UC Irvine

This study utilized growth curves and change models to understand the impact of student perceptions of teacher caring on the development of math motivation for an ethnically and linguistically diverse sample of adolescents in middle school (N = 1926) and high school (N = 1531). Using an expectancy-value framework, growth curves revealed declining math motivation for both middle school and high school cohorts. However, perceived teacher caring buffered against these declines and was positively associated with math self-efficacy and subjective task values. Change models revealed that perceived teacher caring at the beginning of the school year increased math motivation by the end of the year. The results shed light on the important role that student-teacher relationships play in influencing math motivation during adolescence.