Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs

doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.003

Journal of School Psychology

Volume 44, Issue 5, October 2006, Pages 331-349

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.003 Get rights and content

Abstract

Psychologists and educators have often conceptualized motivation as an individual difference variable, something that some students simply have more of than other students. This view of motivation can underestimate contextual influences. In this article we consider how characteristics of the school and classroom may influence student motivation, as well as the role of educators in shaping school and classroom climate. We describe three motivational perspectives: achievement goal theory, self-determination theory, and social-cognitive theory. The effects on motivation of social relationships with teachers and peers are also considered.

Section snippets

Background on motivation theory and research

Motivation is a complex part of human psychology and behavior that influences how individuals choose to invest their time, how much energy they exert in any given task, how they think and feel about the task, and how long they persist at the task. At different points in the history of research on motivation, and in different sub-disciplines of psychology, motivation has been conceptualized in various ways. Some theories of motivation have focused on factors within the individual, such as their

Social relationships and their influence on student motivation

Schools and classrooms are, by definition, social environments. Within any single classroom, students have social interactions and build social relationships with their teacher, with close friends, and with their non-friend classmates. As alluded to earlier when discussing SDT, schools and classrooms are places where students seek to fulfill affiliation needs as well as competence needs. In this section we consider how teacher and peer relationships in the classroom influence student

Challenges and limitations to the research on classroom processes

In this article we reviewed research from three theoretical perspectives, and from the field of social relationships, to consider how school and classroom processes may influence student motivation. This research suggests that when students are encouraged and allowed to take ownership for their learning in an environment in which they feel cared for, supported, and socially connected to teachers and peers, and when they are given meaningful and appropriately challenging work, they will likely

Conclusion

The view of motivation as an individual-difference variable, as something that resides entirely within the student, is inaccurate. As psychologists have rediscovered, motivated behavior in school results from a combination of student and situational characteristics. Seemingly “unmotivated” students can become willing participants in academic tasks if the tasks are tailored to their interests, or if students are given the opportunity to fulfill social needs by working with friends on the task.

References (70)

E.M. Anderman et al.
Changes in personal achievement goals and the perceived classroom goal structures across the transition to middle level schools
Contemporary Educational Psychology
(1997)
A. Kaplan et al.
Achievement goals and student well-being
Contemporary Educational Psychology
(1999)
A. Kaplan et al.
The relationship between perceptions of the classroom goal structure and early adolescents' affect in school: The mediating role of coping strategies
Learning and Individual Differences
(1999)
T. Urdan et al.
Changes in the perceived classroom goal structure and patterns of adaptive learning during early adolescence
Contemporary Educational Psychology
(2003)
C.A. Ames
Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation
Journal of Educational Psychology
(1992)
L.H. Anderman
Classroom goal orientation, school belonging, and social goals as predictors of students' positive and negative affect following the transition to middle school
Journal of Research and Development in Education
(1999)
A. Assor et al.
Mapping the domain of autonomy support: Five important ways to enhance or undermine student's experience of autonomy in learning
A. Bandura
Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory
(1986)
T. Barron-McKeagney et al.
Youth mentoring: Emerging questions about effects on self-concept and school performance
School Social Work Journal
(2003)
T.J. Berndt
Developmental changes in conformity to peers and parents
Developmental Psychology
(1979)

A.E. Black et al.

The effects of instructors' autonomy support and students' autonomous motivation on learning organic chemistry: A self-determination theory perspective

Science Education

(2000)

P.C. Blumenfeld

Classroom learning and motivation: Clarifying and expanding goal theory

Journal of Educational Psychology

(1992)

J. Brophy

Teacher praise: A functional analysis

Psychological Review

(1981)

B.B. Brown

The role of peer groups in adolescents' adjustment to secondary school

J. Coleman

The adolescent society

(1961)

N. Darling et al.

Adolescents' relations with adults outside the family

E.L. Deci et al.

Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior

(1985)

E.L. Deci et al.

A motivational approach to the self: Integration in personality

Dweck, C.S. (2000). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and...

C.S. Dweck et al.

A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality

Psychological Review

(1988)

J.S. Eccles et al.

Stage-environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for early adolescents

A.J. Elliot

Integrating the “classic” and the “contemporary” approaches to achievement motivation: A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation

A.J. Elliot

Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals

Educational Psychologist

(1999)

F. Foersterling

Attributional retraining: A review

Psychological Bulletin

(1985)

J.M. Harackiewicz et al.

Short-term and long-term consequences of achievement goals in college: Predicting continued interest and performance over time

Journal of Educational Psychology

(2000)

P.L. Hardre et al.

A motivational model of rural students' intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school

JEP

(2003)

Hawkins, J. A., & Berndt, T. J. (1985). Adjustment following the transition to junior high school. Paper presented at...

J. Juvonen et al.

Social determinants of public behavior of middle school youth

T.A. Kinderman

Natural peer groups as contexts for individual development: The case of children's motivation in school

Developmental Psychology

(1993)

J.G. La Guardia et al.

What adolescents need: A self-determination theory perspective on development within families, school, and society

K. Lewin

A dynamic theory of personality

(1935)

E.A. Linnenbrink

The dilemma of performance-approach goals: The use of multiple goal contexts to promote students' motivation and learning

Journal of Educational Psychology

(2005)

M.L. Maehr et al.

Enhancing student motivation: A school-wide approach

Educational Psychologist

(1991)

M.L. Maehr et al.

Transforming school cultures

(1996)

D.K. Meyer

What is scaffolded instruction? Definitions, distinguishing features, and mosnomers

Cited by (458)

Stress of school performance among secondary students: The role of classroom goal structures and teacher support
2023, Journal of School Psychology
With concern growing about the increasing levels of school stress among secondary school students, examining its associations with students' perceptions of important elements in classroom climate can offer valuable scientific information. However, there is minimal research about the role of perceived classroom goal structures and teacher support in school stress. In addition, most research on classroom goal structure has not made a distinction between performance-approach structures and performance-avoidance structures, which may have different effects on school stress. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of classroom goal structures and teacher support in students' stress linked to school performance. We also examined the potential moderating effect of teacher support in the association between classroom goal structures and stress. Our sample consisted of 4768 secondary school students aged 11–17 years (M_age = 13.74; 47.9% boys) from 54 schools in Andalusia, Spain. Consistent with the study's aims, hierarchical multilevel multiple regression was used to examine the relationships between mastery goal structure, performance-approach goal structure, performance-avoidance goal structure, and teacher support on our stress of school performance outcome. After controlling for gender, age, and previous academic achievement, performance-avoidance goal structure was significantly associated with higher levels of stress of school performance (p < .01). Furthermore, perceived classroom goals and teacher support tended to work together, with the role of performance-approach goal structure being dependent on the levels of mastery goal structure and teacher support (p < .05). Practical implications from these findings and future research directions are discussed.
Does classroom matter? - A longitudinal multilevel perspective on students' achievement goal orientation profiles during lower secondary school
2023, Learning and Instruction
The present study adds to earlier person-oriented research by investigating differences in students' achievement goal orientation (AGO) profiles and their development using a simultaneous consideration of classroom patterns with longitudinal multilevel methods. The sample of almost 10,000 lower secondary school students, representing over 600 classrooms, was surveyed on their AGOs in the 7th and 9th grade. Multilevel latent profile analyses (MLPAs) and transition analysis (MLTA) revealed similar student profiles in AGOs in both grades: success-oriented, moderate multiple goals and avoidance-oriented, as well as two classroom types: success-oriented and mixed orientation classrooms with varied relative proportions of different student-level profiles and patterns of likely transitions. Stability of profiles was more typical than change. Maladaptive transitions were related to lower, and stable and adaptive transitions to higher GPA in the end of 9th grade. In success-oriented classrooms, it was more common to maintain or adopt the success-orientation across lower secondary school compared to the other classroom type.
Probing the effects of perceived teacher goals and achievement-goal orientations on students’ self-efficacy, cognitive and metacognitive strategies in writing: A person-centered approach
2023, Learning and Motivation
This study aimed to investigate the effect of perceived teacher goals on students’ achievement-goal orientations and the effects of the latter on motivational and cognitive outcomes in writing. Adopting a multiple-goal perspective, a person-centered approach was applied by implementing latent class analysis (LCA) based on the students’ three goal orientation constructs. Two independent data sets were analyzed, taken from junior secondary school students (N = 1342) and senior secondary school students (N = 703). The participants responded to four self-reporting questionnaires measuring perceived teacher goals in the classroom (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance), students’ achievement-goal orientations (mastery, performance approach, and performance avoidance), self-efficacy, and writing strategies. LCA resulted in four clusters/profiles: “Medium Goals,” “Low Goals,” “Mastery Goals,” and “Performance Goals.” The profiles were predicted by perceived teacher goals in the classroom; in turn, they predicted students’ self-efficacy and writing strategies. The empirical findings are interpreted and discussed based on contemporary theory and evidence, along with educational practice implications.
Self-regulation matters: Examining the relationship between classroom learning environments and student motivation through structural equation modeling
2024, Social Psychology of Education
Taking a “Whole” Classroom Perspective: Theorizing Classroom Typologies Using a Video-Based Observational Protocol
2024, Urban Education
Thinking and Learning in Nested Systems: The Individual Level
2024, Journal of Chemical Education

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs

Abstract

Section snippets

Background on motivation theory and research

Social relationships and their influence on student motivation

Challenges and limitations to the research on classroom processes

Conclusion

Contemporary Educational Psychology

Contemporary Educational Psychology

Learning and Individual Differences

Contemporary Educational Psychology

Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation

Journal of Educational Psychology

Classroom goal orientation, school belonging, and social goals as predictors of students' positive and negative affect following the transition to middle school

Journal of Research and Development in Education

Mapping the domain of autonomy support: Five important ways to enhance or undermine student's experience of autonomy in learning

Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory

Youth mentoring: Emerging questions about effects on self-concept and school performance

School Social Work Journal

Developmental changes in conformity to peers and parents

Developmental Psychology

The effects of instructors' autonomy support and students' autonomous motivation on learning organic chemistry: A self-determination theory perspective

Science Education

Classroom learning and motivation: Clarifying and expanding goal theory

Journal of Educational Psychology

Teacher praise: A functional analysis

Psychological Review

The role of peer groups in adolescents' adjustment to secondary school

The adolescent society

Adolescents' relations with adults outside the family

Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior

A motivational approach to the self: Integration in personality

A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality

Psychological Review

Stage-environment fit: Developmentally appropriate classrooms for early adolescents

Integrating the “classic” and the “contemporary” approaches to achievement motivation: A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation

Approach and avoidance motivation and achievement goals

Educational Psychologist

Attributional retraining: A review

Psychological Bulletin

Short-term and long-term consequences of achievement goals in college: Predicting continued interest and performance over time

Journal of Educational Psychology

A motivational model of rural students' intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school

JEP

Social determinants of public behavior of middle school youth

Natural peer groups as contexts for individual development: The case of children's motivation in school

Developmental Psychology

What adolescents need: A self-determination theory perspective on development within families, school, and society

A dynamic theory of personality

The dilemma of performance-approach goals: The use of multiple goal contexts to promote students' motivation and learning

Journal of Educational Psychology

Enhancing student motivation: A school-wide approach

Educational Psychologist

Transforming school cultures

What is scaffolded instruction? Definitions, distinguishing features, and mosnomers