Learning Motivation and Activity Contexts

Learning motivation has a special explanatory status in educational psychology and educational practice. Motivation and learning often are studied separately. In the achievement motivation tradition, achievement situation is the connecting link between learning process and achievement need. The explanatory power of this link has limitations. The activity concept is proposed as a unit which is able to offer a broader basis for a unified concept of learning motivation.     

Influence of misaligned parents’ aspirations on long-term student academic performance

This article deals with the concept of misaligned parents’ aspirations, its relationship with student background characteristics, and its effects on long-term student performance. It is defined as the difference between parents’ educational ambitions for their child and the child's actual capacities. Multilevel regression analyses on a sample of 10,433 Dutch students, who were followed for 5 years, showed that misaligned aspirations are related to parental education level and ethnicity, and have a small/medium positive effect on student performance. Based on ecology theory, we proposed that misaligned aspirations relate to differences in parent involvement, student achievement motivation, and teacher expectation bias, and that these factors subsequently influence student performance. The findings, however, indicate that this only applies to teacher expectation bias.     

Incremental validity of thinking styles in predicting academic achievements: an experimental study in hypermedia learning environments

The study examined the incremental validity of thinking styles in predicting academic achievement after controlling for personality and achievement motivation in the hypermedia‐based learning environment. Seventy‐two Chinese college students from Shanghai, the People’s Republic of China, took part in this instructional experiment. The End‐Of‐Semester test was designed to examine the students’ achievement in the course of General Psychology. The results partially supported the hypotheses concerning the relationships between students’ Type I and II thinking styles and their academic achievement in Type I test (including analysis, problem‐solving, and essay tests) and Type II test (including multiple‐choice and cloze tests), and showed that some Type III styles were significantly related to their academic achievement. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the capacity of thinking styles for explaining and predicting academic achievement was sometimes over and above the sum of personality traits and achievement motivation. Implications for educational practice are discussed.     

学生成就目标定向的结构维度、理论依据及对学业发展的影响

成就目标定向是学习者目标达成的重要动力机制,有助于学生建立积极的学业倾向,促进学生发展和学业质量的提升。成就目标定向的结构早期被分解为"成绩目标"和"学习目标",并由此衍生出了"2×2结构"和"3×2结构"维度。研究依据行为动力学假说、自我效能感理论、成就动机理论和自我归因理论等阐释了成就目标定向的发生机制。研究认为,趋近目标定向可降低学生的考试焦虑程度,有助于提升个体语言技能;掌握目标定向有助于提升学生的学业成绩,激发学生的学习兴趣,并塑造学生的完美主义人格特质。未来的研究需开展大量的跨文化的比较研究,扩大研究对象的范畴,使用实验法等多元化的研究方法,验证成就目标定向结构模型的科学性,探明成就目标定向影响机理,强化教育干预与认知训练的实践研究,提升成就目标定向的应用价值。     

贵州教育学院成人大学生成就动机调查研究

通过对贵州教育学院268名成人大学生进行问卷调查,分析该学院成人大学生成就动机的特点以及在性别、年级、民族、专业和父母学历与职业等人口统计资料背景上是否存在差异,并依据成就动机理论和研究结果,为今后贵州省成人大学生在教育条件相对落后的环境中成就动机如何发展提出相应的建议和改进措施。     

Profiles of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations in Elementary School: A Longitudinal Analysis

The authors used a person-centered, longitudinal approach to identify and evaluate naturally occurring combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations among 490 third- through fifth-grade students. Cluster analysis revealed 3 groups, characterized by high levels of both motivations (high quantity): high intrinsic motivation but low extrinsic motivation (primarily intrinsic) and low intrinsic motivation but high extrinsic motivation (primarily extrinsic). Analyses of stability and change in cluster membership indicated that the primarily intrinsic cluster was most stable (76% stability) and the high-quantity cluster most precarious (45% stability) over the course of an academic year. Students in the primarily intrinsic cluster outperformed their peers in the other 2 clusters and showed the greatest increase in achievement over time.     

Longitudinal Pathways From Math Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement to Math Course Accomplishments and Educational Attainment

Abstract

Across 20 years, pathways from math intrinsic motivation and achievement (ages 9–17) to high school math course accomplishments and educational attainment (age 29) were analyzed. Academic intrinsic motivation was the theoretical foundation. To determine how initial status and change in motivation and achievement related to course accomplishments and educational attainment, a latent curve model was fit to data from the Fullerton Longitudinal Study. Levels of motivation and achievement at 9 had positive, direct, and mutually indirect paths to course accomplishments. Dual declines in motivation and achievement related to course accomplishments, directly for achievement, and indirectly for motivation via achievement. Greater decline corresponded to fewer course accomplishments which in turn predicted, and served as a mediator to educational attainment. Implications are discussed.     

The contribution of school-related parental monitoring,self-determination,and self-efficacy to academic achievement

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of school-related parental monitoring (SR-PM), self-determined motivation, and academic self-efficacy to academic achievement across time. The authors hypothesized that SR-PM would affect academic achievement indirectly via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy beliefs. The participants were 501 adolescents (220 boys; 281 girls) in Grades 6 and 9 as well as their mothers and fathers. We carried out a 2-year, multi-informant study in which the authors assessed SR-PM (maternal and paternal reports), self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy (self-report), and academic achievement (school records). The authors used structural equation model analysis to test the hypotheses. The analysis shows that SR-PM was positively associated with self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy and that self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy affected academic achievement. Furthermore, analyses of indirect effects showed that SR-PM influences academic achievement via its effects on self-determined motivation and academic self-efficacy.     

Informational reception apprehension,educational motivation,and achievement

This study explored the relationship among informational reception apprehension (IRA) factors, student motivation, and student achievement. Based on Wheeless, Preiss, and Gayle's (1997) recently developed construct, the authors hypothesized that IRA scores for listening and inflexibility would predict educational motivation scores and measures of achievement. Furthermore, this study extended existing research on student motivation and the effects of antecedent conditions, such as trait‐like IRA. Results indicated that informational reception apprehension can be taken into consideration in order to account more adequately for student motivation and achievement.     

Motivation and Self-Regulation as Predictors of Achievement in Economically Disadvantaged Young Children

The primary purpose of the present study was to better understand the roles of motivation and self-regulated task behavior for early school achievement differences among young, economically at-risk and not-at-risk children. Of the at-risk participants, 43 were 5-6-year-olds and 42 were 7-8-year-olds. Of the not-at-risk participants, 21 were 6-year-olds, and 21 were 8-year-olds. Results of the study showed that child-and-teacher-reported motivation levels were comparable among the at-risk and the not-at-risk children. However, the at-risk children showed poorer abilities to regulate their task attention than the not-at-risk children did. In addition, younger at-risk children's achievement scores were predicted by their levels of attention-regulation abilities. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of at-risk children's attention-regulation skills.     

一带一路背景下南亚东南亚来华留学生学习动机对学业成绩的影响研究

对留学生的个人特征、学习动机与学业成绩进行比较分析,学习动机主要从学习成就、职业价值、社会取向成就、技能成就四方面进行调查研究。采用随机抽样的方法选取100名学生,利用SPSS 19.0对样本数据进行分析,结果表明:年级、年龄及性别对留学生的学习动机水平和学业成绩均无显著性影响;不同学科对学生学业成绩有一定影响;学业成绩与学习动机呈显著正相关,与职业价值动机相关程度最高;社会取向动机对学习动机水平相关程度最高;学习动机水平与学业成绩呈极显著正相关关系。同时,针对留学生的学习动机与学业成绩现状,提出针对性的建议。     

Intrinsic motivation,perceived competence and classroom engagement as longitudinal predictors of adolescent reading achievement

This study investigated the effects of intrinsic motivation, perceived competence, classroom engagement and extrinsic motivation on reading development among youth. Using a nationally representative sample of students in the US, the researchers followed students longitudinally from fifth to eighth grade. Reading achievement was measured using composite tests of vocabulary, reading comprehension and sight-word identification. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine the effect of students’ perceived intrinsic motivation and competence, as well as teacher rated classroom engagement in the 5th grade, on reading achievement in the 8th grade. Important control variables were utilised such as gender, family SES, race/ethnicity and prior reading achievement. The results showed that intrinsic motivation to read, perceived competence and engagement in 5th grade significantly predict reading achievement in 8th grade. The importance students placed upon grades also predicted reading development. Implications for promoting intrinsic motivation and strong engagement in schools are discussed.     

成就动机、家庭影响力及学业成就的关系研究

以570名中小学生为研究对象,以成就动机问卷和家庭影响力调查表为工具探讨了家庭影响力、成就动机及学业成就的关系。主要获得以下结果:1.家庭影响力与成就动机关系密切;2.不同水平的学校在家庭影响力和学生的成就动机上有差异;3.成就动机对学业成就有一定预测作用,但是,在不同年级会有不同表现。     

Developmental aspects of reading motivation and reading achievement among second grade low achievers and typical readers

This investigation examined developmental aspects of 155 second‐graders' intrinsic reading motivation and reading achievement at the beginning and end of a school year. Reading motivation remained at the same level through the school year, while reading achievement was significantly higher at the end of it than at the beginning. According to word reading skills, low reading achievers (n = 63) and typical readers (n = 92) evinced significant differences in reading motivation. The former scored lower in overall reading motivation and self‐concept as a reader, as well as in reading achievement. Throughout the school year, low reading achievers showed a decline in overall motivation, self‐concept as a reader and literacy outloud, and did not improve in reading comprehension achievement. Reading motivation in typical readers remained high and steady during the school year. Implications of the results are discussed in relation to previous studies.     

The relationships between the motivational beliefs,course experiences and achievement among postgraduate students in Pakistan

While there is considerable literature concerning the relationship between student motivation and achievement, few studies have examined the relationship between student motivation, course experiences and academic achievement at the postgraduate level. This paper is based on the findings of the initial correlation analysis of the relationship between motivational beliefs and course experiences of 368 postgraduate students in five different subject areas enrolled in day and afternoon classes at a highly-ranked public university in Pakistan. A questionnaire was developed using scales from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Course Experiences Questionnaire to measure the motivational beliefs and course experiences of students. Academic achievement was measured using the achievement score in the courses in which the data were collected. The results of the study indicated that students' achievement scores were positively correlated with their self-efficacy for learning and negatively correlated with test anxiety, whereas the course-experience factor learning community was significantly correlated with achievement scores. Significant correlations were also found among almost all motivational beliefs and course experience factors.     

Understanding motivational structures that differentially predict engagement and achievement in middle school science

Middle school has been documented as the period in which a drop in students’ science interest and achievement occurs. This trend indicates a lack of motivation for learning science; however, little is known about how different aspects of motivation interact with student engagement and science learning outcomes. This study examines the relationships among motivational factors, engagement, and achievement in middle school science (grades 6–8). Data were obtained from middle school students in the United States (N?=?2094). The theoretical relationships among motivational constructs, including self-efficacy, and three types of goal orientations (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoid) were tested. The results showed that motivation is best modeled as distinct intrinsic and extrinsic factors; lending evidence that external, performance based goal orientations factor separately from self-efficacy and an internal, mastery based goal orientation. Second, a model was tested to examine how engagement mediated the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and science achievement. Engagement mediated the relationship between intrinsic motivation and science achievement, whereas extrinsic motivation had no relationship with engagement and science achievement. Implications for how classroom practice and educational policy emphasize different student motivations, and in turn, can support or hinder students’ science learning are discussed.     

Parents,teachers and children’s school outcomes: a Taiwanese study

The study examined relationships among family social status, perceptions of family and school learning environments, and measures of children’s academic achievement, educational aspirations and self‐concept. Data were collected from 261 (128 boys, 133 girls) 11‐year‐old Taiwanese children. The findings from structural equation modelling suggest that: (a) family social status continues to have an unmediated association with children’s academic achievement, but its relationship to educational aspirations and self‐concept is mediated by children’s perceptions of their more immediate learning environments, and (b) after taking into account differences in parents’ aspirations and parental involvement, children’s perceptions of teachers have strong associations with self‐concept but are not related to differences in academic achievement and educational aspirations.     

From reading strategy instruction to student reading achievement: The mediating role of student motivational factors

This study investigated the associations among reading strategy instruction, student motivational factors (i.e., attitudes toward reading, reading self‐concept, and motivation to read), gender, and reading achievement. The analyses were conducted using the Hong Kong sample (students at Level 1, n = 3,875 and teachers at Level 2, n = 133) from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 through multilevel structural equation modeling. The results showed that, first, the relation between the frequency of reading strategy instruction and student reading achievement was mediated by student attitudes toward reading. Second, the frequency of reading strategy instruction was significantly related to student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and student attitudes toward reading was significantly associated with reading achievement. Finally, girls had more positive attitudes toward reading, more positive reading self‐concept, higher motivation to read, and higher reading achievement than boys. These findings may shed light on how teachers should arrange their reading strategy instruction to interplay with student attitudes toward reading and motivation to read and to help improve reading achievement.     

The relationship among achievement goals,standardized test scores,and elementary students’ focus in school

The study examined whether an academic, social, or both an academic and social focus might relate with achievement goals and academic achievement. Participants were 412 urban elementary school students. Results suggest that students with an academic focus toward school have more mastery‐approach and less mastery‐avoid achievement goals. Academic achievement (standardized test scores) did not relate with boys’ or girls’ focus toward school. These findings suggest that academic motivation, but not achievement, correspond with self‐perceptions of school as being a place to learn or school as a place for social interactions.     

Student-centred anti-smoking education: Comparing a classroom-based and an out-of-school setting

The present study monitored a student-centred educational anti-smoking intervention with fifth graders by focusing on their cognitive achievement and intrinsic motivation. In order to assess the potential influence of the setting on self-directed learning, the intervention was conducted in two different learning environments: a classroom-based group in class at school; and an out-of-school group in an outreach setting at a youth camp. A control group didn’t experience any specific intervention. Outcomes were assessed with an achievement test and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. Although in both learning settings similar cognitive levels were achieved, the out-of-school group showed a larger decrease in cognitive achievement and lower intrinsic motivation scores for interest and perceived choice. This empirical study adds new evidence to student-centred learning schemes in different learning environments, especially in an interdisciplinary context.