Martin L. Maehr

Motivation and Schooling in the Middle Grades

This review examines recent developments in research on social-cognitive theories of motivation during adolescence and the ways in which such research can be applied to the reform of middle grade schools. While there is ample evidence that the environments in many middle grade schools are antithetical to the needs of early adolescents, few reform efforts have emerged which consider the motivational and developmental needs of youth. This article suggests that effective reform must consider the multiple contexts in which students interact. Recent examples of reform at the classroom and school level using a goal theory perspective are presented.

Beyond a Two-Goal Theory of Motivation and Achievement: A Case for Social Goals

Research on academic achievement motivation has increasingly focused on students’ goals. Most of that research has focused on two particular types of achievement goals: task goals and ability goals. In this review, we propose that a more thorough understanding of motivation and achievement in schools can be developed if we examine social goals—defined as perceived social purposes for academic achievement—in addition to task and ability goals. We review research on achievement goal theory, social goals, social motives, and social influences on students’ school-related attitudes and behaviors to develop hypotheses about the antecedents and consequences of social goals. In addition, we discuss ways in which the learning environment may influence students’ social goal orientations. We conclude with a discussion of seven areas for future research on the nature and function of social goals.

Understanding Motivation and Schooling: Where We've Been, Where We Are, and Where We Need to Go

This paper presents an interpretive summary of the progress that has been made in the study of motivation, especially as this work relates to the area of education. Motivation research has “come of age” with theoretical frameworks rooted in an established body of findings, and with the development of core methodologies for pursuing further knowledge. It has begun to provide a firm base for guiding educational practice. Current work is clearly in accord with mainstream psychology in that cognitive models of motivation are the predominant guides for research. Future work is likely to focus increasingly on how the meaning construction process affects engagement in tasks. Researchers should consider a wider array of research procedures and give greater attention to understanding motivation as it occurs in natural settings, especially as educational interventions are attempted. A serious deficiency in the motivation literature is that relatively little attention has been given to differences related to sociocultural backgrounds.

Reinventing Schools for Early Adolescents: Emphasizing Task Goals

Middle grade education has been a neglected area in school reform. In fact, many common practices at this level are contrary to current theory and research on early adolescents. Recent work in achievement theory suggests that a schools definition of learning influences student motivation. Thus, a school environment that stresses learning (task goals) is more conducive to cognitive engagement and motivation than an environment that emphasizes the demonstration of ability (ability goals). The article builds on this line of research and outlines implications for the reformation of schools. Initial results of a case study in a large middle grade school are presented to illustrate how stress on task or ability goals is likely to affect the school learning environment and, with it, student motivation and learning.

Achievement and morality: a cross-cultural analysis of causal attribution and evaluation.

A recent study by Weiner and Peter has considered the emergence of certain patterns of attribution and evaluation in achievement and moral situations. According to their analysis, judgments should generally follow a Piagetian sequence in which younger children are influenced more by the outcome of an episode and older children by the intent of the protagonist. With a sample of U.S. subjects they found overall support for this analysis. A major of the present study is to determine how sociocultural factors may influence the judgmental patterns outlined by Weiner and Peter by essentially replicating their study in the manifestly different cultural context provided in Iran. Important discrepancies with Weiner and Peter were found which can be attributed to sociocultural factors. However, the cognitive-developmental framework proved generally valuable in working toward a comparative understanding of socialization patterns extant in the two cultures.

Goal Theory Is Not Dead—Not Yet, Anyway: A Reflection on the Special Issue

The author suggests how these papers converge in portraying the nature of motivation, learning, and achievement. That portrayal proceeds from a social—cognitive framework that stresses the centrality of goals in framing whether, when, and how students are likely to approach or avoid academic tasks. He points out, however, that approach and avoidance, although an important aspect of motivation, do not fully encompass a domain that is and has been considered the fitting purview of motivation theory and research. Especially in the realm of education, the quality of engagement that eventuates is of equal if not greater importance relative to choice and direction. However, a primary question raised in these comments relates to the nature of goals and how they operate in framing action, thought, and feelings. Some of the work reflected in the wider goal theory literature as well as in some of these papers, suggests that goals are closely linked to a varying role of self in determining the nature and direction of action, feelings, and thought. Some of the work seems to limit goals to a specific kind of objective under limited circumstances. Finally, questions are raised about whether or how the work presented would define the role of context in determining motivation. Clearly, although work reflected in these papers is truly impressive, it is impressive not just for conclusions reached but also for new questions prompted.

Atkinson’s Theory of Achievement Motivation: First Step Toward a Theory of Academic Motivation?

Educators generally agree that a major variable affecting classroom performance is motivation. However, important as motivational variables may be in understanding, predicting, and controlling classroom behavior, there is a paucity of information and theory associated with them. There are many theories of human motivation; but little attempt has been made to extend these theories in a systematic way to educational situations. Furthermore, the occasional application of psychological theory to education has not typically eventuated in a theory of academic motivation nor a unified and coherent body of information. As a result, there is very little in the way of motivation theory which is clearly of help to the classroom teacher or to education in general. The situation is not without hope, however. The work of several theorists has shown promise of evolving postulates and hypotheses relevant to the teaching-learning process. Prominent among these is the theory of achievement motivation, particularly as formulated by Atkinson (1957, 1964, 1965; Atkinson & Feather, 1966).1 This theory has provided a productive approach to a variety of behavioral phenomena; thus it has been suggested (e.g., Atkinson, 1966; Weiner, 1967) that it may also give direction to educationally relevant research. Can it indeed serve as a first step toward a theory of academic motivation? It is the goal of this paper to consider that question.

Goals and Motivation of Chinese Students — Testing the Adaptive Learning Model

Social cognitive theories on learning have considered the role of beliefs, thoughts and perceptions in motivating students to adopt adaptive learning strategies. The concept of goals has emerged to be useful in explicating the origins and correlates of adaptive learning. There are two general goal orientations that students can adopt in learning: task-focused and performance-focused. Goal orientations are related to a number of motivational and cognitive processes, which may contribute to performance outcomes. Students adopting a task-focused goal are primarily concerned with learning to improve their understanding. Students who adopt a performance-focused goal are concerned with grades and concentrate on outperforming others. The goal orientation theory (Ames & Ames, 1989; Anderman & Maehr, 1994 ,Maehr & Pintrich, 1991 ; Urdan & Maehr, 1995) has been used extensively as a framework for research in academic settings and recently has proven useful in guiding school change (Maehr, Midgley, 1996) in US. Although the conceptual framework underlining the goal orientation theory of the motivation and achievement is derived from research on US students, the basic model has been successfully applied to the analysis of students in other individualistic cultures.

Cultural Diversity, Student Motivation and Achievement

Achievement in one form or another has been a subject of continuing interest on the part of parents, leaders in business and industry, government officials and of course, social scientists. Some may focus especially on societal achievement: gross national product (GNP), industrial efficiency, or per capita income. Others are more concerned with the number of Nobel prizes won or perhaps the quality of orchestras, the status of the arts, employment rates, and literacy. Whatever the specific focus, in the final analysis, a society’s schools take the blame when productivity objectives are not met, science is second rate, and high art and music have to be imported. Whether or not schools deserve all the blame they receive, it is hard to deny that they are a major factor in societal achievement.

Achievement Contexts: Effect on Achievement Values and Causal Attributions.

ABSTRACT This study investigated some antecedents of achievement attributions and achievement values. Antecedents included demographics (gender, age, socioeconomic status, and race) and six achievement context choices (school, work, family, social, aesthetic, and sport). It was expected that individuals would be more motivated to achieve in some contexts and less motivated to achieve in others, and that this would affect their achievement attributions and values. The subjects were 1,164 9th and 12th graders from six Illinois high schools that were balanced on rural, inner-city, and urban locations. Canonical correlation analysis was used to determine that demographics shared 13.7% of the variance in optimally weighted linear combinations of achievement contexts, but only a small amount of the variance in causal attributions and achievement values. Achievement contexts, controlling for demographics, shared 50.1% of the variance in optimally weighted linear combinations of achievement values and 20% of the ...