Student Motivational Dynamics

Abstract

Background/Context

Student motivation typically has been studied as it relates to extrinsic (e.g., reinforcement) or intrinsic (e.g., personal choice) sources of influence, with scant attention to sociocultural context. This article builds on a previous article in this special issue that (1) addresses the role of opportunity in the motivation of students in Grades 3–5 who live in poverty and attend schools engaged in Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) and (2) presents the results of survey measures designed to capture student understandings of school. Findings suggested that students differentiate the social (school, teacher, classmates) from the academic (math, reading) domains of school. This article explores individual differences in students’ global understandings of, and dispositions toward, school.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine if and how students in Grades 3–5 who live in poverty and attend schools engaged in CSR differ in their understandings of, and dispositions toward, school.

Research Design

Students in Grades 3–5 who live in poverty and attend schools engaged in CSR completed the “The thing about my school is…” measure. Study 1 involved 464 students in spring 2004, Study 2 involved 328 students in fall 2004, and in Study 3, a subgroup of 101 participants was tracked from one school year to the next.

Conclusions/Recommendations

Exploratory factor analyses revealed individual differences in student dispositions toward school that refined global reports in ways that may prove amenable to motivational interventions. Findings suggest that the central motivational process for these students resides in a need for interpersonal validation in which achievement and affiliation concerns are mediated by participation-isolation tensions. These patterns also suggest the role of adaptation in motivation; participation and validation are central motivational processes for students in Grades 3–5 who cope with the challenges of poverty and mobility and who attend schools engaged in comprehensive reform.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bozack

A. R.

, Vega

, McCaslin

, and Good

T. L.

(2008). Teacher support of student autonomy in Comprehensive School Reform classrooms. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

Burross

H. L.

(2008). Change and continuity in Grades 3–5: Effects of poverty and grade on standardized test scores. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

Dolan

A. L.

, and McCaslin

(2008). Student perceptions of teacher support. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

Eccles

(2005). Subjective task value and the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices. In Elliot

A.J.

, and Dweck

C.S.

(Eds.). Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 105—121). New York: Guilford Press.

Florez

I. R.

, and McCaslin

(2008). Student perceptions of small group learning. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

Good

T. L.

(2008). In the midst of Comprehensive School Reform: Principals’ perspectives. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

Hofer

B. K.

, and Pintrich

P. R.

(2002). Personal Epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

McCaslin

(2008). Learning motivation: The role of opportunity. Teachers College Record, 110(11).

McClelland

D. C.

(1987). Human motivation. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

10.

Olson

A. M.

, and McCaslin

(in press). Students as social beings. In and and Good

(Ed.), 21st century education: A reference handbook. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

11.

Schultheiss

O. C.

, and Brunstein

J. C.

(2005). An implicit motive perspective on competence. In Elliot

A.J.

, and Dweck

C.S.

(Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 31—51). New York: Guilford Press.

12.

Schutz

P. A.

, and Lanehart

S. L.

(2002). Introduction: Emotions in education. Educational Psychologist, 37, 67—68.

13.

Wiley

C. R. H.

, Good

T. L.

, and McCaslin

(2008). Comprehensive School Reform instructional practices throughout a school year: The role of subject matter, grade level, and time of year. Teachers College Record, 110(11).