Fear and Boredom in the Classroom

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer maintains that motivation cannot be understood as a single explanation for why some children make and others do not make progress at school. It is a term that masks a complex of ideas and theories to which people make implicit but usually unwitting commitments whenever they try to change the behavior of others and even their own behaviours. The writer notes that the sometimes competing theories reflect a degree of empirical research but the instruments used to conduct the research tap different motivational constructs and so are difficult to compare directly. Nonetheless, the writer argues that some perspectives offer more promise than others. In particular, the writer identifies three which are central to current debate in the field and provide a viable basis for explaining why some pupils make and others do not make progress in educational settings.

Outline:
External Rewards, Inner Thoughts
Reflexive Formations: Learned Helplessness and Mastery Orientation
Intrinsic Motivation & Goal Theories
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"Secondly, motivation is a deeply reflexive issue. According to attribution theory, the very explanations offered for success or failure by teachers, pupils and parents are themselves a key part of the nexus of issues that motivate pupils to approach or to avoid achievement tasks. Those who lack self-confidence may resist learning opportunities precisely because they explain past failures in terms of low ability and therefore expect failure in the future, but even for the highest achievers, the use of a fixed-entity concept of ability in explanations for success or failure may foster maladaptive motivational attitudes."
"Finally, motivation is context specific: a pupil may be motivated by one subject, but not by another; by their relationship with one teacher and not another; and finally, by activities that engage them outside of school but not within it."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Burnett, P. C. (2002), Teacher praise and feedback and students' perceptions of the classroom environment. Educatonal Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, 2002.
• Cameron, J. and Pierce, W.D. (1994), Reinforcement, reward, and intrinsic motivation: a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research 64(3), 363-423.
• Covington, M. V. (1984), The motive for self-worth. In Ames, R.E. and Ames C. (eds) Research on Motivation in Education. Vol. 1: Student Motivation. London: Academic Press, cit. in Stipek (1988).
• Crozier, W. R. (1997), Individual Learners: Personality Differences in Education. London and New York: Routledge.
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975), Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

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