Students' Motivation to Learn Mathematics Predicts their STEM Career Expectations and Mediates the Effects of Gender, Parental Occupations and Math Classroom Environments

Aligned with Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022's focus on math teaching and learning, we analyzed how demographics and classroom factors relate to the motivation to learn mathematics among 16-year-old Israeli students (N = 4,577). The factors included: (1) gender, (2) mother’s occupation, (3) father’s occupation, (4) math classroom disciplinary climate, (5) math teacher support, (6) instructional strategies fostering mathematical reasoning, (7) instructional strategies fostering mathematical thinking, and (8) exposure to tasks focused on math conceptual understanding outside math classrooms. We further examined the relationship between this motivation and students' science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) versus non-STEM career expectations. Path analysis showed that all eight predictors positively related to math motivation, which in turn predicted STEM career expectations. The mediating role of math motivation in linking reasoning/thinking strategies to STEM career expectations highlights the potential of targeted educational interventions to strengthen both math engagement and STEM career interests.