Handbook of Motivation at School

Kathryn R. Wentzel, David B. Miele, Kathryn R. Wentzel, David B. Miele

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317681250
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Psychologie de l'éducation

The second edition of the Handbook of Motivation at School presents an integrated compilation of theory and research in the field. With chapters by leading experts, this book covers the major theoretical perspectives in the field as well as their application to instruction, learning, and social adjustment at school. Section I focuses on theoretical perspectives and major constructs, Section II on contextual and social influences on motivation, and Section III on new directions in the field.

This new edition will have the same popular organizational structure with theories at the beginning. It will also include new chapters that cover motivation as it relates to identity, culture, test anxiety, mindfulness, neuroscience, parenting, metacognition, and regulatory focus.

1 Overview

Kathryn R. Wentzel and David B. Miele

DOI: 10.4324/9781315773384-1

The academic lives of children are challenging and complex. In line with the mission of schooling, children are expected to engage in academic activities, learn from instruction, and meet standards of intellectual competency established by others. Children also are expected to adhere to classroom rules, maintain and establish new relationships with classmates and adults, and participate in activities as members of their school community. Central to understanding children’s success at these activities is motivation, typically defined as a set of interrelated desires, goals, needs, values, and emotions that explain the initiation, direction, intensity, persistence, and quality of behavior.

Reflecting on this definition, the authors in the first edition of the Handbook (see Wentzel & Wigfield, 2009) provided accounts of motivation based on social cognitive theories and constructs such as individuals’ self-efficacy beliefs and expectancies for success, their causal attributions and beliefs about intelligence, and their sense of autonomy within various academic contexts. In addition, authors devoted discussion to a rich and extensive literature concerning why students strive to achieve specific academic outcomes, focusing on constructs such as goals, standards for performance, emotions, values, interest, and orientations toward learning and performance. Beliefs about interpersonal belongingness and emotional connectedness to others, beliefs concerning what one is supposed to do based on a sense of moral or social obligation, and perceptions of broader social and cultural expectations concerning intellectual as well as social competencies were also presented as central components of students’ motivation at school. This focus on motivation as a characteristic of the individual was also extended to include frameworks specifying developmental, ecological, and socialization factors that can influence students’ motivational beliefs and intentions.

Our vision for the second edition of the Handbook was to provide the same detailed scholarly overview of the current state of theory and research in the field but to also challenge our readers with new directions and provocations for future scholarship on motivation at school. With these objectives in mind, the current edition presents a comprehensive overview of current theories and research on motivation at school, as well as a broad survey of social and contextual factors that influence students’ motivation. In addition, it includes for the first time a compilation of chapters that are forward looking and thought provoking in their consideration of nontraditional approaches to the study of motivation at school.

A central theme of this Handbook is motivation in school settings. The complex nature of these settings is reflected in the fact that children come to school with many goals they wish to achieve that reflect learning and intellectual development, social and interpersonal concerns, and affective functioning. Educators aim to promote the successful accomplishment of all these goals, not just those that pertain to intellectual development. Therefore, the authors of this Handbook speak not only to issues surrounding motivation to achieve academically but also to issues that concern social competence and connectedness to classmates and teachers, or that pertain to the development of a healthy sense of identity and emotional well-being. A related theme is reflected in the growing literature on the diverse contextual factors that promote motivation at school, or at times impede its growth. In this regard, the field has enjoyed an increased focus on social supports and broader cultural processes that play a role in motivating students at school. Scholars in this area have heightened awareness of how socialization processes known to promote social and affective development in nonacademic settings can also provide a foundation for the development of motivational processes associated with learning and academic outcomes in school settings. Included in this discussion are ways in which students are able (or unable) to adapt to educational contexts that often promote values or interpersonal styles that are incongruent with those of their family, community, or culture.

Finally, future directions that were anticipated in the first edition of the Handbook are now coming to fruition (see Wentzel & Wigfield, 2009). For example, we are pleased to include in this volume new and exciting work that has emerged from social psychological studies of motivation (see chapters by Miele and Scholer, and Molden and Rosenzweig). Emerging work on the neurological and physiological bases of motivation and engagement is also represented in this volume, as illustrated in the chapter on math anxiety by Maloney, the chapter on mindfulness by Roeser, and the chapter on neuroscience and motivation by Reeve and Lee. Additionally, the chapter by Rowe, Ramani, and Pomerantz describes advancements in the area of parenting that provide greater insight into motivation and learning in early childhood. And, Hofer and Fries present research that addresses relatively complex motivational issues, such as how students deal with conflicts between multiple self-processes and goals.

Overview of the Volume

The Handbook is divided into three sections: Section I: Major Theoretical Perspectives and Constructs; Section II: Contextual and Social Influences on Motivation; and Section III: New Directions in the Field.

Section I

Authors in the first section present overviews of the major theoretical perspectives that address children’s motivation at school, its antecedents, and development. These theories encompass the beliefs, values, goals, and needs that have been the focus of much of the research on achievement motivation over the last several decades, with updated chapters on attributions for success and failure (Graham and Taylor), self-efficacy beliefs (Schunk and DiBenedetto), expectancies and values for different achievement activities (Wigfield, Tonks, and Klauda), self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci), and emotions (Pekrun). New chapters provide perspectives on goals for learning and achievement (Senko), self-regulated learning (Kitsantaas and Cleary), engagement and disaffection (Skinner), and interest and curiosity (Alexander and Grossnickle).

Authors in this section present their theoretical perspective, explain how it has evolved over time, discuss theoretical and methodological challenges, and identify new directions in their specific area of scholarship. In the first chapter, Graham and Taylor present a clear and concise overview of attribution theory, including a review of research on the antecedents and consequences of attributions for intrapersonal and interpersonal motivation. In conclusion, they present five recommendations for conducting motivation research in schools concerning methods and outcomes, the identification of mediators and moderators, unconscious processes, multicomponent interventions, and race and ethnicity.

Next, Schunk and DiBenedetto discuss self-efficacy and its influence on learning, motivation, and self-regulation. In addition, they provide a useful accounting of important influences on self-efficacy (development, families, social and educational contexts), and methodological strategies for assessing self-efficacy. They conclude their chapter with recommendations for self-efficacy research that focus on cultural backgrounds, contextual influences, out-of-school settings, and the dynamic nature of self-efficacy.

The third chapter by Wigfield, Tonks, and Klauda provides an overview of expectancy-value theory. The authors focus on the expectancy-value model developed by Eccles, Wigfield, and their colleagues, including three broad issues that arise from this work: how expectancies and values develop and relate to performance and choice, how they are influenced by different kinds of educational interventions and contexts, and how their development is impacted by culture.

Senko provides a thoughtful account of achievement goal theory. He describes two perspectives that characterize the literature on achievement goals, the “goal orientation” model and the “goal standard” model, comparing the relative merits of each. The chapter concludes with a discussion of a recently developed “goal complex” model and its potential to integrate the two goal perspectives and generate new directions in research on goal theory.

In their chapter on self-determination theory, Ryan and Deci discuss autonomous and controlled forms of regulation in relation to school-related outcomes such as student wellness, engagement, and performance. Three basic psychological needs—for competence, relatedness, and autonomy—are described as antecedents of effective performance and psychological well-being in school settings. The authors also highlight school policies and environments that can support students’ and teachers’ basic psychological needs and autonomous motivation for teaching and learning.

Next, Pekrun reviews theories and evidence on students’ academic emotions, including enjoyment of learning, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom at school. The chapter provides clarity with respect to conceptual issues, the origins and development of emotions over the school years, and how emotions function to influence students’ motivation, learning, and achievement. The chapter includes a discussion of the control-value theory of achievement emotions and its implications for educational practice and future research.

Skinner provides a comprehensive account of ways in which the constructs of engagement and disaffection can provide insights into the role of motivation at school. These constructs are described as engines of learning, mediators of motivational processes, contributors to task choice, resources for coping, elicitors of teacher and peer reactions, and input about identity. Implications are discussed in terms of how perspectives on engagement and disaffection can inform teachers’ mental models of student learning and thus guide improvement of their practices.

Kitsantas and Cleary review empirical research on self-regulated learning (SRL), based on a three-phase cyclical model of adolescents’ learning and motivation. They demonstrate how use of specific self-regulatory processes in a variety of areas of academic functioning, such as mathematics, writing, and reading, positively impacts student performance and motivation. They end their chapter by discussing instructional interventions designed to enhance the use of self-regulatory processes, with recommendations on how teachers can teach students to engage in self-regulated learning.

Finally, Alexander and Grossnickle examine the various definitions and manifestations of interest and curiosity, highlighting their commonalities and distinctions. Interest and curiosity are then positioned within the Model of Domain Learning, which describes a developmental approach to academic functioning. The authors conclude with implications for empirical research and educational practice based on this work.

Section II

The chapters in Section II reflect perspectives on the role of social processes, socialization agents, and contextual factors that can promote or hinder the development of students’ motivation at school. Authors describe empirical work and reflect on important theoretical advancements in the areas of teacher (Wentzel), peer (Juvonen and Knifsend), and instructional (Kaplan and Patrick) influences on student motivation. The sophisticated and rich perspectives on motivation provided by these authors is testament to the growing recognition that social processes, interactions, and relationships can have a powerful influence on student motivation and that integration of social developmental models with more traditional approaches to motivation brings much strength to the discussion of students’ motivation at school. Chapters on culture (King and McInerney), identity (Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff), and gender (Watt) in relation to student motivation also are included in this section. These chapters remind us of the broader contextual factors that can have a profound impact on student motivation but that are frequently ignored in school-based studies of motivation. Finally, a chapter by Fives and Buehl on teacher motivation considers the role of self-efficacy and goal orientations in promoting or undermining students’ as well as teachers’ motivation to perform well at school.

The first chapter by Wentzel considers how and why teacher-student relationships might be related to students’ motivation to achieve academic and social outcomes at school. Toward this end, the various theoretical perspectives that guide work in the area of teacher-student relationships are described, research on teacher-student relationships that informs questions of causal influence is reviewed, and measurement and design issues associated with this research are raised. In conclusion, directions for future work in this area are offered.

Next, Juvonen and Knifsend review the literature on peer relationships and achievement motivation, highlighting ways in which the academic behaviors of friends and peer support can facilitate achievement strivings and how being socially marginalized can lead to a lack of motivation. They also describe the effects of peer group norms and normative pressures on motivation in the classroom. The chapter ends with a discussion of school social climate and how a lack of school belonging can have detrimental motivational effects.

The third chapter in this section by Kaplan and Patrick reviews motivational perspectives that differ in their theoretical assumptions about the nature of motivation and how it is influenced by the environment. These authors highlight assumptions about the source and malleability of motivation, identify the mechanisms of motivational change associated with these assumptions, and discuss how the proposed mechanisms can inform recommendations for the design of motivating learning environments. The chapter ends with a discussion of emerging complexity models of motivation, including the implications of this approach for both research and practice.

King and McInerney approach the topic of motivation at school from a cultural perspective. They first review the historical antecedents of research on culture and motivation and then examine cultural differences in constructs and processes from major motivational frameworks (e.g., attribution, expectancy-value, self-determination, achievement goal, and personal investment theory). They end with recommendations designed to help sensitize researchers to the role of culture in learning and motivation.

Master, Cheryan, and Meltzoff discuss how identity shapes students’ motivation and achievement, specifically how identity (who students are and who they want to be) can shape academic choices and goals. They also highlight how many students face the threat of negative stereotypes about their social identity in school settings. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how interventions can create identity-safe cues to improve these students’ motivation.

Next, Watt describes differences in how girls and boys are motivated within particular academic domains, explores how these gender differences affect important academic outcomes as well as career aspirations, and discusses how they are influenced by various features of students’ learning environments. The chapter concludes with a discussion of continuing theoretical and methodological challenges to research in this area.

Finally, Fives and Buehl explore the empirical and theoretical literature on teachers’ motivation, focusing on self-efficacy and achievement goal orientations. The authors provide definitions of key constructs, review important theoretical and methodological issues, and identify potential mechanisms of influence. The authors end with a discussion of why teacher motivation is important to study and offer recommendations for research and practice.

Section III

The chapters in the third section explore exciting new directions for research on motivation in schools. The majority of these chapters introduce established theories and methodologies from other fields, such as developmental psychology (Maloney; Roeser; Rowe, Ramani, and Pomerantz), social psychology (Miele and Scholer; Molden and Rosenzweig), and cognitive neuroscience (Reeve and Lee; Roeser), and relate them to the educational literature reviewed in the first two sections. Authors base their arguments, in part, on research from these fields that has been conducted in academic settings; where such research is missing, they are more speculative and point to promising opportunities for new research.

In the first chapter of this section, Miele and Scholer posit a model of motivation regulation that involves two central processes: students’ assessment of their own motivational states (i.e., monitoring) and their use of strategies to boost or change their motivation when they deem it to be insufficient (i.e., control). The authors then go on to review research on motivation regulation strategies, with a focus on the specific components of motivation targeted by each strategy. Though much of the research they review focuses on how students regulate the amount or quantity of motivation they have to achieve their goals, the authors also review emerging research rooted in social psychology that examines how students monitor the quality of their motivation (e.g., the type of goal or orientation they possess) in order to determine whether it is well-suited to the demands of the academic tasks they are attempting to complete.

The second chapter, by Roeser, describes the emergence of mindfulness practices in education, with specific attention to theory and research on school-based programs offered directly to students. Roeser reviews various theoretical perspectives on what mindfulness is and does, and describes five common, secular mindfulness practices used in schools today. He also presents a conceptual framework for understanding the kinds of skills and dispositions that these mindfulness practices might cultivate in students, and posits a set of related hypotheses regarding the potential relevance of such skills and dispositions for their motivation and learning.

Next, Maloney reviews the current literature on math anxiety, synthesizing findings from psychology, neuroscience, and education to highlight what researchers believe to be the causes, consequences, and most promising int...