UC Santa Cruz

The situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT) of motivation posits that children’s ability beliefs and task value about science can influence their later science-related choices and achievements. Additionally, SEVT posits that parents can affect the development of children’s motivational beliefs through gender-stereotyped attitudes and support provided to their children. In the present research, I investigated students’ participation in science fairs as a site for understanding if and how parents’ gender-differentiated attitudes and support may predict gender variations in science motivation. Although science fair participation may help to foster science motivation, these may be spaces where parents privilege boys more than girls. Additionally, the domain of the science project—either engineering/physical science or life/behavioral science—was tested as a potential moderator given gender gaps are greater in the former than the latter. The sample included 65 children (ngirls=38) ranging in age from 4th – 11th grade, and 57 parents. Findings indicated that parents perceived their sons as more capable in science than daughters, and offered more science encouragement to boys than girls who were participating in the life science domain. Otherwise, there were no gender or science domain differences in children’s science motivational beliefs or parents’ support. Significant associations were discovered primarily between parents’ attitudes, support, and children’s science ability beliefs (with only one significant link to science task value beliefs). Parents’ beliefs about their children’s science interest predicted children’s beliefs about their science abilities. Additionally, children’s science ability beliefs were positively associated with parents’ science encouragement and negatively associated with parents’ help with science fair projects. These results suggest that parental encouragement to participate in the science fair may foster children’s science ability beliefs, whereas high amounts of instrumental support may undermine their ability beliefs. Alternatively, parents in the science fair context may be especially attuned to children’s abilities, and respond with more help when children hold lower abilities. I propose that future research should investigate how student grade-level, race/ethnicity, and family background may moderate gender-differentiated socialization of science motivation. I also suggest how my research may inform programmatic choices by science fairs to improve the experiences of participants from diverse backgrounds.