Schools can improve motivational quality: Profile transitions across early foreign language learning experiences

Elementary school is as much about developing attitudes as competence. With this fact in mind, the Japanese national government established a plan to enhance elementary school students’ motivation for learning English. The success of this program has, however, not been empirically tested. This study aimed to assess the longitudinal, discrete development of Japanese elementary school students’ motivation for learning English as a foreign language. A cohort of 513 Japanese elementary students participated in the study across two years of school. Students responded to surveys regarding the quality of their motivation at three time points, and their engagement at two time points. Latent Profile Analysis followed by Latent Profile Transition Analysis was used to assess the sample for latent subgroups. With subgroups established at three time points, a Mover-Stayer model was tested to estimate the movement of students among the subgroups across three time points and two years of elementary school education. Three theoretically consistent latent subgroups were observed at each of the time points. Based on theory and past empirical research, the subgroups (presented from least to most adaptive) were labeled: Poor Quality, High Quantity, and Good Quality. Across the three measurements, an overall shift of students to higher quantity and quality motivational subgroups was observed. This study provides evidence that the low-stakes, high-interest approach currently undertaken may have the desired effect of improving students’ motivation to learn across two years of schooling. Implications for both practice and national policy are discussed

The Motivations Toward Decisions in Delaying to Apply for College: High School Seniors of Single Parent Households

It has been said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 30% of students who graduated from high school do not enroll in college (NCES, 2018). This phenomenological study integrates several instruments to identify the motivational elements of amotivation, autonomy, extrinsic, and intrinsic motivational stimuli. The research data reveal that intrinsic motivational factors play a more significant role in the decision-making process. The participants in this study revealed their extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for postsecondary endeavors by articulating how they perceive decision-making for their actions. Participants of dual- and single-parent households scored higher for extrinsic over intrinsic factors. The data leads to the conclusion that students of dual-parent households have a great idea of individualism, but a greater need to prove themselves to others through a fear of failure. It was also determined that students of single-parent households are reluctant to make decisions on their own through an increased fear of failure. Engagement, and the values of desire and hope, lead to the application of intrinsic decision-making. Educators and learners have reached a fork in the road

Pressure, Threat, and Fear in the Classroom: Pupils' and Teachers' Perceptions of Soft Failure in an 11+ Context

This thesis concerns both pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions and reactions to soft failure. Whilst there is widespread agreement that errors and impasses in the classroom can be pedagogically useful, pupils do not always respond positively to soft failure, potentially limiting their learning. Teachers, whilst keen to support pupils experiencing temporary academic setbacks, can unintentionally cement perceptions that errors should be avoided, leading to a co-construction between teacher and pupil of a classroom climate that is unfriendly to error making. In taking a bio ecological and interdisciplinary approach, this thesis addresses a gap in error climate studies through examining the intersection of sociocultural and psychological factors that impact perceptions of, and reactions to, soft failure. This thesis argues that pupils’ reactions to soft failure are imprinted, not only with immediate classroom proximal processes, but also from processes within the home, wider values, and ideologies. Drawing upon the case study genre and bound by the entry and exit points of a selective education system, findings from observations and interviews with Y7 and Y5 pupils suggest the facilitation of classroom peer ecologies orientated towards performance and demonstrating success. Through conceptualising gender as heteroglossic, Y7 grammar school girls were seen to enact masculine, highly competitive performances which reinforced a pressured climate where negative evaluation and soft failure was feared. However, these findings are complicated by pupils’ divergent and fluctuating responses and reactions to soft failure, situated and contextualised by teachers’ error handling, classroom organisation and school processes. Therefore, to establish when soft failure matters for pupils, this thesis explores the interplay of competing values, goals, and interactions. In doing so, the antecedents of soft failure adaptivity are identified, with the perceived threat to pupils’ dignity – which I reason must be understood in an adolescent context — argued as the fulcrum on which soft failure appraisals are made

Thrive in a Digital Age: Understanding ICT-enabled Work Experiences through the Lens of Work Design

As information communication technology (ICT) becomes ever more embedded in today’s organizations, the nature of employees’ jobs and work experiences are being strongly affected by ICT usage at work. Based on the work design perspective, I conducted three studies to understand the intertwined relationships among technology, human beings, and work. This thesis helps to deepen our understanding on ICT-enabled work experiences, to stimulate the development of work design theories in the digital era, and guide contemporary managerial practices

Aliterate Pre-Service Teachers\u27 Reading Histories: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study

As a literacy instructor at a university, I regularly administered a questionnaire on reading habits and attitudes as part of the teacher education program. The findings from the surveys aligned with the results of extant literature on the prevalence of aliteracy among pre-service teachers (Applegate & Applegate, 2004; Applegate et al., 2014; Nathanson, Pruslow, & Levitt, 2008; Warmack, 2007). This dissertation uses an exploratory multiple case study approach to examine the experiences of two aliterate pre-service teacher candidates including their identity as a reader, their experiences with reading at home and their reading experiences at all educational levels. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, candidates recalled their experiences with reading and how they described themselves as readers. Findings indicate that both individuals had low self-efficacy with reading, likely as the result of struggles with comprehension. Both individuals also developed a preference for watching movies and looking up condensed summaries of assigned reading to gain information. An interpretation of the findings concluded there was a chronic use of some form of round robin reading throughout both participants’ educational levels. Teachers must work to provide rich opportunities to engage students in reading and be mindful of how they help students develop a regular reading habit

Student Engagement: An Assessment of Motivation Processes during Late Elementary School

Based in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Effectance Theories, this correlational study of student engagement assessed the impacts of basic psychological need satisfaction upon engagement in the context of prior achievement during late elementary school. The purpose of the study is to offer another tool for educators to use as they continue personalizing interventions. Multiple regression analyses assessed the predictive value of prior achievement levels alongside present satisfaction levels of each basic psychological need – autonomy, competence, and relatedness – upon engagement. In post-hoc analyses, The Johnson-Neyman technique was also used for the purpose of determining regions of significance across the sample of prior achievement, showing the specific levels of prior achievement at which each basic psychological need significantly predicted student engagement. The RAPS-SE survey was used for measuring basic psychological need satisfaction and engagement. Scores from PARCC exams were used for measuring prior achievement. The multiple regression analyses yielded statistically significant, high predictive values. Additionally, the post-hoc analyses yielded significant outcomes relevant to the moderating value of prior achievement and gender differences relevant to that moderating value. Suggestions for future research include additional studies on basic psychological need satisfaction relevant to their interaction with prior achievement, longitudinal impact, the differential impact of basic psychological need satisfaction among subgroups, and relevance to engagement during the late elementary years