Motivation in education

President Obama’s 2014 “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative responds to the continuing educational disparities that the No Child Left Behind Act was intended to have addressed. The preoccupation with standardized testing and accountability over the past decade has revealed evidence of disparities in achievement between Black male students and their White counterparts. Critical Race Theorists have framed these persistent disparities as evidence of the opportunity gap and have advocated culturally responsive pedagogy that would facilitate students’ academic success.

The purpose of the current outcome study was to investigate the difference in grade 9 completion rate and student engagement between grade 9 students in the treatment group who received the Student Success Sills (SSS) classroom program (Brigman & Webb, 2010) and grade 9 students in the comparison group who did not receive the SSS classroom program. The sample consisted of grade 9 students enrolled in Intensive Reading classes, a required course for all high school students in the state of Florida who are below reading proficiency. School A served as the treatment group (n=98) and School B served as the comparison group (n=99). Certified school counselors in the treatment group implemented five, 45 minute SSS lessons and three booster lessons after being trained in the manualized use of the program and other related study procedures. A quasi-experimental pretest posttest research design was employed to
examine the impact of the SSS classroom program on grade 9 completion rate and student engagement. The unit of analysis was individual grade 9 students. Grade 9 completion rate was measured by academic credits. Student engagement was measured by attendance rate and the Student Engagement in School Success Skills (SESSS) instrument.

Leaders often manage both chaos and diversity. We can improve our leadership
effectiveness by better understanding our motives and behaviors, and those of our
followers. A potential tool for leadership development is the Instinctual Variant
Questionnaire (IVQ). Based on Enneagram theory (pronounced “ANY-a-gram”), this
online instrument is designed to assist users in identifying how three behavioral drives, or
variants, may be helping or hindering their dispositions. Each reside in us, but one
typically dominates, one supports, and one tends to impede our behaviors and motives.
Through an understanding of one’s variants and order of preference, it is possible to
increase self-awareness of our motives and behaviors. While the IVQ proposes to
measure one’s preferred order of variants, no formal test of reliability and/or validity was
found published prior to this study. The purpose of this study was to test the reliability
and criterion-related validity of the IVQ. Reliability was tested using Cronbach’s alpha.Results indicated alpha values between .82 and .85 for the three variants measured,suggesting internal reliability.Validity was tested using data collected from a 120-person sample. The instrument’s results were compared to self-reported primary variant types obtained from those who had a high confidence level in accurately identifying their most dominant type. The IVQ was found to be a strong predictor of the three self-reported variant types. Three binary logistic regression models were run. Omnibus tests were significant for all three models at the p < .001 level (self-preservation chi-square statistic = 82.57, social chi-square statistic = 56.47, and sexual chi-square statistic = 51.77). A multinomial regression model, using self-reported dominant types as the dependent variable and IVQ scores as the independent variable, confirmed predictability of the IVQ. When z-scores were obtained based on the classification hit-rates from all four independent models, classification accuracy was found to be a significant improvement over guessing. Further analysis also suggested age, gender, marital status, education level, or number of years spent studying the Enneagram do not factor into IVQ results. Support for the IVQ to beused as a tool by leaders to better understand themselves and their followers is presented.

This study examined factors that relate to the persistence of first-generation
undergraduate students in a 4-year public university in the Southeastern United States.
Results were analyzed from a 2011 two-part survey: CARES-I (College Assessment of
Readiness for Entering Students-Intent) and CARES-A (College Assessment of
Readiness for Entering Students-Actual/Achieved. Semistructured interviews were
conducted with first-generation undergraduate persisters, administrators, and professors.
There was no statistically significant difference in persistence between
continuing-generation and first-generation students. None of the factors, with the
exception of performance goals on CARES A, were found to relate to persistence.
Significant positive correlations were found between persistence and residential status, a
learning strategies course, gender, high school GPA, and first semester in college GPA.
The learning communities program was not found to significantly relate to persistence.
The CARES surveys were found to be weak for predicting persistence. There was no significant interaction between any of the factors, persistence, and first-generation and
continuing-generation, except for performance goals on CARES I and self-efficacy on
CARES A. Findings from the interviews indicated that self-efficacy was highly important to
graduation. The students had clear academic and professional, learning, monetary, and
social outcome expectations. Student performance goals varied in amount of time, use of
learning strategies, and organizational tools. Of the organizational variables, academic
and social integration positively impacted persistence. However, the participants wished
to have had higher grades as freshmen, found the STEM courses tough, had no informal
interaction with administrators or professors, and did not use office hours enough.
Students spoke positively of institutional programs, clubs, services, and organizations
such as Supplemental Instruction (SI), the Math Lab, and Writing Center. Administrators
and professors expressed a need for more information and responsiveness to persistence
factors. Persistence was not impeded by family, friends, or work, whereas financial issues
were prevalent. Although demographic variables did not negatively impact persistence,
exo and macrosystem factors beyond the doors of the university emerged.
Recommendations and options are provided for further research and for the university to
improve persistence.

This study was designed to investigate friend influence on academic
achievement and task avoidance during middle childhood in a sample of 794
participants in 397 stable same-sex friendship dyads (205 girl dyads and 192 boy dyads)
from four municipalities in Finland: two in Central Finland, one in Western Finland,
and one in Eastern Finland. Longitudinal data were collected during the spring of 3rd
grade and 4th grade and reports were available from both members of each friendship
dyad. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy & Cook, 2006)
was used with a single sample of participants to estimate friend influence on academic
achievement and task avoidance between two types of friendship dyads: (1) dyads that
were distinguishable as a function of relative math achievement and relative peer
acceptance and (2) dyads that were indistinguishable as a function of relative math
achievement and relative peer acceptance. The results demonstrate that when friends are distinguished by math achievement the high achiever influences the low achiever’s math achievement, but not the reverse. When friends are distinguishable by peer acceptance the high accepted partner influences the low accepted partner’s math achievement, but not the reverse. When friends are indistinguishable on the basis of math achievement and peer
acceptance there is mutual influence on math achievement. There was no evidence of
friend influence on task avoidance. There was no evidence of friend influence from an
individual’s own task avoidance predicting changes in friend math achievement, except
among dyads that could not be distinguished on the basis of math achievement. Math
achievement predicted within-individual changes in task avoidance for all friendship
dyads, except those that could not be distinguished by relative math achievement.
The findings suggest that friends influence math achievement during middle
childhood. Furthermore, when friends are distinguished, relative math achievement and
peer acceptance determines who is influencing whom within a friendship dyad. The use
of the APIM for distinguishable and indistinguishable dyads on a single sample of
participants illustrates that it is not sufficient to ignore differentiating features between
friends, or to discard friendships that are more similar. Implications for teaching
strategies and classroom interventions are discussed.

Children's (Grades 4-8) perceptions of peer reactions to academic performance, affect, and conduct were examined in relation to achievement outcomes as measured by school grades, achievement test scores, and peer-based behavioral and affect judgments. Both sexes thought same-sex peers were more supportive of academic performance in boys than in girls. The hypothesis that expectations of peer reactions are related to achievement was partially supported, especially for the younger male subjects, whose achievement was systematically related to perceptions about the reactions of the female peer group to other girls. Theoretical and practical implications of the research findings were discussed.

This researcher conducted an investigation concerning the effects of learning-style responsive versus traditional staff development on community college professors' achievement in and attitudes toward alternative instructional strategies. This study involved 84 faculty from three community colleges in Florida. Participants were voluntary and experienced both a learning-style responsive workshop and a traditional workshop through a counter balanced, reversed measures design. Objectives for each workshop focused on one learning-style method, thereby exposing participants to content about learning styles while using learning-style strategies to deliver the material. The average participant was a Caucasian female between the ages of 40-49 years old who taught in the Arts and Sciences. The Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS) (Dunn, Dunn and Price, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1996) was used as the self-report instrument to identify the participants' learning-styles. The Semantic Differential Scale (SDS) (Pizzo, 1981) was used to assess the participants' attitudes toward the two instructional approaches in contrast with each other. A researcher-developed instrument called The T-Hart Achievement Test (THART) served as a pre- and posttest assessment consisting of multiple-choice questions based on the objectives of the staff development workshop. Each group reported a statistically more positive attitude following the learning-styles experimental workshop regardless of the method used. This finding supported the hypothesis that participants receiving staff development through their learning-style preference evidence significantly higher attitudinal test scores than participants receiving traditional staff development. There was no statistical difference in the knowledge or achievement on treatment concepts and practices learned by participants when the Programmed Learning Sequence (PLS) method was used. There was, however, a statistically significant difference in the achievement of the community college faculty when Learning-Style Small Group Techniques (SGT) were applied. This finding supports the experimental hypothesis that participants receiving learning-style responsive staff development will evidence significantly higher mastery of knowledge of workshop concepts and practices as measured by achievement-test scores than participants receiving traditional staff development. There was also a statistical difference in achievement by age when using the Small Group Techniques (SGT) learning-style method than when using the Programmed Learning Sequence (PLS) strategy.

The purpose of this study was to examine some the differences between students in traditional face-to-face courses and those in distance learning courses. Differences in teaming strategies, motivation, and demographics were examined. The study used an online version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) to assess the motivation and learning strategies used by college students. The instrument was administered to 111 students at a 4-year, public university in the southeast region of the United States during the Spring of 2003. The subjects included 64 students enrolled in the traditional campus-based version of Applied Educational Technology and 47 students enrolled in the distance learning version of the same course. The study found significant differences in the demographic characteristics of both groups. Chi-square tests revealed that 6 of the 10 demographic variables (marital status, class level, ethnicity, household income, number of distance learning courses previously taken, and the number of hours per week spent studying for the course) demonstrated statistical significance. Independent samples t tests were used to explore differences in motivation and learning strategies in the two groups. Of the six motivation variables tested (intrinsic goal orientation, task value, control for learning beliefs, self-efficacy, and test anxiety), only two demonstrated statistical significance (p < .01). Distance learning students reported higher levels of intrinsic goal orientation and control for learning beliefs. The study found few differences in the learning strategies reported by the subjects. Of the nine learning strategies tested (rehearsal, help seeking, metacognitive self-regulation, organization, critical thinking, time and study environment, effort regulation, and peer learning), only one demonstrated statistical significance (p <; .01). Students participating in the traditional campus-based course reported higher levels of help seeking behavior than their distance learning peers. A model was developed to predict student choice of distance learning courses using demographic, learning strategies, and motivation variables. Using discriminant analysis, the model correctly classified 75.7% of the cross-validated cases. A second discriminant analysis, using only the variables found to be significant in the t tests and chi-square analysis was also conducted. This model correctly classified 79.3% of the cross-validated groups. As distance learning becomes more prevalent in higher education, it is important to examine the characteristics of students participating in distance education courses. The results of this study indicated that differences existed between the distance learning group and the traditional group. An understanding of those differences may lead to improved design and delivery of distance learning courses.

The problem of this study was fourfold: (1) Since it is
generally concluded that underprepared students have had an unsatisfactory
prior school experience, why do many continue their education
in the community junior college? (2) Do underprepared students
enroll in the community junior college to gain job skills related
to employment opportunities or job satisfaction? (3) Is there any
difference between the aspirations of the underprepared student
and the evaluations of the teachers-counselors and counselors in
the community colleges' programs designed for underprepared students?
(4) Is there any difference between the aspirations of
underprepared community college students and the evaluations of
their motivations by selected secondary guidance counselors? The findings were: (1) The students' previous experiences
in education were reported as very satisfactory. Their reports
of previous schooling were pleasant, they reported that their
previous teachers liked and understood them, and they reported
they could be highly superior or above average students. (2) The
students planned to learn things that would be useful in their
future work; and they planned to prepare themselves for an employment
goal which pays well and that they would enjoy doing.
(3) The students reported less motivation for achieving career
education goals than the college teachers-counselors estimated.
(4) The students reported less motivation for acquiring career
education goals than the secondary level guidance counselors
estimated they would.

The desire for academic success is shared by Haitian parents and their American-born children. Yet, despite this will to succeed, second generation Haitian students have been shown to fare poorly in school when compared to other ethnic groups. This qualitative study revealed that students' poor results in high school were not due to adversarial attitudes toward education; rather, they reflected inadequate foundations in basic academic skills. In particular, limited vocabularies hamper the academic achievement of many Haitian American students. Some students who expected that passing grades would lead to college are unable to pass the FCAT exam required to earn a high school diploma. Surprisingly, the highest levels of academic achievement were attained by the students with the poorest and least educated parents. They displayed extraordinary motivation attributed to a strong sense of familial obligation.