Co-Development of Educational Expectations and Effort: Their Antecedents and Role as Predictors of Academic Success

Abstract

This study examined the co-development of educational expectations and effort (conceptualized as indicators of individual agency) during secondary school and assessed their role as predictors of academic success, controlling for prior academic attainment and parental social background. Drawing on data collected for the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), a nationally representative sample, the findings suggest reciprocal effects between expectations and effort, shaped by family SES and prior academic attainment. Agency is not a static construct, it is not fully determined by family SES and students adapt their functioning and choices in response to informative feedback loops.

Funding

The study is supported by the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), as well as Grant Number ES/J019135/1 from the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the Centre for Learning and Life-chances in the Knowledge Economies (LLAKES, Phase II) awarded to Ingrid Schoon. Terry Ng-Knight had been supported by the post-doctoral Fellowship program PATHWAYS to Adulthood, funded by the Jacobs Foundation. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and may not represent the views of the sponsors.

Additional information

Funding

The study is supported by the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (WZB), as well as Grant Number ES/J019135/1 from the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the Centre for Learning and Life-chances in the Knowledge Economies (LLAKES, Phase II) awarded to Ingrid Schoon. Terry Ng-Knight had been supported by the post-doctoral Fellowship program PATHWAYS to Adulthood, funded by the Jacobs Foundation. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and may not represent the views of the sponsors.