The instruments used in the present study were developed and administered in Norwegian.
The examples of items represent translations into English. The response
categories for all items except grades were given on a 6-point scale ranging from
“Absolutely disagree” (1) to “Absolutely agree” (6).
Students’ perceptions of instrumental support were measured by a seven-item scale
that was developed for the purpose of the present study. The scale focused on the
students’ perceived instrumental support from their math teacher. Examples of items
are: “When there is something I do not understand in mathematics lessons, my math
teacher explains it well forme”, “When I have problemswith math, I get good help and
guidance from my math teacher” and, “My math teacher helps me so that I understand
the math problems”. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was .95.
Utility value was conceptualized as the individual students’ perceptions of the
usefulness of mathematics in general and in relation to their future goals. It was
measured by five items. Examples of the items are: “Mathematics is important for
my future education”, “Mathematics gives me important knowledge”, and “Everyone
needs to know mathematics”. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was .83.
Cost was measured by three items developed for the purpose of the present study.
Cost was conceptualized as the individual students’ feelings of embarrassment and
exhaustionwhenworkingwith mathematics. The items were: “I feel dumbwhen Iwork
with mathematics”, “I get a headache when I work with mathematics”, and “Working
with mathematics makes me feel exhausted”. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was .81.
Intrinsic value was defined as the interest in working with and pleasure with mathematics,
and it was measured by a six-item scale. Examples of items are: “I like
mathematics” and “Working with mathematics is fun”. The scale had a Cronbach’s
alpha of 0.93.
Effort was conceptualized as the individual students’ feelings of working hard,
doing their homework, and putting in their best effort. Effort was measured by three
items representing amodified version of a previously used scale (Skaalvik and Skaalvik
2013). The items were: “I always do my best when I am working with mathematics”,
“I always do my homework in mathematics”, and “I often rush through my work in
mathematics”. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was .77.
The students’ level of achievement in mathematics was indicated by their grades
the previous semester. Grades in Norwegian schools are given on a six-point scale
ranging from 1–6, where the latter indicate the highest possible grade.