Longitudinal relations between expectancy, value, and homework behavior in elementary students

The present study examined the longitudinal interrelationships among homework motivation (expectancy and value) and homework behaviors (effort, time management, and procrastination) in fourth-grade primary school students in Turkey. Data were collected at two time points and analyzed using a cross-lagged panel model. The results revealed strong autoregressive patterns for all constructs, indicating that students’ motivational and behavioral tendencies remained stable over time. In contrast, cross-lagged paths were generally weak. The only significant cross-lagged association indicated that higher levels of homework procrastination at the initial measurement were negatively prospectively associated with subsequent task value, reflecting a temporal association. Expectancy and value did not significantly exhibit associations with later effort, time management, or procrastination, and no reciprocal temporal association emerged between expectancy and value. Time management also showed no significant associations with any variable, indicating the absence of statistically detectable temporal associations within the present sample. Overall, the findings highlight the developmental distinctiveness of motivational processes in childhood and underscore the need for early interventions aimed at sustaining task value and preventing the consolidation of procrastination patterns.