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##  Motivation and Middle School Students. ERIC Digest.                          

Few educators would argue with the premise that student motivation              is an important influence on learning. Motivation is of particular              importance for those who work with young adolescents. Considerable              research has shown a decline in motivation and performance for many             children as they move from elementary school into middle                        school (Eccles & Midgley, 1989). Often it has been assumed that this            decline is largely caused by physiological and psychological changes            associated with puberty and, therefore, is somewhat inevitable. This            assumption has been challenged, however, by research that                       demonstrates that the nature of motivational change on entry to                 middle school depends on characteristics of the learning environment            in which students find themselves (Midgley, 1993). Although it is               difficult to prescribe a "one size fits all" approach to motivating             students, research suggests that some general patterns do appear to             hold true for a wide range of students. This Digest outlines some               suggestions for middle school teachers and administrators for                   enhancing student motivation, and discusses three theories that are             currently prominent and that have particular relevance for young                adolescent students and their teachers. ATTRIBUTION THEORYThe             first point to be emphasized is that students' perceptions of their             educational experiences generally influence their motivation more               than the actual, objective reality of those experiences. For                    example, a history of success in a given subject area is generally              assumed to lead one to continue persisting in that area.                        Weiner (1985), however, pointed out that students' beliefs about the            reasons for their success will determine whether this assumption is             true. Students' attributions for failure are also important                     influences on motivation. When students have a history of failure in            school, it is particularly difficult for them to sustain the                    motivation to keep trying. Students who believe that their poor                 performance is caused by factors out of their control are unlikely              to see any reason to hope for an improvement. In contrast, if                   students attribute their poor performance to a lack of important                skills or to poor study habits, they are more likely to persist in              the future. The implications for teachers revolve around the                    importance of understanding what students believe about the reasons             for their academic performance. Teachers can unknowingly communicate            a range of attitudes about whether ability is fixed or modifiable               and their expectations for individual students through their                    instructional practices (Graham, 1990). GOAL THEORYWhile                  attribution theory focuses on the reasons students perceive for                 their successes and failures in school, goal theory focuses on the              reasons or purposes students perceive for achieving (e.g., Ames,                1992; Maehr & Midgley, 1991; Midgley, 1993). While different                    researchers define the constructs slightly differently, two main                goal orientations are generally discussed. These are task goals and             ability goals. A task goal orientation represents the belief that               the purpose of achieving is personal improvement and understanding.             Students with a task goal orientation focus on their own progress in            mastering skills and knowledge, and they define success in those                terms. An ability goal orientation represents the belief that the               purpose of achieving is the demonstration of ability (or,                       alternatively, the concealment of a lack of ability). Students with             an ability goal orientation focus on appearing competent, often in              comparison to others, and define success accordingly. Studies of                students' goal orientations generally find that the adoption of task            goals is associated with more adaptive patterns of learning than is             the adoption of ability goals, including the use of more effective              cognitive strategies, a willingness to seek help when it is needed,             a greater tendency to engage in challenging tasks, and more positive            feelings about school and oneself as a learner (Anderman & Maehr,               1994; Ryan, Hicks, & Midgley, 1997). 
If adopting a task goal                  orientation is related to positive educational outcomes for                     students, the question then arises as to how such an orientation can            be fostered. Recent studies suggest that the policies and practices             in classrooms and schools influence students' goal                              orientations (Ames & Archer, 1988; Maehr & Midgley, 1991). Specific             suggestions (Midgley & Urdan, 1992, p. 12) for moving toward a task             focus in middle schools include moving away from: 
 1. grouping by             ability and over-use of standardized tests to grouping by topic,                interest, and student choice and to frequent reformation of                     groups; 
 2. competition between students, and contests with                   limited winners, to cooperative learning; 
 3. using test data as a            basis for comparison to using test data for diagnosis and to                    alternatives to tests such as portfolios; 
 4. normative grading               and public display of grades to grading for progress or improvement             and involving students in determining their grades; 
 5.                       recognition for relative performance, honor rolls for high grades,              and over-use of praise (especially for easy tasks) to recognition of            progress improvement and an emphasis on learning for its own                    sake; 
 6. decisions made exclusively by administrators and                    teachers to opportunities for choice and student decision making,               self-scheduling, and self-regulation; 
 7. departmentalized                    approach to curriculum to thematic approaches/interdisciplinary                 focus, viewing mistakes as a part of learning, allowing students to             redo work, and encouraging students to take academic risks; 
 8.               rote learning and memorization, over-use of worksheets and                      textbooks, and decontextualized facts to providing challenging,                 complex work to students, giving homework that is enriching, and                encouraging problem solving and comprehension; 
 9. pull-out                   programs and retention to cross-age tutoring, or peer tutoring, and             enrichment. SELF-DETERMINATION THEORYA third motivational                 theory of particular importance for middle school educators is                  self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). This theory describes            students as having three categories of needs: needing a sense of                competence, of relatedness to others, and of autonomy. Competence               involves understanding how to, and believing that one can, achieve              various outcomes. Relatedness involves developing satisfactory                  connections to others in one's social group. Autonomy involves                  initiating and regulating one's own actions. Most of the research in            self-determination theory focuses on the last of these three needs.             Within the classroom, autonomy needs could be addressed through                 allowing some student choice and input on classroom decision making.            For young adolescent students, with their increased cognitive                   abilities and developing sense of identify, a sense of autonomy may             be particularly important. Students at this stage say that they want            to be included in decision making and to have some sense of control             over their activities. Unfortunately, research suggests that                    students in middle schools actually experience fewer opportunities              for self-determination than they did in elementary school (Midgley &            Feldlaufer, 1987). 
Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, and Ryan (1991)                summarized contextual factors that support student autonomy.                    Features such as the provision of choice over what types of tasks to            engage in and how much time to allot to each are associated with                students' feelings of self-determination. In contrast, the use of               extrinsic rewards, the imposition of deadlines, and an emphasis on              evaluations detract from a feeling of self-determination and lead to            a decrease in intrinsic motivation. It is important to recognize                that supporting student autonomy does not require major upheaval in             the classroom or that teachers relinquish the management of                     students' behavior. Even small opportunities for choice, such as                whether to work with a partner or independently, or whether to                  present a book review as a paper, poster, or class presentation, can            increase students' sense of self-determination. Finally, it is                  important to recognize that students' early attempts at regulating              their own work may not always be successful. Good decision making               and time management require practice. Teachers can help their                   students develop their self-regulation by providing limited choices             between acceptable options, by assisting with breaking large tasks              into manageable pieces, and by providing guidelines for students to             use in monitoring their own progress. CONCLUSIONMiddle school             teachers often teach many students over the course of a school day,             and for a relatively short period of time. Given such brief contact             with so many, it is easy to underestimate the influence that one's              teaching practices can have on any one individual. Current moves to             implement the middle school philosophy may provide a more                       facilitative schedule for both teachers and students, but even in a             highly structured middle school, teachers can take specific steps to            provide a learning environment that will promote the motivation of              all students. ********Adapted from: Anderman, L. H., &                    Midgley, C. (1997). Motivation and middle school students. In Judith            L. Irvin (Ed.), WHAT CURRENT RESEARCH SAYS TO THE MIDDLE LEVEL                  PRACTITIONER (pp. 41-48). Columbus, OH: National Middle School                  Association. REFERENCESAmes, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals,                structures, and student motivation. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL                      PSYCHOLOGY, 84(3), 261-271. EJ 452 395. 
Ames, C., & Archer,                   J. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning               strategies and motivation processes. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL                     PSYCHOLOGY, 80(3), 260-267. EJ 388 054. 
Anderman, E. M., & Maehr,             M. L. (1994). Motivation and schooling in the middle grades. REVIEW             OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, 64(2), 287-309. EJ 488 853. 
Deci, E.                 L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND                              SELF-DETERMINATION IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR. New York: Plenum. 
Deci, E.              L., Vallerand, R. U., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991).                   Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective.                   EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST, 26(3/4), 325-346. 
Eccles, J. S., &                  Midgley, C. (1989). Stage/environment fit: Developmentally                      appropriate classrooms for early adolescents. In R. E. Ames & C.                Ames (Eds.), RESEARCH ON MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION (Vol. 3, pp.                   139-186). New York: Academic. 
Graham, S. (1990). Communicating low            ability in the classroom: Bad things good teachers sometimes do. In             S. Graham and V. Folkes (Eds.), ATTRIBUTION THEORY: APPLICATIONS TO             ACHIEVEMENT, MENTAL HEALTH, AND INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT (pp. 17-36).             Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 
Maehr, M. L., & Midgley, C. (1991).                   Enhancing student motivation: A schoolwide approach. EDUCATIONAL                PSYCHOLOGIST, 26(3/4), 399-427. 
Midgley, C. (1993). Motivation and            middle level schools. In P. R. Pintrich & M. L. Maehr (Eds.),                   ADVANCES IN MOTIVATION AND ACHIEVEMENT, VOL. 8: MOTIVATION IN THE               ADOLESCENT YEARS (pp. 219-276). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. 
Midgley,            C., & Feldlaufer, H. (1987). Students' and teachers' decision-making            fit before and after the transition to junior high school. JOURNAL              OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE, 7(2), 225-241. 
Midgley, C., & Urdan, T.                 C. (1992). The transition to middle level schools: Making it a good             experience for all students. MIDDLE SCHOOL JOURNAL, 24(2), 5-14. EJ             454 359. 
Ryan, A. M., Hicks, L., & Midgley, C. (1997). Social                 goals, academic goals, and avoiding seeking help in the classroom.              JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE, 17(2), 152-171. 
Weiner, B. (1985).              An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion.                  PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW, 92(4), 548-573. EJ 324 684. 
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This                publication was funded by the Office of Educational Research and                Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no.                   RR93002007. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily            reflect the positions or policies of OERI. ERIC Digests are in the              public domain and may be freely reproduced.                                  **Title:** Motivation and Middle School Students. ERIC Digest.                          **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Target Audience:** Practitioners                                                                **Descriptors:**  Academic Achievement, Attribution Theory, Classroom Environment,                Early Adolescents, Goal Orientation, Intermediate Grades, Junior               High Schools,  Middle School Students, Middle School Teachers,                   Middle Schools, Motivation Techniques, Personal Autonomy, Self                 Determination, Student Attitudes,  Student Motivation, Teacher                  Expectations of Students, Teacher Student Relationship, Teaching                Methods, Theories                                                            **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests, Task Goal Attitudes                                            
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