Achievement motivation and gifted students: A social cognitive perspective

The purpose of this article is to provide an illustrative review of recent research on achievement motivation and gifted students from a social cognitive perspective. The review discusses several constructs that have been a focus of motivation research: perceived competence and self-efficacy, attributions, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation. For each construct, motivational research from the general motivation literature and from the field of gifted and talented studies are critiqued and compared. The review suggests that a general social cognitive perspective is a useful theoretical framework for research on motivational processes involved in the intellectual and personal development of gifted and talented students and that a process-oriented model is superior to a static model for research on both giftedness and achievement motivation. Implications of the review for future research on motivation and talent development are discussed.     

Shifting the focus from motivated learners to motivating distributed environments: a review of 40 years of published motivation research in Distance Education

ABSTRACT

This article reviews motivation research published in Distance Education since 1980, highlighting the major foci of investigation and reflecting on past findings. A major trend was that past research has focused predominantly on learners’ motivational attributes using sociocognitive models of motivation. We therefore have developed a good understanding of motivating variables such as self-efficacy and their power in engaging learners. However, this can be problematic because sociocognitive research situates motivation within an individualistic paradigm with limited attention given to examining whether learning supports and instructional designs in open and distance learning mediate and motivate learning engagement. Building on the review, this article seeks to shift the research attention from whether learners are motivated to crafting an open and distance learning system that is motivating and engaging by tapping into multiple motivation sources available beyond the confines of an individualistic frame.     

国外教师动机理论及研究

教师动机与教师教学行为、专业发展,与学生对教学感知及学业表现密切相关。本文在对教师领域主要的三种动机理论及相关研究的介绍基础上,概述了这些理论的联系和区别,最后指出了这些理论和研究对我国的启示。     

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions

Intrinsic and extrinsic types of motivation have been widely studied, and the distinction between them has shed important light on both developmental and educational practices. In this review we revisit the classic definitions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in light of contemporary research and theory. Intrinsic motivation remains an important construct, reflecting the natural human propensity to learn and assimilate. However, extrinsic motivation is argued to vary considerably in its relative autonomy and thus can either reflect external control or true self-regulation. The relations of both classes of motives to basic human needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are discussed. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

A Pedagogical Understanding of the Self-Determination Theory in Physical Education

Learner motivation is considered an important premise for learning achievement. One of the theories used to explain learner motivation in physical education is the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Different from others, SDT acknowledges the controlling nature of institutionalized education and builds its application around externally imposed regulatory mechanisms to enhance learner motivation. In this article, we review research findings on SDT in physical education and reason for the use of externally regulated motivation approaches as a primary strategy in physical education. We frame our arguments in the constructivist learning theories and argue that using external regulation mechanisms to maximize learner motivation is not inconsistent with the constructivist learning theories. Our pedagogical understanding about satisfying the basic human needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy leads us to believe that the priority should be placed on competence development with relatedness as a pedagogical platform for competence development in physical education.     

A Review of Self-Report and Alternative Approaches in the Measurement of Student Motivation

Within psychological and educational research, self-report methodology dominates the study of student motivation. The present review argues that the scope of motivation research can be expanded by incorporating a wider range of methodologies and measurement tools. Several authors have suggested that current study of motivation is overly reliant on self-report measures, warranting a move toward alternative approaches. This review critiques self-report methodology as a basis for examining alternative conceptualizations of motivation (e.g., phenomenological, neuropsychological/physiological, and behavioral) and related measurement tools. Future directions in motivational methodology are addressed, including attempts at integration or combination of these approaches and a preliminary functional framework for the development of novel, multidimensional approaches to the study of motivation.     

The Role of Parents in Adolescents’ Reading Motivation and Activity

Parent support for reading is one of the many elements that may play a role in the development and sustainment of children’s reading motivation; to date, however, research has focused much more on the role that parents play in their preschool and primary-grade children’s reading than in their older children’s reading. Thus, this paper examines the findings and methodology of empirical studies concerning the ways and extent to which parent support for reading relates to the reading motivations and habits of students in the fourth through 12th grades. The review includes discussion of extant quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies, theoretical models from the reading domain applicable to the socialization of reading practices, and extensive recommendations for future research. The dual purpose of this review is to present a sketch of the role of parents’ in adolescents’ reading motivation based on extant work and to encourage research that will help develop this sketch into a fuller portrait.     

Testing and Motivation for Learning

This paper presents the procedures and findings of a systematic review of research on the impact of testing on students' motivation for learning. The review was undertaken to provide evidence in relation to claims that, on the one hand, testing raises standards and, on the other, that testing, particularly in high stakes contexts, has a negative impact on motivation for learning that militates against preparation for lifelong learning. Motivation is considered as a complex concept, closely aligned with 'the will to learn', and encompassing self-esteem, self-efficacy, effort, self-regulation, locus of control and goal orientation. The paper describes the systematic methodology of the review and sets out the evidence base for the findings, which serve to substantiate the concern about the impact of summative assessment on motivation for learning. Implications for policy and practice are drawn from the findings.     

Applications of Achievement Goal Theory to Physical Education: Implications for Enhancing Motivation

Given the widespread concern regarding the motivation of students, the paucity of research in education on motivation enhancement is surprising (Arnes, 1992a; Maehr & Midgley, 1991). Recent research from an achievement goal perspective, however, has begun to address this issue. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the basic tenets of achievement goal theory and to analyze the research that has been conducted in physical education that focuses extensively on instructional practices and strategies that may improve the quality of school-age children's motivation. The paper will conclude by commenting on the potential utility of adopting an achievement goal approach to understanding and enhancing motivation in the physical education context.     

论高等职业教育行业英语课程设置的理据

高职行业英语课程是伴随着国内高职教育内涵建设工程实施而兴起的特色新概念,已成为高职院校英语课程教学改革的热点,热潮背后的问题迫使人们再度追问和全面审视其开设的理据。高职课程类型与教育类型的关系是其存在的逻辑前提,高职英语课程教学目标的多元性和学生职业生涯发展的特定英语需求是其存在的根本原因,行业英语课程赖以生存的土壤、课程本身的比较优势以及相关大型实证调查反馈的现实诉求等因素是其存在的必要条件,系列要素为高职行业英语课程的设置提供了系统理据。     

国内外黑色旅游研究综述

黑色旅游作为近年学界研究的新兴领域,其实践已先于理论,正在灾区火热开展。文章通过对黑色旅游研究文章的梳理,发现国外关于黑色旅游研究主要集中在其概念及分类、旅游者的行为动机、旅游开发方式与开发黑色旅游的影响等四方面;而国内关于黑色旅游的研究则主要集中在黑色旅游开发、旅游者动机与利益相关者、黑色旅游资源分类、黑色旅游影响及其伦理道德问题等四方面,文章分别对国内外研究进行了主题总结。     

附条件法律行为中的“条件”及其规制

在在法律行为中,动机一般不是行为构成要素,通常也不能在法律层面对其予以规范和调整。但附条件法律行为则是将行为人的动机附加于法律行为之中,从而使动机受到法律的规范与调整。然而,法律如何对其规范与调整,在我国目前的立法中无明确条文规定,在学术研究中同样未受到应有的注意。本文通过对附条件法律行为中“条件”的梳理与检视,以期为立法层面上对附条件法律行为的规制提供建议。     

(蒙)元民族政策百年研究综述

文章就晚清以来特别是改革开放以来,(蒙)元民族政策的研究状况做了一个简单的回顾,可以说研究取得了很大的成就,硕果累累。同时指出,要想使这一领域的研究不断进步,更上一层楼,还有不少工作需要我们去做。     

美国英语变迁的动因研究

17世纪至今,美国英语完成了从移植、形成直至输出的变迁。毫无疑问,美国英语对各国语言教育与经济发展产生了极大的影响,美国英语的变迁已引起学术界的关注。为了更深入地探讨美国英语变迁的动因,可以尝试用经济学的方法来进行研究。依据制度经济学理论,语言是一种非正式制度,制度变迁的根本原因在于社会需求与供给的变动。通过对影响美国英语变迁需求与供给因素的经济学分析,可以更加清晰地认识美国英语变迁的动因。     

Argumentation-Based Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (ABCSCL): A synthesis of 15 years of research

Learning to argue is an essential objective in education; and online environments have been found to support the sharing, constructing, and representing of arguments in multiple formats for what has been termed Argumentation-Based Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (ABCSCL). The purpose of this review is to give an overview of research in the field of ABCSCL and to synthesize the findings. For this review, 108 publications (89 empirical studies and 19 conceptual papers) on ABCSCL research dating from 1995 through 2011 were studied to highlight the foci of the past 15 years. Building on Biggs’ (2003) model, the ABCSCL publications were systematically categorized with respect to student prerequisites, learning environment, processes, and outcomes. Based on the quantitative and qualitative findings, this paper concludes that ABCSCL environments should be designed in a systematic way that takes the variety of specific conditions for learning into account. It also offers suggestions for educational practice and future research.     

Transferring motivation from educational to extramural contexts: a review of the trans-contextual model

Students?? self-determined or autonomous motivation in educational contexts is associated with adaptive educational and behavioural outcomes including persistence on educational tasks and academic performance. A key question for educators is whether promoting autonomous motivation toward activities in an educational context leads to increased autonomous motivation toward related activities in extramural contexts. In this article, we present a trans-contextual model that demonstrates the processes by which autonomous motivation is transferred from educational to extramural contexts. Using an integrated, multi-theory approach including self-determination and planned behaviour theories, we propose a motivational sequence in which perceived support for autonomous motivation for a given activity leads to autonomous motivation in educational contexts but also to autonomous motivation toward activities in extramural contexts. Autonomous motivation toward the activity in extramural contexts is proposed to be associated with attitudes, perceived control, and intentions to perform the activity in future and actual behaviour. We review recent prospective and intervention research that has applied the model to explain the transfer of autonomous motivation toward physical activity from a physical education context to a leisure time context. We also outline how the model can be applied in other educational contexts such as the transfer of motivation for science and language activities in educational contexts to motivation toward assignments in these subjects in extramural contexts. The applicability of the model as a basis for educational interventions to promote motivational transfer across contexts is discussed.     

Insights into the microbial diversity and community dynamics of Chinese traditional fermented foods from using high-throughput sequencing approaches

Chinese traditional fermented foods have a very long history dating back thousands of years and have become an indispensable part of Chinese dietary culture. A plethora of research has been conducted to unravel the composition and dynamics of microbial consortia associated with Chinese traditional fermented foods using culturedependent as well as culture-independent methods, like different high-throughput sequencing (HTS) techniques. These HTS techniques enable us to understand the relationship between a food product and its microbes to a greater extent than ever before. Considering the importance of Chinese traditional fermented products, the objective of this paper is to review the diversity and dynamics of microbiota in Chinese traditional fermented foods revealed by HTS approaches.     

Internet‐based Science Learning: A review of journal publications

Internet‐based science learning has been advocated by many science educators for more than a decade. This review examines relevant research on this topic. Sixty‐five papers are included in the review. The review consists of the following two major categories: (1) the role of demographics and learners' characteristics in Internet‐based science learning, such as demographic background, prior knowledge, and self‐efficacy; and (2) the learning outcomes derived from Internet‐based science learning, such as attitude, motivation, conceptual understanding, and conceptual change. Some important conclusions are drawn from the review. For example, Internet‐based science learning is equally favorable, or in some cases more so, to learning for female students compared to male students. The learner's control is essential for enhancing students' attitudes and motivation toward learning in Internet‐based science learning environments. Nevertheless, appropriate guidance from teachers, moderators, or the Internet‐based learning environment itself is still quite crucial in Internet‐based science learning. Recommendations for future research related to the effects of Internet‐based science learning on students' metacognitive reflections, epistemological development, and worldviews are suggested.     

Students’ Motivation to Study Introductory Marketing

There has been little previous research into either students’ motivation to enrol into elective university courses or their motivation to enrol into marketing courses. Therefore in this exploratory study the motivation of 507 students to undertake an introductory elective marketing course was investigated. Factor analysis revealed seven motivational dimensions labelled as Competence, Broad Education, Job Prospects, Entrepreneurial Goals, ‘Non‐maths’, Social and Students’ Opportunism. T‐tests, MANOVAs and MANCOVAs indicated that the students who expressed an intention to major in marketing have a more intrinsically and vocationally based motivation than those students who decided to major in another subject or those who were undecided. While male students on average scored higher on the inner‐directed instrumental dimensions of Competence and Broad Education the outer‐directed dimensions of Students’ Opportunism and Entrepreneurial Goals were found to be significantly more important for female students. Analysis of impact of year of study on students’ motivation, however, indicated that these differences lessen over time. This research has implications for decision‐making in the areas of curriculum design, streaming procedures and teaching techniques.     

Infant Mastery Motivation: The Issue of Discriminant Validity

The purpose of this review is to examine the concept of mastery motivation in infancy from the standpoint of possible intraindividual confounds, ways in which factors other than motivation may influence individual differences in mastery motivation scores. The review begins with a brief overview of theoretical background on mastery motivation, underscoring its presumed relevance for other important constructs in development. Current operational definitions of mastery motivation are then described. The remainder of the review is devoted to consideration of alternative explanations that can account, in part, for individual differences in mastery motivation. These include infant cognitive developmental status, social orientation and attachment security, genetic/temperamental factors, and sex differences. The review concludes with specific recommendations for further inquiry on the topic of infant mastery motivation, emphasizing careful attention to the role extraneous factors play in shaping performance.