ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. STEM Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1611869
This article is part of the Research TopicRural STEMM Education Research: Bridging between Uniqueness and UniversalityView all 13 articles
Motivation in Rural Math Education Within General and Special Education Settings
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, United States
- 2University of South Carolina, Columbia, Missouri, United States
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This study examines how motivational processes in STEM education differ for rural students with and without Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) using Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT). Analyzing data from 1,957 rural high school students (444 with IEPs) in the HSLS:09 dataset, we established measurement invariance for four SEVT constructs—intrinsic value, utility value, expectancies for success, and teacher perceptions—confirming their equivalent measurement across groups. Results revealed students with IEPs reported slightly higher expectancies for success (β = 0.145, p < .05) but showed no differences in other motivational factors compared to peers without IEPs. Structural analyses demonstrated intrinsic value significantly predicted math effort (β = 0.219) and STEM aspirations (OR = 1.45) only for students without IEPs, while no motivational constructs predicted outcomes for IEP students despite their stronger baseline expectancies. Indirect effects with teacher perceptions were significant for both groups, suggesting educators play a crucial role in shaping motivation. These findings challenge assumptions about motivation deficits in special education populations while highlighting the need for differentiated interventions that address the unique barriers preventing rural students with IEPs from translating motivation into STEM engagement. The study advances theoretical understanding of STEM motivation in underrepresented populations and provides practical recommendations for creating inclusive rural STEM programs that leverage community strengths while meeting diverse learner needs.Keywords: STEM motivation, rural education, students with disabilities, Situated Expectancy-Value Theory, measurement invariance
Keywords: Stem motivation, Rural education, Students with Disabilities, situated expectancy-value theory, Measurement invariance
Received: 15 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jackson, Starrett and Bottoms. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Haidee A. Jackson, University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, United States
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