Social studies education plays an important role in the democratic mission of schools because of its focus on knowledge, skills and values that allow students to take active part in democratic and political processes. For education to be successful, learners must put in an appropriate amount of effort. Student effort has been identified as a predictor of academic accomplishments (Cole, Bergin, & Whittaker, 2008; Greene et al., 2012; Wentzel et al., 2017). It can be seen as an expression of students’ motivation, and therefore it relates to the way teachers make meaningful connections between content, activities and students’ lifeworlds. However, research has shown that students’ competence beliefs and motivation often decline in secondary education (Eccles & Roeser, 2009; Schunk & Mullen, 2012). It is thus important to identify what schools and social studies teachers can do to engage their students and create productive learning environments in which students’ efforts lead to positive results. 

Several studies have demonstrated the role of citizenship education relating to students’ knowledge and engagement (e.g., Kahne & Sporte, 2008; Keating & Janmaat, 2015;). Moreover, Mathé & Elstad (2018) found that students perceived social studies as valuable in terms of preparing them for citizenship and students’ enjoyment in social studies and the teacher’s instructional contribution were the two factors that were most strongly associated with their perceptions of citizenship preparation. Another strand of research has investigated instructional practices in social studies education, often through qualitative methods (e.g., Hess & McAvoy, 2015; Journell, Beeson, & Ayers, 2015; Sandahl, 2015). Few studies, however, have focused on students’ efforts in the school subject of social studies. Our research question is: What are the antecedents of students' effort in social studies?

Studies of students’ engagement and effort have found that several factors influence student effort. Commonly investigated factors include teachers’ social/emotional and academic support, gender, and students’ academic self-efficacy and motivation (Allen et al., 2015; Fan, 2011; Greene et al., 2004; Skinner & Belmont, 1993; Timmers et al., 2013; Wentzel et al., 2017).

The basic educational model is that teachers aim to influence students’ academic work by explaining the subject content and facilitating classroom activities (Hopmann, 2007). It also implies that teachers effectively communicate their academic expectations to students. Such expectations can be generic (pushing students to work hard) and subject-specific (expecting students to pay attention to current societal and political events). Further, being able to demonstrate academic development in school requires some effort on the part of learners and student effort can be viewed as an indirect measure of motivational beliefs (Timmers, Braber-Van Den Broek, & Van Den Berg, 2013). Bandura (1977) assumed that people’s motivation to act, effort and persistent use of coping mechanisms were characteristics strongly influenced by belief in one’s abilities. He introduced the concept of self-efficacy as an assessment of a person’s capability to accomplish a desired level of performance in a given endeavour.

Within the subject of social studies, a common purpose is to prepare students for citizenship, for example in terms of democratic and political participation. Christensen’s (2015) model of knowledge domains in social studies illustrates this by showing how social studies draws on four interrelated domains: Societal processes and institutions and topical issues; social science disciplines; students’ lifeworld, and; democratic values. The balance between these domains is key to ensure instruction that builds on social science, is relevant to current society, relates to students’ situation as young citizens, and incorporates democratic values. In short, in addition to contributing to students’ knowledge, social studies should facilitate students to cultivate interest and participate in society (Keating & Janmaat, 2015).

This study draws on quantitative survey data from 264 Norwegian students aged 16 to 17 in the final year of mandatory social studies. Based on the literature outlined above, we drafted the following hypotheses: 1: Students’ perceptions of the citizenship preparation of social studies are associated with student effort. 2: Students’ perceived efficacy in social studies is associated with student effort. 3: Students’ perceptions of academic pressure in social studies are associated with student effort. 4: Female students’ higher academic self-discipline leads them to put more effort into their social studies work than male students. Data were collected through a 111-item paper-and-pencil questionnaire distributed in person by one of the authors and a research assistant at 11 upper secondary schools in Eastern Norway. The schools represented in the sample were located in both urban and rural areas in three different municipal counties, and the schools reported having students of mixed to high socio-economic status. The variables are indices based on 3–6 items developed based on the theoretical and empirical research described above. All the measures included in this study were scored on a 7-point Likert scale on which 4 was a neutral value. The variables are as follows: Student effort; Citizenship preparation (CP); Self-efficacy (SE); Academic pressure (AP); Gender. The items concerning student effort in social studies were found to account for 59,41% of the variance, the items concerning SE accounted for 75,2%, the items concerning CP accounted for 60,1% and the items concerning AP accounted for 53,71%. First, descriptive item statistics were examined using the SPSS and the dimensionalities were cross-checked using exploratory factor analysis. Second, we conducted multiple regression to analyse the relationships between the variables. Assessment of the regression models is based on the adjusted R2 ( R2 =0.350). The Cronbach’s α values were quite satisfying. We make no claims regarding generalisability or causality. We ensured compliance with the ethical standards required by the National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (2016). First, the study’s participants were fully informed of the project’s aims and scope. Second, informed consent was obtained from each participant. The students were informed that they could choose not to answer any question on the questionnaire or withdraw from the study at any time. Third, participants’ confidentiality were assured since no personal or identifiable information was collected.

The results of the regression analysis show that students’ SE, CPSS, and gender were significantly associated with their self-reported efforts in the subject. AP was not found significant. The fact that AP was not significantly related to student effort might indicate that other factors matter more, such as parents’ expectations or support from peers (Wentzel et al., 2017). In addition, teachers’ expectations and their impact on students are associated with broader social forces that could affect this relationship. We constructed our variable CP to be sensitive to students’ current citizenship opportunities and activities. In light of previous research, one interpretation of the relationship between students’ perceptions of CP and effort might be that students who perceive social studies to be relevant and valuable are more likely to enjoy working with the subject and exert effort to improve their knowledge and skills (Greene, 2004; Timmers et al., 2013). In light of previous research, it is not surprising that students’ SE was associated with their efforts in social studies: mastery experiences are motivational and might make working with a challenging task both more interesting and less daunting (Bandura, 1977; Wentzel et al., 2017). Efficacy and student effort in social studies might also have a reciprocal relationship (Schunk & Mullen, 2012). As the items making up the SE variable include comprehension of concepts in social studies and writing social studies texts, the positive association between efficacy and effort in this study might indicate that these aspects are essential components of social studies SE. While gender was significantly associated with student effort, this association was quite weak. However, being a girl was more strongly related to higher self-reported effort than being a boy. We note that this is in line with some other studies and acknowledge that self-discipline could be a mediating factor here.

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