The role of Self Determination Theory and positive classroom experiences in students' mathematics outcomes

Many secondary school students hold negative attitudes toward math. This can impact later achievement, attitudes, and decisions about math, including whether to pursue a STEM undergraduate degree or career. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) suggests that students who experience the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are more likely to maintain positive attitudes toward learning, have higher achievement, and demonstrate better overall wellbeing. There is also evidence that emotionally relevant experiences can significantly impact later outcomes, especially in academic contexts. The present study examines the relationship between undergraduate students' previous experiences in secondary school math classes and their current math anxiety, ability, and choice of major. Students whose descriptions of prior math experiences contained more instances of autonomy, competence, and relatedness rated their experiences more positively and reported a higher level of classroom autonomy support. Moreover, students with more positive memories of math from secondary school tended to have lower math anxiety as undergraduate students, with students enrolled in STEM majors reporting significantly more positive secondary school math experiences relative to students enrolled in non-STEM majors. The results provide evidence of an association between positive, supportive secondary school math experiences and undergraduate STEM outcomes.