I think you mentioned the key to motivation in school. social background and especially balanced family  help keeping children with a minimum of motivation to learning. This varies according to their age and grade. We should also recognize that the teacher has the biggest share to its stimulus. The child is most of the time expecting to receive much more from the teacher than his parents which makes things more complex for the teacher. But according to my experience with students in college, if the teacher is class with his heart, fair and smart consideration of his students besides learning by doing, worshops, examples from daily life with small groups contribute a lot to enhancing motivation with students in spite of their disadvantaged backround.

Thank you Bouzekri. It's widely recognized that teachers who can engage students in classrooms get better performances in students' grades. The problem is that they might even get better at that discipline, but the motivational effect won't be an all around effect. I'm looking for strategies to enhance youngsters self-concept in general, ways to keep them motivated in boring classes and subjects, if you know what I mean. Thank you for your contribution!

Pedro, i don't have a specific intervention, just a mix of motivation theory and 30 years teaching.

Motivation is usually a blend of intrinsic and forms of extrinsic. The 2 regarded as most valuable are intrinsic and extrinsic where the external motivators are consistent with the students' goals and aspirations. Less important, but relevant are motivation based on rewards, then motivation based on fear and below that amotivation, which is clearly useless. (this is just a rough summary, the theoretical hierarchy is more complex)

So: interventions that work to develop intrinsic motivation are most important. I work on curriculum development such that the task (and consequent learning) is as useful as possible so that completion of the task is a small pleasure for the student, regardless of the grading process. This helps a bit.

Next in line, I work on helping students to recognize that their goals align with the learning. Again, with some success.

Obviously relationships come into play as well. Motivation theory suggests that motivation requires 3 main inputs for the student, They must perceive possibility of success (competence), a sense of control over the process or outcome (autonomy) and a relatedness. So interventions that work to supply these will help.

You are after general motivation which I don't think is easy. For this to happen students need A LOT of success experiences and a clear sense of alignment of their goals with the course.

Well, thank you so much Mark! I know Decy & Ryan's continuum between intrinsic motivation and amotivation.

Relative to your suggestion on curriculum adaptation, would you suggest project based methodology? It's the only way I see a direct correlation between student's interest and academic work without further curricular adaptations. The problem with it is that project based learning departs from the traditional teaching settings I'm working on.

More interesting might be the idea you're saying of helping them realize learning alignment with personal goals. In a sense it's also a "tailored" approach as you need to explore the individual's interests in order to establish that connection. But it certainly might be easier to operationalize!

Decy & Ryan's theory I got to know before as my area of studies is psychology. Competence, autonomy and significant social bonding are extremely important. The thing is, I hear one of my teachers making this analogy: psychologists are like baker's yeast on people's growth, we can help them grow but we cannot supply the flour and the eggs. My goal is to help them kids find the "eggs" within them so they can grow like well baked cakes! And yes, experiencing successes will have a cumulative effect on self-concept as self-efficacy grows in a general worldview. That's my point! =)

Again, thank you Mark for your contribution! =)

Hi Pedro,

Yes, project based is the best for increasing focus on the value of the task. Any system tht results in a meaningful product for each student is useful. My obervation is that the more we can focus students on the paradigm of 'doing a good job of the task in hand' the easier it is to build intrinsic or quality extrinsic motivation.

Yes I was referrring to Deci and Ryan's work, which I find most useful.

Working on individuals' needs through some form of progress conversation eg in terms of strengths, barriers in a collaboarative way but with the professional contributing 'nudges' towards goal alignment would be an idea worth exploring. On goals, I do not like to talk long term goals too much with younger students UNLESS they are already highly focussed because it can put them off. They often don't recognise the possibility of long term goals. I do talk to them of 'giving you choices' as a goal. In other words for some students, I talk possibility rather than probability in goals, possibly captured in the statement 'it doen't hurt to put a bit of effort into doing well and it just might be useful later'. For some this is less threatening that a high level goal.

Your colleague's analogy is excellent. I too want to do more than understand. I want to act. So my career has been a long term action research project to try to build student's capacity to be successful.

Hi again Mark,

Project based learning would be (will be, I hope) my choice as an education methodology paradigm, but in general the public education sector is not that flexible as to implement a project based program as guiding teaching/learning paradigm. So, despite the value I find in it, it'll have to be kept for another time I'm afraid.

I was thinking, as a means to gather student's needs and interests with psychometric instruments (e.g., interests inventories that you can apply to whole classrooms), the only way it could possibly be implemented in a public school setting, it might not be as feasible as one would like. Perhaps one on one conversation would be the sole way to get there, which in my particular context (Portuguese public schools) might be useful in primary grades. Usually kids keep the same teacher from 1st to 4th grade. Qualitative methods (such as interviews) are very time consuming, and even if one don't explore the child's needs and interests in a very structured way such as in interview settings, it might take quite a long time to explore the whole class individually.

Maybe a simple qualitative instrument for exploration of needs and interests would do, focusing on 3 or 4 specific areas each. From there, the teacher may become capable of understanding intrinsic motivations of each child and might then try an integration of grade program with the child's needs and interests. That might work. =)

Regarding your approach of long term goals vs. open possibilities, I find it might be a good strategy. What I say is, do what works with you! =) If you sense it is useful in your practice I guess you shouldn't drop it, maybe even develop to new levels like integrating it with that notion of exploring the child's own goals.

The 'doing a good job of the task in hand' approach would be the goal of this intervention I'm looking for, but for the whole range of educational experiences. It should increment self-efficacy on different areas along time if the student experiences several successes. That should provide the student with a sense of self-worth and a positive self-concept and consequently build up an intrinsic motivation for academic work.

Thanks again for this interesting swap Mark! =)

Provision of culturally available play materials, coaching the play sessions , avoiding contrasting of skills,....could be of paramount importance!!

By contrasting of skills, you mean very developmentally differentiated individuals?

Hi, Pedro,

I think the following book which is focused on motivational interventions from several perspectives by two leading researchers in the area (S. Karabenick and T. Urdan) would be of great help. Just published!

Book Series: Advances in Motivation and Achievement

Volume 18 - Motivational Interventions

Edited by: Stuart A. Karabenick, Timothy C. Urdan

Published: 2014, Emerald Publishing                                                                               Series ISSN: 0749-7423

Good luck with your work,

Eleftheria

Hola Pedro, mi experiencia en el tema de motivación es referente a mi tesis de Maestría: Motivación al Logro en estudiantes Universitarios, un estudio de correlación. Creo que lo que te puedo compartir es que encontré que las mujeres universitarias de clase media y media alta, se mantienen motivadas en sus estudios desde que inician la carera profesional hasta el término; mientras que los varones inician un recorrido ascendente motivacional hacia sus estudios, como una constante hasta el término.

Espero esta breve observación pueda ayudarte en algo, suerte!!!

Evelyn

Thank you Kenton and Eleftheria, and Gracias Evelin! =)

I'll try and take a look at that book Eleftheria, seems pertinent!

Kenton, The Values Perspective might be a prolific theoretical exploration for me as I have an interest in Values Based Education. Can you please add some further comment, for instance, you recon it could be applied in a self assessment fashion for whole classes at once?

Best regards for all and thanks for your contributions!

Thank you Kenton, your solution seems very interesting! I will get back to you when the time is right.

For the moment I'm working on my master's on Mental Contrast with Implementation Intentions, and I'll want to work on these themes later on (motivation and values). We'll be in touch!

All the best!

Yes, Pedro!

Thank you friends. Kenton, I've found a reference right here in Portugal for work on values with younger people. He's called José Pacheco and is currently working in Brasil. Thank very much anyway, I'm taking account of your proposal anyway.

Again, thanks a lot guys!

Thank you friends. Kenton, I've found a reference right here in Portugal for work on values with younger people. He's called José Pacheco and is currently working in Brasil. Thank very much anyway, I'm taking account of your proposal anyway.

Again, thanks a lot guys!

Yes this is a big challenge for education where working with the child alone will not be effective. There is a need for action at the community level. Such action entailing the engagement of  the whole community in decision making about school as well as the involvement of parents and other community members in the education endeavours of the school has been very well illustrated by the FP6 European research project INCLUD-Ed coordinated by the University of Barcelona - see presentation of results on https://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/includ-ed-policy-brief_en.pdf 

I attach a copy of the final report

Thank you Paul, all the best!