Motivational Profile and Academic Achievement Among Students Enrolled in Different Schooling Tracks

From the contextual perspective, researchers argue that the relevance and weight of motivational variables of students' functioning vary depending on different dimensions related to individual, cultural or situational characteristics. The first objective of this study examined this contention by comparing self-perceptions of competence, learning goals and judgments of usefulness of school subjects as motivational determinants of high school students' commitment and achievement according to their assignment to their learning abilities. The second objective was to compare how these variables related to academic commitment and achievement according to the type of student and two school subjects. Two-hundred-and-twenty-six high school students from a same school participated sixty-one were learning disabled students, 60 were high achievers and 105 were average students. Findings suggest that the relevance of the motivational variables did not vary much across either the type of student or the school subjects. They also support Bandura's view about the primary role of self-perceptions of competence in students' academic commitment and achievement.     

Predicting Students’ Skills in the Context of Scientific Inquiry with Cognitive,Motivational, and Sociodemographic Variables

Research on predictors of achievement in science is often targeted on more traditional content-based assessments and single student characteristics. At the same time, the development of skills in the field of scientific inquiry constitutes a focal point of interest for science education. Against this background, the purpose of this study was to investigate to which extent multiple student characteristics contribute to skills of scientific inquiry. Based on a theoretical framework describing nine epistemological acts, we constructed and administered a multiple-choice test that assesses these skills in lower and upper secondary school level (n?=?780). The test items contained problem-solving situations that occur during chemical investigations in school and had to be solved by choosing an appropriate inquiry procedure. We collected further data on 12 cognitive, motivational, and sociodemographic variables such as conceptual knowledge, enjoyment of chemistry, or language spoken at home. Plausible values were drawn to quantify students’ inquiry skills. The results show that students’ characteristics predict their inquiry skills to a large extent (55%), whereas 9 out of 12 variables contribute significantly on a multivariate level. The influence of sociodemographic traits such as gender or the social background becomes non-significant after controlling for cognitive and motivational variables. Furthermore, the performance advance of students from upper secondary school level can be explained by controlling for cognitive covariates. We discuss our findings with regard to curricular aspects and raise the question whether the inquiry skills can be considered as an autonomous trait in science education research.     

The impact of student self-concept of ability and task motivation on different indicators of effort at school

The objective of the present study is to explain individual differences in student effort at school. Based on Heckhausen's (1977) extended motivation model, which was converted to represent the dispositional level, two components are considered salient motivational determinants of student effort: subjective competence (self-concept of ability) and task motivation. The impact of these variables on quantitative and qualitative indicators of student effort in mathematics is investigated. The sample consisted of N = 651 elementary students of the 5th grade. The results vary widely, depending on two task characteristics, time vs. intensity and voluntariness vs. obligation. The impact of cognitive student characteristics is much greater for time-spent variables then for intensity of effort, and the predictive power of task motivation for effort increases as a function of the voluntariness of the task.     

Organizational Practices Enhancing the Influence of Student Assessment Information in Academic Decisions

Student assessment should not be undertaken as an end in itself but as a means to educational and institutional improvement. The purpose of our study is to provide systematic empirical evidence of how postsecondary institutions support and promote the use of student assessment information in academic decision making. We use linear regression to determine which institutional variables are related to whether student assessment data is influential in academic decisions. Our conclusion is that student assessment data has only a marginal influence on academic decision making. Our data show there is slightly more influence on educationally related decisions than on faculty-related decisions, but in neither case is student assessment data very influential. Nonetheless, we did find several significant predictor variables in our model, including: the number of institutional studies relating students' performance to their interactions with the institution; conducting student assessment to improve internal institutional performance; involving student affairs personnel in student assessment; the extent of student assessment conducted; and the extent of professional development related to student assessment that is offered to faculty, staff, and administrators. These findings vary by institutional type.     

Effectiveness of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test with Seventh-Grade Pupils

Abstract

This is an exploration of college students’ motivations that affect their performance, and that might eventually provide educators with suggestions for program modifications. S's were 343 women's college freshmen. Student responses to the author's College Assessment Inventory gave information on eight student motivational variables. Students’ perceptions of meaningfulness of daily college tasks were positively related to overachievement, with r=.22, significant at .001 level. Field of interest (liberal arts and professional), relevance of college to the student's future goals, and warmth of interpersonal relations predicted voluntary dropout, with chi-squares significant beyond the .05 level. A combination of liberal arts, low on future goals, and low on warmth resulted In a 55 percent chance of a student's staying and a 41 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. A professional field" high on future goals, high on warmth combination indicated an 82 percent chance of staying and a 10 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. Further explorations seem called for, but practical applications are not yet warranted.     

Classroom Social Structure and Motivational Climates: On the influence of teachers' involvement,teachers' autonomy support and regulation in relation to motivational climates in school classrooms

This study investigates the relationship between students' perceptions of the social structure in the classroom and perceptions of the motivational climate among 1171 Norwegian eighth‐grade students from 65 school classes. A multilevel approach was implemented to investigate relationships at the individual level as well as at the class level. Results showed that perceptions of motivational climates varied considerably more within than between school classes, as well as a general trend for students to perceive the motivational climate to be more mastery than performance oriented. Moreover, emphatic teacher involvement yielded the strongest positive association with perceptions of a mastery motivational climate, as well as the strongest negative association with perceptions of a performance motivational climate. Besides, a mastery motivational climate was also found to be associated with a certain amount of student influence, whereas the final aspect of social structure investigated, regulation, showed relatively weaker associations with students' perceptions of motivational climate.     

A path analytic test of the reading strategies mediation model: Relating cognitive competences and motivational influences to individual differences in fifth-grade students' reading comprehension

This study examined a theoretical model hypothesizing that reading strategies mediate the effects of intrinsic reading motivation, reading fluency, and vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension. Using path analytic methods, we tested the direct and indirect effects specified in the hypothesized model in a sample of 1105 fifth-graders. In addition to standardized tests and questionnaires, we administered a performance test to assess students' proficiency in the application of three reading strategies. The overall fit of the model to the data was good. Both cognitive (fluency and vocabulary) and motivational (intrinsic reading motivation) variables had an indirect effect on reading comprehension through their influence on reading strategies. Reading strategies had a unique effect on reading comprehension and partially mediated the effects that cognitive and motivational variables had on fifth-graders' reading achievements.     

Identifying determinants of teachers' judgment (in)accuracy regarding students' school-related motivations using a Bayesian cross-classified multi-level model

Teachers differ considerably in their judgment accuracy of motivational student characteristics. Thus far, only few investigations have focused on explaining these differences. In this study, we investigated to what extent groups of characteristics (i.e., student, information, teacher, and class characteristics) derived from the Realistic Accuracy Model (Funder, 1995) are relevant for explaining differences in teachers' judgment accuracy regarding students' school-related self-concept and autonomous motivation. Data from 1239 students and 341 teachers were analyzed using a Bayesian cross-classified multi-level modeling approach. Our analyses showed that variance in teacher judgments is largely due to variation at the level of judgments and less due to variation in the slope (i.e., the accuracy of teacher judgments). Teachers' judgment accuracy varied to a comparable degree across teachers and classes. Significant determinants for these differences were teachers' subject and students' grade point average.     

Adaptation of the Students' Motivation Towards Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire in the Greek language

The present study aimed at adapting in the Greek language the Students' Motivation Towards Science Learning (SMTSL) questionnaire developed by Tuan, Chin, and Shieh (INT J SCI EDUC 27(6): 639-654, 2005a) into a different cultural context, a different age group, that is, in university students and with a focus on physics learning. Three hundred and fifty Greek student teachers participated in the study. The original instrument consisted of 35 items allocated in six scales: self-efficacy, use of active learning strategies, science learning value, performance goals, achievement goals, and learning environment stimulation. The instrument's internal consistency was acceptable and comparable to previous studies' reports. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied on the data in order to test an a priori hypothesis regarding the SMTSL's factorial structure based on previous studies' findings. The results of the study showed that the six-factor conceptual model of students' motivation proposed by the SMTSL applies in this different cultural setting and in this group of university students with reference to physics learning. Along with the six distinct motivational constructs confirmed, students' motivational beliefs were also explained by a general motivational construct assumed to be at their basis. Suggestions for further improvement of the Greek version of the SMTSL are also discussed.     

Linking teacher self-efficacy and responsibility with teachers’ self-reported and student-reported motivating styles and student engagement

Teachers' motivational beliefs—i.e., teachers' self-efficacy and felt responsibility for educational outcomes—can shape their professional decision-making and approaches to teaching. However, theorized associations with student outcomes remain elusive. In a multi-level analysis with 96 Swiss vocational teachers and their 1300 students, we examined the interrelations between teachers' self-efficacy, responsibility, teacher- and student-reported autonomy-supportive versus psychologically controlling teaching, and student motivation (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive engagement). Teachers' motivational beliefs predicted their endorsement of autonomy-supportive teaching, which in turn predicted student-reported autonomy support. Student-reported autonomy support was a powerful predictor of student engagement. Teachers’ motivational beliefs did not predict student-reported instructional practices and engagement directly, and indirect effects via teacher- and student-reported autonomy support were small. Teacher- and student-reported controlling practices were not significantly correlated. The degree of (mis)alignment of teacher- and student-reported instructional practices is a key ingredient in understanding the often missing link between teacher motivation and student outcomes.     

The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: A systematic review

This review integrates 12 years of research on the relationship between academic self-efficacy and university student's academic performance, and known cognitive and motivational variables that explain this relationship. Previous reviews report moderate correlations between these variables, but few discuss mediating and moderating factors that impact this relationship. Systematic searches were conducted in April 2015 of psychological, educational, and relevant online databases for studies investigating academic self-efficacy and performance in university populations published between September 2003 and April 2015. Fifty-nine papers were eligible. Academic self-efficacy moderately correlated with academic performance. Several mediating and moderating factors were identified, including effort regulation, deep processing strategies and goal orientations. Given the paucity of longitudinal studies identified in this review, further research into how these variables relate over time is necessary in order to establish causality and uncover the complex interaction between academic self-efficacy, performance, and motivational and cognitive variables that impact it.     

Developmental patterns of school students' motivational‐ and cognitive‐metacognitive competencies

This study examined the metacognitive developmental patterns of Hong Kong school students. Students rated their own metacognitive competencies by responding to an inventory of six motivational‐ and cognitive‐metacognitive subscales. Results showed that students' metacognitive competencies decreased with age—from primary 4 (age 9) to secondary 5 (age 17)—with a sharp decline noticeable at the primary/secondary school transition. Age had a more powerful effect than gender on students' perception of their metacognitive competencies. This decreasing pattern of Hong Kong students' metacognitive competencies is contrary to the developmental trends found in Western countries. However, the comparatively high academic performance of Hong Kong students also suggests some different recommendations about student learning.     

The role of goal orientations and goal structures in explaining classroom social and affective characteristics

Examining motivational variables may prove to be particularly fruitful towards our understanding of classroom processes, student behaviors and school outcomes. The present study examined the role of personal and contextual goals (goals and goal structures) towards explaining social relationships (peer, teacher–student and home–school). 1493 fifth and sixth grade primary school students (10 to 12 years of age) from different areas of Greece formed a representative sample. Questionnaires were administered assessing students' goal orientations, goal structures and classroom relationships. The data were analyzed using latent variable modeling. Mastery goal structures had significant effects on positive school relationships such as student relations, teacher–student relations, peer inclusion, and peer conflict (the latter two reversely coded). Performance goal structures exerted negative or null effects on the same processes, demonstrating their negative propensities. In addition, the effects of mastery goal structures were partially mediated by the effects of personal mastery goals with regard to teacher–student relations with the former exerting both direct and indirect effects. On the contrary, the negative effects of performance goal structures were not buffered by the presence of high levels of personal performance goals. The findings have significant implications for educational practice in terms of the importance of classroom contexts as predictors of classroom relatedness specifically where mastery goals are concerned.     

Motivational Orientation, Error Monitoring, and Academic Performance in Middle Childhood: A Behavioral and Electrophysiological Investigation

ABSTRACT— Previous research suggests that academic motivation orientation relates to students' causal interpretations about academic outcomes and their emotional reactions to those outcomes. The current study examines how student motivation may relate to certain neurophysiological systems that are thought to underlie the processing of successes and failures. In the cognitive neuroscience literature, the error-related negativity (ERN) in the event-related potential has been associated with error processing and the degree of an individual's emotional investment in his or her performance. The current study examined the relation between academic motivational characteristics and ERN amplitude during a speeded reaction time task in 3rd- to 5th-grade students ( n = 17). Intrinsically oriented students displayed larger amplitude ERN responses and made more internally directed attributions about their task performance. The findings suggest that students with high intrinsic orientation attribute performance to personal control and that their error-monitoring system is more strongly engaged by performance errors.     

Student Self-Reported Learning Outcomes of Field Trips: The pedagogical impact

In this study, we used the classification and regression trees (CART) method to draw relationships between student self-reported learning outcomes in 26 field trips to natural environments and various characteristics of the field trip that include variables associated with preparation and pedagogy. We wished to examine the extent to which the preparation for the field trip, its connection to the school curriculum, and the pedagogies used, affect students’ self-reported outcomes in three domains: cognitive, affective, and behavioral; and the extent the students' socioeconomic group and the guide's affiliation affect students' reported learning outcomes. Given that most of the field trips were guide-centered, the most important variable that affected the three domains of outcomes was the guide's storytelling. Other variables that showed relationships with self-reported outcomes were physical activity and making connections to everyday life—all of which we defined as pedagogical variables. We found no significant differences in student self-reported outcomes with respect to their socioeconomic group and the guide's organizational affiliation.     

Differential effect of university entrance score on first-year students’ academic performance in Portugal

The main goal of this study is to show that the association between university entrance score and first-year students’ academic performance varies randomly across courses after controlling for students’ sociodemographic, schooling trajectory and motivational variables. The sample consists of 2697 first-year students who were enrolled in 54 courses at a Portuguese public university in 2015/16. Multilevel modelling of academic performance suggests that 34% of variability in grade point average is due to differences among courses and that 80% of such variability is explained by the field of study, whether the university is the student’s first choice, and the student’s gender, age and parents’ level of education. In addition, the results corroborate that the university entrance score is the strongest predictor of first-year academic performance.     

Academic and Social Motivational Influences on Students' Academic Performance

We discuss ways in which aspects of academic and social motivation interact to influence student's academic performance. Research on academic and social motivational constructs is reviewed, focusing on students' ability and efficacy beliefs, control beliefs, achievement values, and achievement goal orientations. Relations between academic and social motivational processes are discussed, as well as how motivational processes from both domains might interact to influence academic outcomes. We also discuss motivation from the perspective of contextual factors and school socialization processes that have the potential to influence student motivation and subsequent performance. In this regard, teachers' instructional practices and interpersonal relationships with students are highlighted as potentially powerful factors influencing student motivation and performance.     

EFL teachers' behavior of using motivational strategies: The case of teaching in the Korean context

While studies have investigated the role of motivation in learning and teaching, research on teachers' motivational strategies remains scarce. This study examined the motivating behavior of in-service teachers of English in Korea (N = 12). Videotapes of the teachers' classes were analyzed based on Keller's ARCS model using NVivo, revealing that the teachers did not effectively utilize motivational strategies or tactics, except for attention. Additionally, teachers' motivational strategies were correlated positively with their language proficiency but negatively with teaching experience. Finally, teachers' motivational strategies were shown to be grounded in traditional teacher-centered approaches rather than the promotion of student ownership of learning.     

Motivational Interviewing for Smoking Cessation Among College Students

Motivational interviewing has shown some success as an intervention for college student cigarette smokers. We tested the efficacy and process of a two session motivational-interviewing-based smoking intervention compared to an assessment/information session. College student participants assigned to the motivational interviewing condition did not differ significantly from participants in the assessment/information condition on smoking outcome variables one month later. However, both groups reported significant decreases in self-reported smoking over time, suggesting that brief interventions for college student smoking can be efficacious. Consistent with theory, the motivational interviewing group reported a significant increase in self-efficacy over time and reported stronger perceptions of the therapeutic alliance after the first session compared to assessment/information participants.     

Sexualities of initial teacher education applicants in the Republic of Ireland: addressing the hidden dimension of diversity in teaching

While research and policy recommendations internationally have pointed to the need to diversify teaching populations with regard to ethnicity, social class background and, to a lesser extent, dis/ability, there is a paucity of research addressing sexualities as a diversity dimension in teaching. This article explores initial teacher education (ITE) applicants’ and entrants’ (N = 746) sexualities and the intersections of sexualities with other socio-demographic background variables and career motivations. The analysis suggests that the topic of sexual orientation caused high levels of discomfort among respondents and that sexual minority student teachers are underrepresented in ITE cohorts in Ireland. The socio-demographic and motivational profiles of our non-heterosexual respondents generally mirrored those of their heterosexual counterparts. Non-heterosexual respondents reported a stronger motivation to affect social change and lower levels of participation in religious services. Findings are discussed within the context of persisting cultural and institutional barriers for sexual minority (student) teachers in Irish schools and in ITE.