Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List

Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until May 05, 2026

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Motivational Costs and Teacher-Student Relationships: An Intensive Longitudinal Analysis of Patterns of Change and Dynamic Relations in High School English

Allen (Kurstak), Elise C
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6465-9531
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu171292525010376

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
Students’ cost perceptions represent a negative aspect of motivation that may undermine academic success. To date, little is known about how costs change over time in high school, and how they might dynamically relate to other important contextual factors in learning environments. Thus, it is important to examine these patterns of change and factors that may limit the negative effects of cost perceptions, such as teacher-student relationships. There is a robust literature on teacher-student relationships; however, there is considerably less research on these relationships during high school despite their potential benefits. These relationships have also rarely been examined at a fine-grain level that can identify how they develop over shorter timeframes. Finally, the demographic predictors of these relationships have been understudied within high school settings. To address these gaps in the literature, this study examined (a) patterns of change for four dimensions of cost (task effort, outside effort, loss of valued alternatives, and emotional) and two dimensions of teacher-student relationships (teacher-positivity and teacher-negativity), (b) dynamic relations between these cost dimensions and students’ positive and negative conceptualizations of their relationships with their teachers in English Language Arts, and (c) gender identity and socioeconomic status (SES) as predictors of the initial values of these constructs. I recruited ninth grade students (N = 189) in their English I course in a large suburban school district and administered nine weekly surveys during one academic quarter to investigate these research questions. Results from univariate and bivariate latent change score model analyses indicated several noteworthy findings. First, students’ cost perceptions were higher at the outset of the academic term and declined over time, with the exception of loss of valued alternatives cost. Second, a decreasing trend was also found for both subscales for teacher-student relationships. Third, effort and emotional costs were found to limit subsequent increases in students’ ratings of their teacher-student relationships, such that higher costs at one timepoint led to decreases in reported relationship quality. Conversely, students’ positive conceptualizations of their relationships with their teacher were found to limit subsequent increases in task effort costs. Or, higher ratings of one’s relationship positivity led to decreases in reported task effort cost as the term progressed. Finally, students’ SES related to students’ teacher-student relationships such that students from lower SES backgrounds reported more positive relationships, initially. The current study provides detailed information on the trajectories of students’ cost perceptions and teacher-student relationships early in high school and has several important implications. Although prior research has shown that teacher-student relationship quality tends to decrease as students advance in school, this work indicates that these declines can occur over much shorter time frames. Results also suggest that classroom teachers may have an opportunity to leverage early term positivity within their teacher-student relationships to lower students’ initially higher cost perceptions. Importantly, teachers may be able to reduce perceptions of task effort cost throughout the academic term by providing consistent support to students and ensuring that all students are experiencing high quality teacher-student relationships over time.
Shirley Yu (Committee Chair)
Christoper Wolters (Committee Member)
Patrick Beymer (Committee Member)
Eric Anderman (Committee Member)
227 p.
Educational Psychology
Expectancy-value theory; cost perceptions; teacher-student relationships; diary data; high school

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Allen (Kurstak), E. C. (2024). Motivational Costs and Teacher-Student Relationships: An Intensive Longitudinal Analysis of Patterns of Change and Dynamic Relations in High School English [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu171292525010376

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Allen (Kurstak), Elise. Motivational Costs and Teacher-Student Relationships: An Intensive Longitudinal Analysis of Patterns of Change and Dynamic Relations in High School English. 2024. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu171292525010376.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Allen (Kurstak), Elise. "Motivational Costs and Teacher-Student Relationships: An Intensive Longitudinal Analysis of Patterns of Change and Dynamic Relations in High School English." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu171292525010376

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu171292525010376
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.