New Evidence of Changes in Students’ Achievement Motivation in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In an article published early in 2021, we shared results indicating that expectancy (i.e., competence beliefs) and value (i.e., interest in learning, utility value, mastery and performance goals) perceptions among a sample of 90 French Canadian students (Mage = 14.81) in grades 9 and 10 remained at similar levels from few weeks before the first wave (January 2020) to the second wave (November 2020) of the COVID-19 pandemic. One perception (i.e., interest) even improved, suggesting that, after experiencing a confinement, students re-approached in-class activities with enthusiasm. To determine if this pattern of results remained the same as the pandemic persisted, an additional measurement has been performed during the third wave. Analysis with this additional data point revealed that interest, utility value and mastery goals ended up declining. These new data suggest that, ultimately, this pandemic has negative effects on students’ motivation, even if they keep benefiting from in-class activities.