Preservice teachers’ mathematics-related values and expectancy in the transition from school to university

Many preservice mathematics teachers lose their motivation during their first year at university. This phenomenon has been repeatedly described in recent years but is not yet fully under­stood. Since motivation may relate to different objects such as mathematics or teaching, we aim to qualitatively reconstruct different facets of the central motivational constructs of Situated-Expectancy-Value theory (intrinsic value, attainment value, utility value, cost, and expectancy of success) for preservice mathematics teachers. The analysis of longitudinal group interviews of 14 pre­service higher-secondary mathematic teachers from a German university revealed different objects of motivation (e.g., teaching mathematics, scientific mathematics, procedural mathematics, or proof-based mathematics) in preservice teachers' values and expectancy of success. Furthermore, relations between those values and expectancy of success were identified that played a significant role in preservice teachers’ motivational development over their first semester (e.g., relations of attain­ment value for scientific mathematics and psychological cost). Theoretical and practical implications towards a teaching-specific conceptualization of expectancy of success and values and value interventions are being discussed.