPGS scores

223 Logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy

The LogicalndashMathematical Self-ef 1047297cacy Scale (LMSS) has six items

and participants rated each item (eg ldquoSolve mathematics equationrdquo)

on a 10-point scale ranging from 1 (Cannot do at all) to 10 (Certain

can do) The scores were summed and divided by 6 The present study

yielded a Cronbachs alpha of 83 for LMSS scores Originally this scale

was included in the revised version of the Multiple Intelligences Self-

Ef 1047297cacy Inventory (MISEI-R) which has adequate reliability and

construct validity (Peacuterez amp Cupani 2008)

224 Mathematics abilities

The Numerical Reasoning subscale of the Differential Aptitude

Test Version 5 was used (Bennett Seashore amp Wesman 2000) The

Numerical Reasoning subscale measures the ability to use numbers ina logical and ef 1047297cient way In the present study a Kuder Richardson

(KR-20) coef 1047297cient of 81 was found for Numerical Reasoning scores

225 Academic Performance in Mathematic

Academic Performance in Mathematic (APM) was assessed by

accessing the students high school records for mathematics courses

In Argentina students are assessed at mid-term (June) and at the end

of the academic year (December) Grades are given on a 10-point

scale with 7 the cut-off for passing a course The two assessments

(which were highly correlated r =78 p b 001) were summed and

divided by 2 No signi1047297cant differences in APM were found between

grades (8th vs 9th t 275 647 pN 05) Therefore the groups were

pooled for subsequent analyses

23 Procedure

All measurements including consent forms were gathered within

a single class period during the 1047297rst class term Tests were taken

collectively during the course of a regular school day at four

educational institutions and in three different sessions Detailedinstructions on how to complete the survey were provided to the

students by the researcher The measures were taken following the

theoretical and causal links proposed by the SCCT The Numerical

Reasoning subtest was administered during the 1047297rst session (April)

one college per week followed 1 month later by the MOES and LMSS

(second session) The MPGS was applied about 3 weeks later (third

session) Mathematics grade scores for each student were collected

directly from school records at the end of the second school term

3 Results

31 Preliminary analyses

Univariate atypical cases (ie zN329 two-tailed test p b001)

were identi1047297ed by calculating standard scores for each variable

Atypical multivariate cases were identi1047297ed through the Mahalanobis

test (Tabachnick amp Fidell 2001 p b 001) As a result of these tests

four cases were removed from the dataset Multivariate normality

was evaluated by Mardia ratio (3202 p N 05) Across variables the

values for asymmetry and kurtosis were optimal for the proposed

parametric analysis (minus85 tominus08andminus48to 92 respectively George

amp Mallery 2001)

Table 1 presents zero-order correlation coef 1047297cients for the

measures All variables were signi1047297cantly correlated with math

performance mathematics performance goals (r =40) mathematics

abilities (r =47) and logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy (r =54)

32 Path analysis

Model 1047297t should be assessed using several indices to ensure more

reliable and accurate decisions (Hu amp Bentler 1995) Therefore the

following indices were employed the χ 2 test of signi1047297cance the ratio

of the χ 2 statistic to degrees of freedom (χ 2 df ) the comparative 1047297t

index (CFI) the goodness-of-1047297t index (GFI) and the rootndashmeanndash

square error of approximation (RMSEA) When this ratio is less than

30 a good model 1047297t can be inferred (Kline 2005) CFI and GFI values

between ge90 and ge95 and RMSEA values between le05 and le08

indicate of good model 1047297t (Hu amp Bentler 1995)

Table 1

Descriptive data and interrelation between variables pertinent to the model

Descriptive Interrelation

Variables M SD AS KS MA LMS MOE MPG MP

Mathematics Ability (MA) 2008 647 minus08 minus48 100 40 02 05 47

Logic-Math Self-ef 1047297cacy (LMS) 694 167 minus85 55 100 25 38 54

Math Outcome Expectations (MOE) 360 73 minus49 24 100 39 24

Math Performance Goals (MPG) 343 74 minus68 92 100 40

Math Performance (MP) 603 183 minus22 minus35 100

pb 05 pb 01

Note The Mathematics abilities (MA) is from the Numerical Reasoning subscale of the Differential Aptitude Test Version 5 ( Bennett et al 2000) The LogicalndashMathematical Self-

ef 1047297cacy Scale (LMSS) is from the revised version of the Multiple Intelligences Self-Ef 1047297cacy Inventory (MISEI-R Peacuterez amp Cupani 2008) the Mathematics Outcome Expectations is

from the Mathematics Outcome Expectations Scale (MOES Cupani in press) modi1047297ed version of the subscale for MathematicsScience Intentions and Goals Scale (MSIGS Fouad

et al 1997) the Mathematics Performance Goals is from the Mathematics Performance Goals Scale (MPGS Cupani in press) modi1047297ed version of the subscale for Mathematics

Science Intentions and Goals Scale (MSIGS Fouad et al 1997) Academic Performance in Mathematic (APM) was assessed by accessing the students high school records for

mathematics courses Gradesare given on a 10-point scalewith7 thecut-offfor passing a course Allvalues representrawnonstandardized scores MmeanSD standard deviation

Ss skewness Ks kurtosis Interrelation zero-order correlations

661M Cupani et al Learning and Individual Differences 20 (2010) 659 ndash663



All indices revealed optimal model adjustment (CFI= 99

CFI=99 RMSEA=06 χ 2=4308 p =116 CMINDF=2154) The

residuals were also small (median= 000 range=minus37 to07)

Therefore the 1047297tness of the model appears strong enough to allow

the report and interpretation of the standardized path estimates

(Browne MacCallum Kim Anderson amp Glaser 2002) Fig 2 depicts

the path coef 1047297cients for the proposed relationships among the

variables in the theoretical model

The SCCT postulates indirect relationships among key variables To

assess these speci1047297c hypotheses we used Sobels test to examine

indirect effects in the recursive model under scrutiny (Kline 2005)

Table 2 presents of total direct and indirect effects of variables The

test strongly supported the theoretical proposal yielding a signi1047297cant

and positive relationship between mathematics performance and

mathematics abilities (H1 β =34 pb 01) logicalndashmathematical self-

ef 1047297cacy (H4 β =30 pb 01) and mathematics performance goals

(H7 β =27 p =01)

With regard to indirect effects an effect of academic abilities onmathematics performance was observed that was mediated by logicalndash

mathematical self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs (H234times 30= 10 z=524 pb 000)

The total effect of academic abilities was 44 (34+[34times30]) H3

however was not corroborated by our data The relationship between

abilities and expectations was negative and far from reaching

signi1047297cance (β=minus10 p=13)The analysis also allowed an estimation

of the predictive contribution of logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy

beliefs (H530times 27=08 z =362 pb 000) and mathematics outcome

expectations (H6 31times27=09 z=332 pb 000) on mathematics

performance goals A positive and signi1047297cant ( β =29 pb 01) associ-

ation was also found between logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs

and mathematics outcome expectations The total effect of self-ef 1047297cacy

on mathematics performance goals was 39 (30+[29times31] z =344

pb 000) Therefore the total contribution of self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs to

mathematics performance is 40 whereas the indirect contribution of

outcome expectation to mathematics performance mediated by

performance goals is 09

In summary the model generally explained 44 of the variance of academic achievement in mathematics Mathematics abilities

explained 16 of the variance of logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy

beliefs With regard to H5 and H6 the results indicated that self-

ef 1047297cacy beliefs and outcome expectations explained 23 of the

variance of performance goals Self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs about outcome

expectations also provided a signi1047297cant contribution

4 Discussion

The present study conducted in a sample of Argentinean high-

school students strongly supported the theoretical model of academic

performance in mathematics of the SCCT Thecurrent1047297ndings suggest

that success in academic performance among Argentinean students is

associated with greater mathematics ability strong beliefs about this

ability and more optimistic and demanding performance targets

These successful students also have higher self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs

Moreover students who set more demanding performance targets

are those with higher self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and higher expectations of

positive results The study replicates and extends early work

conducted in US students (eg Brown et al 2008)

An obvious yet important difference between the present and

previous studies is that students in this study belong to a Latin-

American population The cross-cultural validity of the SCCT has

recently become an increasingly popular focus of career inquiry (Lent

amp Sheu 2010) Most of this research however has been conducted

with Americans of foreign descent (eg MexicanndashAmericans Navarro

et al 2007) Lent et al (2001) argued for the need to examine the

validity of the SCCT in culturally diverse groups Research conducted

in Western contexts has identi1047297ed intrapersonal and contextualfactors relating to academic performance Country characteristics

such as average income socialinequality andcultural valuesmight be

associated with student achievement directly or indirectly via family

or motivation (Chiu amp Xihua 2008) Our study represents important

progress in this direction

One limitation of generalizing these 1047297ndings relates to the

representativeness of the sample Only students attending private

schools were included thus the results should not be generalized to

students from low socioeconomic status or attending state-based

Fig 2 Standardized path coef 1047297cients from the Social Cognitive Model of Academic Performance in Mathematics (Lent et al 1994) found in a sample of Argentinean middle school

students Standardized path coef 1047297cients and signi1047297cance level are depicted over each path ( pb

001)

Table 2

Decomposition of total direct and indirect effects of variables from the path analysis

Effect Direct effect Indirect effect Total effect

Logic-Mathematics Self-ef 1047297cacy

Mathematics Ability 40 00 40


Mathematics Ability minus10 11 02

Logic-Mathematics Self-ef 1047297cacy 29 00 29

Performance goals



Outcome Expectations 31 00 31

Mathematics performance




Performance Goals 27 00 27

pb 01 pb 001




institutions Future research should use a more heterogeneous sample

and explicitly assess the socioeconomic status of the students

Another limitation is that the measurement for academic achieve-

ment in mathematics canbe in1047298uenced by the idiosyncratic policies of

each institution or the educational orientation of each instructor Also

we acknowledge that our instrument measures math self-ef 1047297cacy

beliefs at a general rather than at a speci1047297c level The evidence shows

that the predictability of self-ef 1047297cacy measures depends on their

speci1047297

city and correspondence to actual math performance tasks(Bandura 1997) That is predictors and dependent variables must be

compatible in regards with content context temporal orientation and

speci1047297city level (Ajzen 1988) Future studies should aim at creating

new math self-ef 1047297cacy scales that measure this construct at a speci1047297c

level

Themain theoretical contributionof this study is the assessment of

theSCCT performancemodel in a novel cultural and linguistic context

namely middle school students in Argentina Interestingly the study

assessed all SCCT predictors jointly To our knowledge the literature

has yet to show a single large-scale test of the complete performance

model although numerous studies have examined subsets of the

model (eg Brown et al 2008) Thedevelopmental stage in which the

model is tested also deserves attention Early adolescence is a critical

stage for learning (Zimmerman Bonner amp Kovach 1996) character-

ized by a sharp decline in academic performance possibly caused by

the increasing challenges posed by middle school as well as the

inherent psychological and biological changes that occur during this

period

Beyond these theoretical implications the results suggest that the

SCCT could be used as a screening tool to identify students at-risk for

having for example diminished self-ef 1047297cacy in a given academic

domain Educational institutions could use this knowledge to design

experiences speci1047297cally aimed at improving these variables Notably

adolescents usually have limited knowledge about their capabilities

and career options a fact that results in stereotyped and unstable

vocational goals (Lent et al 2004) Therefore the development of

career goals can be halted early in life if the students are exposed to

educational environments that provide limited opportunities for

nurturing appropriate ef 1047297cacy or self-ef 1047297cacy skills and outcomeexpectations The results outlined in the present study could be used

to design interventions aimed at increasing the level of exposure to a

variety of career-relevant tasks and activities These interventions will

help develop task-speci1047297c concepts of self-ef 1047297cacy that in turn will

result in more realistic stable and useful vocational goals

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Bennett GK Seashore HG amp Wesman AG (2000) Differential Aptitude Test(DAT-5)Madrid TEA Ediciones

Brown S D Tramayne S Hoxha D Telander K Fan X amp Lent R W (2008) Socialcognitive predictors of college students academic performance and persistence Ameta-analytic path analysis Journal of Vocational Behavior 72 298minus308

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of 39 between cognitive ability and academic performance This meta-

analysis found support via fully corrected bivariate correlations for each

hypothesized path (28 between self-ef 1047297cacy and cognitive ability 49

between academic self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and academic goals 18 betweenacademic goals andperformanceall pb 05)Recently Brown et al(2008)

provided substantial support for SCCTs model of academic performance

but the correlation between goals and academic performance did not

achieve statistical signi1047297canceTo ourknowledge a large scale assessment

of the complete performance model has yet to be published

Mathematics self-ef 1047297cacy can be operationalized at different

speci1047297city levels (Betz amp Hackett 2006 Lent amp Brown 2006) The

present work de1047297ned this concept as the students belief in his or her

ability to perform math-related tasks Self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs also act in

concert with other common mechanisms of personal agency such as

self-concept beliefs (Pajares amp Graham 1999) Self-concept is usually

measured at a broader level of speci1047297city and includes the evaluation of

a given competence and the feelings of self-worth associated with that

skill Self-concept differs from self-ef 1047297cacy in that it is a context-speci1047297cassessment of thecompetence to perform a speci1047297ctask(Pajares 1996)

Self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs represent an important bridge between educa-

tional and vocational psychology (Betz amp Hackett 2006) The area of

mathematics hasbeen thefocus of substantial research (Pajaresamp Schunk

2001) Mathematics knowledge and scores are usually decisive for level

placement and admission to college and have been usually considered a

critical barrier for high school students aiming at scienti1047297c and technical

careers (Sells 1980) Most empirical research on the SCCT has focused on

the 1047297eld of science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM)

STEM-relatedself-ef 1047297cacy explains a substantial amountof thevariancein

STEM goals interests choices and performance (Ferry Fouad amp Smith

2000 OBrien Martinez-Pons amp Kopala 1999) Social cognitive research

has also mainly focused on high school (eg Lopez Lent Brown amp Gore

1997 OBrien et al 1999) or college students (eg Ferry et al 2000Lentet al 2001) Only a few studies assessed the utility of SCCT to measure

math and science goal intentions of an ethnically diverse group of middle

school students (eg Fouad amp Smith 1996 Navarro Flores amp Worthing-

ton 2007) Moreover US college students have been the subjects in the

vast majority of SCCT studies Still unknown however is how well the

SCCT generalizes to the educational and career development of younger

(or older) persons from diverse national contexts and across different

domains of academic and career activity (eg Lent Brown Nota amp Soresi

2003)

Lent et al (1994) focused their research on late adolescence and

early adulthood developmental periods likely to involve exploration

and implementation of career choices Previous research however

found that it is during middle school when students begin to acquire

academic abilitiesand take decisions that will have a strongimpact on

later academic outcomes (eg Fouad amp Smith 1996 Turner amp Lapan

2005) It is thus important to understand how social cognitive

mechanisms in1047298uence the development of performance in middle

school studentsThe present study executed a global comprehensive assessment of

the SCCT model in the domain of mathematics in a sample of

Argentinean middle school students According to the Argentine

Program for InternationalStudent Assessment academic mathematics

performance in this population has been very disappointing ( Organi-

zation for Economic Cooperation and Development 2001) Therefore

the present study also sought to provide information relevant to

increase academic success in this population

Consistent with the SCCTs basic academic performance hypotheses

(Lent et al 1994) we predicted that (i) mathematics abilities will be

signi1047297cantly and positively related to academic performance in

mathematics (hypothesis 1 H1) (ii) logicalndashmathematical self-ef 1047297cacy

beliefs will partially mediate the relationship between mathematics

abilities and academic performance in mathematics (H2) (iii) mathe-matics outcome expectations will fully mediate the relationship

between mathematics abilities and academic performance in mathe-

matics (H3) (iv) self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs will be signi1047297cantly and positively

related to academic performance in mathematics (H4) (v) performance

goals in mathematics will partially mediate the relationship between

logical and mathematical self-ef 1047297cacy beliefs and academic perfor-

mance in mathematics (H5) (vi) performance goalsin mathematicswill

fully mediate the relationship between math outcome expectations and

academic performance in mathematics (H6) and (vii) performance

goals in mathematics will be signi1047297cantly and positively related to

academic performance in mathematics (H7)

2 Methods

21 Participants

Two-hundred seventy-seven 8th (458) and 9th (534) graders

participated in the study (175 boys and 102 girls M age=1374plusmn

67 years) Students were enrolled in private educational institutions

in Cordoba Argentina thus representing a socioeconomic microcosm

of the larger society and belonging to families of skilled workers

large-production farmers professionals and local merchants

22 Instruments

221 Mathematics outcome expectations

The Mathematics Outcome Expectations Scale (MOES Cupani in

press) is a modi1047297ed version of the MathematicsScience Outcome

Fig 1 Social Cognitive Career Theory Performance Model Model of task performance highlighting the role of ability self-ef 1047297cacy outcomes expectations and performance goals

(adapted from Lent et al 1994)
















































23 Procedure












3 Results










amp Mallery 2001)





32 Path analysis










Table 1









pb 05 pb 01



























(H7 β =27 p =01)
























4 Discussion































001)

Table 2








Performance goals









pb 01 pb 001












speci1047297





level













period
















References

























































































23 Procedure












3 Results










amp Mallery 2001)





32 Path analysis










Table 1









pb 05 pb 01



























(H7 β =27 p =01)
























4 Discussion































001)

Table 2








Performance goals









pb 01 pb 001












speci1047297





level













period
















References





























































(H7 β =27 p =01)
























4 Discussion































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Table 2








Performance goals









pb 01 pb 001












speci1047297





level













period
















References





















































speci1047297





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References











































Evaluación de modelo social cognitivo

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