Motivation in Education: Current Emphases and Future Trends

This article discusses motivational processes as they apply to educational contexts. Motivation is defined and compared to other constructs. A brief historical account of motivation· theory and research is provided, to include important trends and areas in motivation research. The article concludes by suggesting four areas that future research might address: constructivism and learning, long-term motivation, teacher retention, motivation in the community

A View of Professional Learning Communities Through Three Frames: Leadership, organization, and culture

In this discussion of professional learning communities (PLCs) in North American public schools, we examine three theoretical frames – leadership, organization, and culture. Issues related to learning are infused throughout our presentation of the frames. Based on our analysis of the current literature on this topic, PLCs offer a promising tool for system-wide change and collaborative mentorship in public schools. Implications for collaborative mentorship within PLCs are uncovered in relation to the professional learning of teachers and leaders and their community development. We dovetail the literature on learning, learning communities, and mentoring in order to identify such expanded possibilities for school teams that are supported by practical examples of change.Au sein de cette discussion sur les communautés d’apprentissages professionnelles (CAPs) dans les écoles publiques nord-américaines, nous faisons l’examen du phénomène via trois cadres théoriques – le leadership, l’organisation et la culture. Les problématiques reliées à l’apprentissage sont également introduites à travers les mêmes cadres. Suite à notre analyse de la littérature courante sur le sujet, les CAPs semblent un outil prometteur pour faciliter des changements systémiques étendus et des initiatives de mentorats collaboratifs dans les écoles publiques. Les tenants et aboutissants du mentorat collaboratifs sont dévoilés en mettant en évidence leurs liens avec les apprentissages professionnels des enseignants et des leaders en regard du développement de leur communauté. Ce faisant, nous combinons la littérature sur l’apprentissage, les communautés d’apprentissages et le mentorat afin d’identifier de nouvelles possibilités pour les équipes-écoles qui sont appuyées par des expériences pratiques de changement

Cultivating competence, self-efficacy, and intrinsic interest through proximal self-motivation.

Abstract: The present experiment tested the hypothesis that self-motivation through proximal goal setting serves as an effective mechanism for cultivating competencies, self-percepts of efficacy, and intrinsic interest. Children who exhibited gross deficits and disinterest in mathematical tasks pursued a program of self-directed learning under conditions involving either proximal subgoals, distal goals, or no goals. Results of the multifaceted assessment provide support for the superiority of proximal self-influence. Under proximal subgoals, children progressed rapidly in self-directed learning, achieved substantial mastery of mathematical operations, and developed a sense of personal efficacy and intrinsic interest in arithmetic activities that initially held little attraction for them. Distal goals had no demonstrable effects. In addition to its other benefits, goal proximity fostered veridical self-knowledge of capabilities as reflected in high congruence between judgments of mathematical self-efficacy and subsequent mathematical performance. Perceived self-efficacy was positively related to accuracy of mathematical performance and to intrinsic interest in arithmetic activities. Article: Much human behavior is directed and sustained over long periods, even though the external inducements for it may be few and far between. Under conditions in which external imperatives are minimal and discontinuous, people must partly serve as agents of their own motivation and action. In social learning theory (Bandura, 1977b, in press), self-directedness operates through a self system that comprises cognitive structures and subfunctions for perceiving, evaluating, motivating, and regulating behavior. An important, cognitively based source of self-motivation relies on the intervening processes of goal setting and self-evaluative re-actions to one's own behavior. This form of self-motivation, which operates largely through internal comparison processes, re-quires personal standards against which to evaluate ongoing performance. By making self-satisfaction conditional on a certain level of performance, individuals create self-inducements to persist in their efforts until their performances match internal standards. Both the anticipated satisfactions for matching attainments and the dissatisfactions with insufficient ones provide incentives for self-directed actions. Personal goals or standards do not automatically activate the evaluative processes that affect the level and course of one's behavior. Certain properties of goals, such as their specificity and level, help to provide clear standards of adequacy In the social learning view, adopting proximal subgoals for one's own behavior can have at least three major psychological effects. As already alluded to, such goals have motivational effects. One of the propositions tested in the present experiment is that self-motivation can be best created and sustained by attainable subgoals that lead to larger future ones. Proximal subgoals provide immediate incentives and guides for performance

Self-Regulation, Self-Efficacy, and Learning Disabilities

This chapter will discuss the roles of self-regulation and self-efficacy in students with learning disabilities. The guiding conceptual framework is based in social cognitive theory. In this theory, self-efficacy is a key motivational variable and self-regulation is a means for persons to develop a sense of agency, or the belief that they can exert a large degree of control over outcomes in their lives. Following a description of the theory, research is presented showing the operation of self-regulation and self-efficacy in students with learning disabilities. Future research directions are suggested, and implications of theory and research for educational practice are discussed

Self-Efficacy and Academic Motivation

Academic motivation is discussed in terms of self-efficacy, an individual's judgments of his or her capabilities to perform given actions. After presenting an overview of self-efficacy theory, I contrast self-efficacy with related constructs (perceived control, outcome expectations, perceived value of outcomes, attributions, and self-concept) and discuss some efficacy research relevant to academic motivation. Studies of the effects of person variables (goal setting and information processing) and situation variables (models, attributional feedback, and rewards) on self-efficacy and motivation are reviewed. In conjunction with this discussion, I mention substantive issues that need to be addressed in the self-efficacy research and summarize evidence on the utility of self-efficacy for predicting motivational outcomes. Areas for future research are suggested

Strategy Self-Verbalization During Remedial Listening Comprehension Instruction

This experiment investigated the effects of strategy self-verbalization on children's self-efficacy and listening comprehension. Children with language deficiencies in grades two through four received instruction in listening comprehension. One-half of the children in each grade verbalized explicit strategies prior to applying them to questions. Strategy self-verbalization led to higher self-efficacy across grades, and promoted performance among third and fourth graders, but did not benefit second graders. Future research should apply strategy self-verbalization to other language skills and should explore the effects of covert fading

Self-Regulated Learning: The Educational Legacy of Paul R. Pintrich

Paul R. Pintrich was a leading figure in the field of self-regulated learning. This article discusses some of Paul’s major contributions: (a) formulating a conceptual framework for studying self-regulated learning comprising phases (forethought, planning, activation; monitoring; control; reaction, reflection) and areas for self-regulation (cognition, motivation, behavior, context); (b) emphasizing the role of motivation in self-regulation; (c) conducting research linking learning, motivation, and self-regulation; (d) exploring the development of and interventions to enhance self-regulatory processes; (e) investigating how the complexities of classrooms and schools affect self-regulation; and (f) helping to develop the MSLQ to assess self-regulated learning, cognition, and motivation. Paul’s writings provide ideas for future research on self-regulated learning. Paul Pintrich left a rich legacy through his theoretical elaboration, exemplary research, dissemination and advocacy, and personal and professional friendships

Peer-Model Attributes and Children's Achievement Behaviors

In two experiments, we investigated how attributed of peer models influenced achievement behaviors among children who had experienced difficulties learning mathematical skills in school. In Experiment 1, children (M = 10.6 years) observed either a same- or opposite-sex peer model demonstrating rapid (mastery model) or gradual (coping model) acquisition of fraction skills. Observing a coping model led to higher self-efficacy, skill, and training performance. In Experiment 2, children (M = 10.9 years) observed either one or three same-sex peer models demonstrating mastery or coping behaviors while solving fractions. Children in the single-coping model, multiple-coping-model, and multiple-mastery-model conditions demonstrated higher self-efficacy, skill, and training performance, compared with subjects who observed a single mastery model. In both studies, children who observed coping models judged themselves more similar in competence to the models than did subjects who observed mastery models