Motivation and Academic Help-Seeking in High School Computer Science
The primary objective of this study was to determine the degree to which academic motivation predicted the executive help-seeking, instrumental help-seeking, perceived benefits of help-seeking, and avoidance of help-seeking of high school students enrolled in computer science (n = 314). Task goals were positively associated with instrumental help-seeking and perceiving the benefits of help-seeking and negatively associated with executive help-seeking; performance-avoid goals were negatively associated with instrumental help-seeking and positively associated with avoiding help-seeking. Controlling for motivation and computer science competence, girls were more likely to seek instrumental help and to perceive the benefits of help-seeking, and African American students were more likely to seek help than were White students or Asian American students. Despite possessing equal computer science skills, girls reported lower self-efficacy, self-concept, self-efficacy for self-regulation, and value than did boys.