Science Education International, cilt.27, sa.4, ss.509-529, 2016 (Hakemli Dergi)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of the
motivational beliefs (self-efficacy and task-value) and cognitive engagement to
seventh grade students’ science achievement. For the specified purpose, crosssectional correlational research design was used. The data were gathered from the
seventh grade students of public middle schools by means of three data collection
instruments namely, Background Characteristics Survey (BCS), Motivation and
Cognitive Engagement Scale (MCES) and Science Achievement Test for 7th
Grade (SAT). The MCES is a self-report instrument including the selected items
from the Science Learning Inventory (SLI- Part A) and from Turkish Version of
Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) in order to measure
students’ motivational beliefs (self-efficacy and task-value) and the level of their
cognitive engagement. A total of 861 seventh grade students (398 girls and 456
boys) participated in the study. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was used to
analyze the data. Results revealed that motivational beliefs (i.e. self-efficacy and
task value) positively and significantly contributed to the prediction of students’
science achievement and the self-efficacy appeared as the best predictor of the
science achievement. Cognitive engagement failed to significantly predict
students’ science achievement. Finally, bivariate relations among independent
variables (self-efficacy, task-value and cognitive engagement) were examined
through simple correlation analyses. The result indicated positive and significant
correlations among self-efficacy, task-value and cognitive engagement variables.