Control-value appraisals predicting students’ boredom in accounting classes: a continuous-state-sampling approach

Abstract

Background: Boredom is a prevalent experience in school. Findings indicate that students are bored in a notable amount of instructional time with negative consequences for learning outcomes. The control-value theory considers control and value appraisals to be important antecedents of boredom. Methods: In our study with 95 commercial school ninth graders, we investigated control-value appraisals and students’ boredom over 2 curricular weeks in the subject accounting by means of an experience sampling procedure with equally spaced measurement intervals called Continuous-State-Sampling. The CSSM data design generates a hierarchical data structure. Variability of students’ boredom can be segmented into three components: between times within lessons, between lessons within students and between students. We use multilevel models to address our research questions. Results: We found negative associations for control and value appraisals in predicting boredom over time. In addition, the value appraisal moderates the relation between subjective control and boredom: Interested students get bored when lacking time to reflect on subject matter. Our results further revealed that control and value only interact when being conceptualised as state constructs close to the situation. Conclusions: The results show that students’ in situ-experiences of boredom are related to personal and situational factors as well as their dynamic interplay.