I believe taking ownership of ones' own learning to be the first and fundamental step towards success, and yet despite many approaches adopted by teachers and parents, many students are reluctant to be the boss of themselves in matters of teaching and learning.
Amotivation can stem from what we call learned helplessness (See Miller and his rats). This means that the student internalized a passive behavior believing that he/she cannot change either environment, or own existential conditions. This belief may sometimes arise in persons who have chronic illnesses, mood disorders, phobias, are subject to overprotection and suffer from loss of functional independence. Dysfunctional families and immature parents contribute to this behavior. Also lack of social support and functional coping strategies in stress situations as well as parental lack of knowledge how to reward the student when he/she succeeds may contribute to this mindset. Personally a year in practical dull work with older people who could not afford higher education was an eye-opener for me in early years. I asked myself: do I want to cut and fold these hospital sheets into window rugs for the rest of my life? Somehow the motivation for studies rose "significantly".
Thank you for the response. I have downloaded the two articles and will read it to make better sense of the interconnected factors and implications. Have a good day.
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