Primary school children follow four distinct trajectories of change in math self-efficacy over a school year: high stable, low stable, increasing, and decreasing¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2031: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Growth mixture modeling identified four qualitatively distinct math self-efficacy change trajectories, with most children (83.7%) in a high and stable trajectory and small subgroups showing low stable (8.5%), decreasing (4.2%), or increasing (3.6%) patterns. → Peura 2026

Evidence¶

Peura 2026¶

Peura, P., Koponen, T., Aro, T., Viholainen, H., & Aro, M. (2026). Dynamics of change in math self-efficacy, sources of self-efficacy, and math skills. Journal of Educational Psychology, 118(2), 209-223. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0001006

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Growth mixture modeling of math self-efficacy across three time points in 1,032 children in grades 2–4 selected the four-trajectory solution based on fit indices, entropy, and interpretability. The printed proportions were High Stable 83.7%, Low Stable 8.5%, Decreasing 4.2%, and Increasing 3.6%.

"Most children belonged to the profile with initially high and over the year rather stable math SE (High Stable SE, 83.7%). In contrast, the Decreasing SE profile (4.2%) was characterized by initially high math SE but decreasing SE over the year."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Declining math self-efficacy is characterized by decreasing mastery experiences and increasing negative emotional and physiological arousal — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Math self-efficacy trajectories differ in initial math skills and rate of math skill development — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Increasing math self-efficacy co-occurs with increasing verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and mastery experiences and decreasing negative arousal — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Girls are overrepresented in the low-and-stable math self-efficacy trajectory — a narrower finding that bears on this claim