The ubiquity of formal education in modern nations is often accompanied by an assumption that students' motivation for learning is innate and self-sustaining. The latter is true for most children in domains (e.g., language) that are universal and have a deep evolutionary history, but this does not extend to learning in evolutionarily novel domains…

Studies on utility value, metacognitive strategies, and achievement have usually examined these variables in a static manner. However, each of these variables changes across time and the relationships among them are dynamic. Hence, studies that examine changes in individual trajectories (change in each variable over time) and concurrent…

This study allows for the examination of associations between components of the home mathematics environment -- including parents' formal numeracy practices, math attitudes, and numeracy expectations -- and children's development of math problem solving skills following the transition into formal school. Sixty-six children from three schools in…