Sociocultural Influences on the Development of Children's Action-Control Beliefs

Abstract

This chapter focuses on children's action-control beliefs and how various facets of the action-control system are shaped and affected by sociocultural contexts. From an action theory viewpoint, the action-control system comprises at least three interconnected belief types. Each belief dimension reflects a link between the three constituents of human action: the agent, various means, and the ends (outcome). Children's perceptions of the action relations among these constituents form three primary belief systems: agency beliefs, means–ends (or causality) beliefs, and control expectancy. Recent comparative investigations using this tripartite action-control framework indicate that some aspects of the relations between children's beliefs and their performance can vary considerably across different sociocultural settings. In the school domain, consistent cross-sample differences have emerged in children's beliefs about their personal access (agency beliefs) to school performance–relevant means (e.g., effort, ability, teachers) and the extent to which they believe they can personally control school performance outcomes (control expectancy). The magnitude of correspondence between these beliefs and actual school performance (school grades) has shown sizable cross-sample differences as well. In contrast to these variable outcomes, important sociocultural commonalities exist in the basic structure of children's belief systems and in their everyday conceptions of what determines school performance (means–ends beliefs). In interpreting such outcomes, I discuss ways in which three general influences (cognitive, motivational, and sociocontextual), as proximal aspects of children's sociocultural environments, can affect the development and expression of children's action-control systems.