SELF-EFFICACY, ATTRIBUTION, AND OUTCOME EXPECTANCY MECHANISMS IN READING AND WRITING ACHIEVEMENT - GRADE-LEVEL AND ACHIEVEMENT-LEVEL DIFFERENCES

This study examined grade- and achievement-level differences in 4th-, 7th-, and 10th-grade students' control-related beliefs and relations b etween students' beliefs and their reading and writing achievement. MA NOVA results indicated grade- and achievement-level differences in sel f-efficacy, causal attribution, and outcome expectancy beliefs but no interaction between grade and achievement level. Canonical correlation s identified a single dimension linking students' beliefs to achieveme nt in both reading and writing. Quadratic relations to achievement wer e found for outcome expectancy and intelligence attributions. As grade increased, beliefs for reading were more highly related to comprehens ion. skill relative to component skills, whereas beliefs for writing w ere more highly related to component skills relative to communication skills. At all achievement levels, a similar pattern of beliefs was re lated to achievement.