How values relate to student achievement in upper secondary education: Integrating interdisciplinary perspectives on value beliefs in the school context

Educational research often refers to the subjective values assigned to aspects of education. Theoretical frameworks from the related disciplines of psychology and sociology applied to the context of education aim to better describe why some students are more motivated in school than others to understand differences in academic outcomes. In the current study, we followed an interdisciplinary approach that aimed to integrate psychological views regarding domain-specific value beliefs (i.e., intrinsic, attainment, utility, cost) and sociological views regarding domain-general values of education (i.e., stimulation, comfort, status, behavioral confirmation) and to investigate how they relate to academic success in upper secondary education. In a sample of 3,775 upper secondary school students in Germany, we found evidence that combining the two perspectives had incremental effects when predicting domain-specific achievement and GPA. We discuss how integrating interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives could foster communication between scientific disciplines and benefit future research in the field of motivation.