teachers' beliefs5

The Clearing House, 85: 102–108, 2012Copyright C© Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0009-8655 print; 1939-912x onlineDOI: 10.1080/00098655.2011.653016

Student Motivation and theAlignment of Teacher Beliefs

JEFF WIESMAN

Abstract:Given thatmany high school students come toschool unmotivated to learn, the purpose of this articleis to examine variousmotivational constructs and to de-termine if educators are incorporating themost effectivemotivational strategies. In fact, adolescents vary fromadults physically, cognitively, emotionally, and physi-ologically and, therefore, they generally differ in theirperceptions on the effectiveness of a variety of moti-vational practices. Students are more likely to attributetheir own motivation to their intrinsic desire to learn oras a result of the goals they adopt. Teachers, on the otherhand, believe students aremore likely to bemotivated asa result of the teachers’ actions. Teachers do not alwaysrecognize which motivational constructs are the mosteffective, demonstrating the value of pre-service andin-service programs that stress student motivation. Ifeducators wish to maximize student academic achieve-ment, they must understand how to motivate studentssuccessfully.

Keywords: motivation, academic performance, educa-tional psychology, high school, teacher education

P oliticians, educators, parents, and other stakehold-ers are frequently disgruntled with the academic

performance of America’s high school students. Reportssuch as the Third InternationalMathematics andScienceStudy reveal that children in many Asian and Europeannations are outperforming American students (Gonza-les et al., 2004). To make matters worse, teachers areworking with students who often come to school un-motivated and without an interest to learn (Hidi andHarackiewicz 2000). Consequently, if schools want tosee improved academic performance educators mustsearch forways to increase student engagement andmo-tivation in the educational arena.

Jeff Wiesman is at Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Mathematics, Wheaton,IL.

Evidence from the literature also suggests the impor-tance of examining student motivation for children en-rolled in high school. Studies have shown that boththe academic interest andmotivation of adolescents de-cline as they progress through junior and senior highschool (Williams and Stockdale 2004). In addition, thevalue children place on many academic activities andtheir beliefs about the usefulness of school decline asthey get older. By the time many students reach highschool, they put forth minimum effort, they are boredwith the educational process, and they begin to viewmany academic tasks with less significance (Wigfield,Eccles, and Rodriquez 1998). Indeed, observers of atypical high school classroom will often find studentswho are unconcerned and unmotivated to completeacademic tasks. To counteract this tendency, educa-tors must learn how to motivate apathetic students andbecome skilled at incorporating effective methodolo-gies and activities that will engage students and sparkinterest.Little research, however, has examined the alignment

of student and teacher beliefs regarding which moti-vational constructs are the most effective. Moreover,additional research is needed because teenagers arephysically, emotionally, and physiologically differentthan adults and, as a result, perceptions of effectivemotivational techniques may differ. Some researchsuggests that students and teachers have dissimilarviews on the effectiveness of various motivationalpractices (Wigfield, Eccles, and Rodriquez 1998), andwithout alignment, teachers may not be maximizingtheir capacity to motivate students. This article, there-fore, addresses various motivational constructs and thereasons why students and teachers may have differentviews regarding which motivational techniques are themost effective in the classroom.

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Student Motivation and the Alignment of Teacher Beliefs 103

FIGURE 1. Student motivation and the alignment of teacher beliefs. (Color figure available online.)

What Is Most Likely to Motivate Students?Educators must understand that adolescents experi-

ence profound changes in high school and, therefore,teachers’ behaviors and motivation will differ fromstudents’. In other words, what constitutes an effectivemotivational technique for an adult may not work fora student, and what motivates teachers may or maynot motivate students. As evident in figure 1, there aredifferences, which are statistically significant, betweenstudent and teacher perceptions of what motivates sub-urban high school students the most (Wiesman 2007).The majority of the students believed they were mostmotivated in school when they set goals or if they wereintrinsically driven to achieve in the classroom. Approx-imately 44 percent of the students believed the mostimportant motivational construct was the goal orienta-tion theory, while 27 percent of the student participantsthought they were most likely to be motivated becauseof their inherent desire to learn and do well in school.Teachers differed from students in that they were

more likely to attribute student motivation to theteachers’ characteristics. Approximately 30 percentof the teachers rated their own characteristics as themost likely reason why students were motivated.That is, teachers believed students were most likelyto be motivated when the teacher showed concern orenthusiasm, used humor, and took a personal interestin the students. Teachers thought goal-achievement

theory and intrinsic motivation were the second andthirdmost likely reasonwhy students weremotivated toachieve in the classroom. Finally, few teachers thoughtself-efficacy, social goals, and extrinsic rewards werethe most effective motivational techniques.Student and teacher perceptions generally differ, and

when analyzing specific student motivators within thevarious motivational constructs, additional differencesemerged (Wiesman 2007). Students rated the followingfive questions as the most likely reasons why they putforth effort in school (6 represented “strongly agree”and 1 represented “strongly disagree”).

1. I am motivated so I can have a good future. (M =5.67, SD = .76)

2. I am motivated when I see my work improving. (M= 5.45, SD = .79)

3. I am motivated when I am good at something. (M =5.38, SD = .81)

4. I am motivated when I receive good grades. (M =5.36, SD = .86)

5. I am motivated when I like the teacher. (M = 5.15,SD = .89)

Because students generally agreed that the goal-achievement theory was themost likely reasonwhy theywere motivated to achieve in school, it is not surprisingthat three of the top five questions were goal oriented.However, many educators may not realize that the

104 The Clearing House 85(3) 2012

students rated only one teacher-driven action as a highlyeffective motivational device; namely, when the teacheris able to develop a positive rapport with students. Asshown in the following list, teachers rated the top mo-tivators quite differently from the students (Wiesman2007). Teachers attributed student motivation to moreof their own characteristics and actions:

1. Students are motivated when they like the teacher.(M = 5.25, SD = .70)

2. Students are motivated when the teacher takes a per-sonal interest in the students. (M = 5.18, SD = .73)

3. Students are motivated when the teacher shows en-thusiasm. (M = 5.14, SD = .73)

4. Students are motivated when the class instruction in-cludes variation in how the material is presented. (M= 5.09, SD = .80)

5. Students are motivated when the class instruction in-cludes active, hands-on chances to apply a lesson. (M= 4.94, SD = .80)

Factors Affecting Students’ Perceptions onMotivationThere are many reasons why certain motivational

techniques are effective with adults but not with highschool students. Young people in American culture areregularly challenged by new experiences and expecta-tions during a time in life where physical, cognitive,emotional, physiological, and social changes are pro-found (Wolfson and Carskadon 1998). Additionally,for the first time, adolescents are beginning to strugglewith deeper thoughts and generate greater feelings ofemotions (Strauch 2003). Obviously, adults also facenew experiences and are challenged with various expec-tations, but they usually have developed the necessarycognitive and emotional faculties to more effectivelydeal with these types of events. The following sectionsestablish differences that could explainwhy student andteacher beliefs are incongruent.

Self-esteem

When confronted with new expectations and respon-sibilities, teenagers can experience increased confusionand conflict,which can affect self-esteem(Powell 2004).In addition, self-image is influenced as adolescents ex-perience physiological, biological, and cognitive trans-formations (Powell 2004). In fact, self-esteem is at itslowest point during the teenage years and adolescents,especially girls who experience radical drops in estro-gen, more commonly struggle with periods of depres-sion and sadness (Buchanan, Eccles, and Becker 1992).Low self-esteem will affect motivation, school perfor-mance, and students’ ability to focus on their studiesand complete school tasks (Powell 2004).

Social Influences

The socialization process of an adolescent is certainlyunique to any other period in the life span. Duringthe teenage years, adolescents want and need socialapproval and, therefore, are highly motivated to de-velop close, reciprocal friendships (Strauch 2003). Ado-lescents frequently have greater socialization pressuresbecause they make every effort to determine the so-cial norms and gain acceptance by their peers (Burnsand Darling 2002). As a result, children either formor reshape their identities as they associate with differ-ent peer groups during this socialization process (Black2002).When considering an individual’s goal orientation,

teenagers also significantly vary from adults. Adults aremore likely to develop mastery goals that are internallydriven, whereas teenagers tend to create goals that con-form to the standards of their peers (Burley, Turner, andVitulli 1999). As individuals age, Burley noted that theyare less concerned about external evaluations and moreconcerned with the internal benefits derived from goalsetting. Finally, adults commonly perceive peer pres-sure to be a significant motivating factor, when peerinfluence actually has a greater effect on adolescent be-havior (Black 2002). According to Burns and Darling(2002), “adolescents are most often influenced not bywhat their peers actually do and say, but how they thinktheir peers will react to a potential action” (4).

Brain Development

There are also significant differences between an ado-lescent and adult brain (Strauch 2003). An area of thebrain that undergoes transformation during the teenageyears is the prefrontal cortex, which scientists call thefrontal lobes. In fact, between the ages of 4 and 20,studies identify a decrease in cortical gray matter and anincrease in white matter in that region (Strauch 2003).This alteration of the frontal lobes affects one’s abilityto process emotions, problem solve, plan ahead, andlearn from experiences. Teenagers, therefore, will havea greater difficulty resisting impulses, regulating emo-tions, and making good decisions (Sowell et al. 1999).Included in the changes that occur in the prefrontal

cortex and the limbic brain region during the teenageyears is the amount of dopamine in the brain (Spear2000). Dopamine, which is a powerful neurotrans-mitter, is at increased levels in adolescents, affectingnovelty-seeking and emotional regulation. It also playsa role when teenagers assess the motivational valueof external stimuli or respond to a stressful situation(Strauch 2003). As a result, teenagers can experience ex-treme emotional highs and lowswith incredibly excitinghighs and very distressing lows. Spear (2000) summa-rized: “Given the differences between adolescents andadults in functioning in these brain regions, it would


be astonishing indeed if adolescents did not differ fromadults in various aspects of their motivated behavior”(113).During brain development, an adolescent’s behavior

may change because sleep patterns are affected (Strauch2003). In a study of 3,120 high school students atfour public high schools in Rhode Island, Wolfson andCarskadon (1998) determined that the typical studentage 13 to 19 gets an average of about 7 hours of sleep pernight. Teenagers, however, should get 9.2 hours of sleepper night according to Wolfson and Carskadon. Onereason why adolescents are not getting enough sleep isthat melatonin, a chemical that causes drowsiness, doesnot flow until later into the night as children grow intotheir teenage years (Strauch 2003). As a result, adoles-cents generally stay up late and, therefore, usually donotget enough sleep. While sleep times do not strongly cor-relate with grades, poor sleep habits negatively affect be-havior, mood, and motivation in school (Wolfson andCarskadon 1998). Finally, school achievement andmo-tivation can decline because teenagers have less energy,reduced amounts of concentration, and increased lev-els of fatigue than those in other age groups (Buchanan,Eccles, and Becker 1992).

Motivational ConstructsEducators must consider physiological and psycho-

logical factors when determining how to best motivatestudents. The following section applies the pertinentresearch and offers strategies for educators who areseeking practical ways to motivate their unmotivatedstudents. When teachers consider the theoreticalfoundations of the various motivational techniques,they might increase their ability to bolster academicachievement.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Students are intrinsically motivated when they have anatural curiosity and interest in a topic and, obviously,intrinsically motivated students are eager to absorb in-formation. Two major influences on students’ intrinsicmotivation is their individual interest, which is a child’sinherent desire to learn certain concepts, and situationalinterest, which are environmental factors that generateinterest. Educators can positively influence individualinterest when they teach children to get excited aboutlearning new concepts and help them to become life-long learners (Kohn 2010). Teachers can increase a stu-dent’s situational interest when they make content per-sonally relevant, allow for student choice, incorporatevarious instructional activities, and allow students towork in cooperative groups. When teachers utilize thesetypes of classroom structures, students will develop aninterest in the content, thereby affecting students’ in-trinsic motivation (Hidi and Harackiewicz 2000).

Teachers can also promote situational interest by us-ing innovative techniques to introduce new concepts orby providing real-world applications (Linnenbrink andPintrich 2002). For example, students may not have aninitial curiosity in Shakespeare, but when a teacher in-corporates a contemporary YouTube video or asks stu-dents to act out a scene, theymight develop an interest. Amathematics teacher could spark interest by discussingstrategies to build wealth when discussing logarithms.Indeed, intrinsic motivation highly correlates with theuse of effective instructional techniques, and as a re-sult, educators can positively affect achievement perfor-mance (Erwin 2003).Education also incorporates many different types

of external motivators. For instance, teachers fre-quently provide verbal reinforcers, such as words ofencouragement to struggling learners or task-specificpraise. Several studies indicate, however, that externalmotivators can impede learning, undermine intrinsicmotivation, and create situations where studentswithdraw from an activity (Kohn 1996; Williams andStockdale 2004). Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (2001),in a meta-analysis of 128 studies researching theeffects of extrinsic rewards on free choice and self-interest, specifically demonstrated that most types ofrewards, including tangible rewards, performance-contingent rewards, engagement-contingent rewards,and completion-contingent rewards, weakened intrin-sic motivation. Only certain verbal rewards enhancedintrinsic motivation. Consequently, instead of usingextrinsic rewards, Deci et al. believed educators shouldfocus on incorporating other motivational techniquesto enhance interest. Finally, Williams and Stockdale(2004) suggested that teachers can create situationsin their classes where students become dependent onextrinsic rewards. That is, even if students have aninterest in completing a task, they will only engage inthe activity if there is a possibility for a reward.There is conflicting evidence, however, regarding the

effects of extrinsic motivators and how they impact in-trinsic motivation (Cameron 2001). Cameron notedthat the Deci et al. (2001) study only looked at theeffects of extrinsic rewards when the activities are ofhigh initial interest. In her meta-analysis of 96 studies,Cameron found that extrinsic rewards may or may nothave an effect on intrinsicmotivationwhen students areinitially unmotivated to learn a topic. Moreover, she in-dicated, “obtaining a negative effect of reward requiresan unusual combination of conditions bearing little re-semblance to the actual use of incentives in classroomsettings” (Cameron 2001, 41). The reality is that mostclassrooms combine intrinsic and extrinsicmotivationalconstructs, which in turn could influence a child’s ef-fort and actions (Hidi and Harackiewicz 2000). Nev-ertheless, in view of the related literature, researchershave found that external motivators should generally


be avoided, and as a result, educators should carefullyconsider the reasonswhy theywouldutilize them(Kohn1996).

Goal Orientation

Educators can have a profound influence on studentmotivation by promoting goal-oriented behaviors.Teachers need to help students set personally importantgoals, both short-term and long-term, that are measur-able, specific, and challenging (Elliot andDweck 1988).When teachers support goal achievement, researchindicates that they will positively affect student motiva-tion and their sense of self-efficacy (Eccles and Wigfield2002). Furthermore, studies indicate that goal adoptionpositively correlates with persistence, effort, deeper lev-els of processing, academic achievement, and to higherlevels of self-regulated learning (Covington 2000).Students are frequently oriented to twodifferent types

of goals, namely performance goals and mastery goals.Children create performance goals because they enjoycompetition or they yearn for positive evaluations oftheir ability. Simply put, students with performancegoals want to outperform other students (Dweck 1986).Some studies suggest that performance goals have lit-tle or no effect on academic engagement and achieve-ment (Hidi and Harackiewicz 2000). In fact, whenteachers create classroom environments that encour-age performance-related goals, Wigfield, Eccles, and Ro-driquez (1998) indicated that intrinsic motivation andinterest would decline. Additionally, Dweck’s study re-vealed that childrenwouldnot pursue a challenging taskif they did not believe that they had the requisite abilitylevel to attain performance goals.Even though schools tend to stress performance-

oriented goals, research indicates that the use of mas-tery goals has a greater effect on learning (Linnenbrinkand Pintrich 2002). When students are oriented towardmastery goals, which are created when students havean inherent desire to achieve something, they are morelikely to persevere in difficult times and view errors asan opportunity to learn (Gonzalez 2002). If a particularstudent is unmotivated in class, for example, I will oftenask what his or her desired future plans include. I try toset their eyes on the prize and discuss what they need todo now to achieve that prize. To be sure, when studentsset mastery goals, they will choose to work on difficultchallenges even if they believe their ability levels are low(Dweck 1986).

Social Goals

When considering goal orientation, researchers havealso determined that students will regularly set socialgoals in hopes of gaining the respect of others and toachieve a sense of belonging (Covington 2000). McIn-erney and McInerney (1998) suggested that the socialcomponent of school, which includes interactions with

parents, teachers, and peers, could affect students’ atti-tudes toward school and their motivation to learn. Eventhough there is a need for additional research on howsocial goals affect academic motivation, Covington as-serted that social goals influence the students’ ability toachieve.Peer relationships among adolescents can also affect

behavior, positively or negatively. Teenagers with bet-ter peer relationships have attitudes that are more pos-itive toward school (Strauch 2003). If they associatewith other high-achieving students, their motivationwill likely improve, and conversely, motivation coulddecline if adolescents join low-achieving peer groups.Therefore, educators need to carefully select groupswhen incorporating a cooperative activity. While schoolcontexts are primarily designed to provide an academiceducation, it is also important for educators to consideradolescents’ social needs, because they value interper-sonal relationships and acceptance by their peers. Ineffect, when teachers meet their students’ psychologi-cal needs for love and the esteem of others, they willenhance academic motivation (Eccles et al. 1993).

Self-efficacy

Efficacy is another important motivational constructthat can affect learning. Yair (2000) suggested that stu-dents with a high sense of self-efficacy generate in-creased levels of achievement, effort, and persistenceto complete difficult tasks. Self-efficacy beliefs also pos-itively correlate with student cognitive engagement andthe use of self-regulatory skills (Bandura 1993). In Mar-golis and McCabe’s (2004) study of self-efficacy, theyfound that students would not expend appropriate lev-els of energy if they lack sufficient levels of self-efficacy.Teachers are able to affect student self-efficacy

positively by creating experiences where students cansuccessfully develop skills and gain knowledge (Linnen-brink and Pintrich 2002). This will occur when teachersgive students challenging assignments, sequenced fromeasy to difficult, where the chance for success is stillrelatively high. However, educators should be carefulnot to create frustration by assigning tasks that are toodifficult. Instructors can also strengthen self-efficacyby reinforcing effort and persistence, and by providingstudents with applicable learning strategies (Margo-lis and McCabe 2004). In addition, many studentsfrequently do not know how to complete academictasks effectively and, therefore, it is important to teachstudents age-appropriate strategies.

Teacher Practices That Enhance Student Motivation

Specific teacher characteristics and instructionaltechniques can also have a profound influence on stu-dent motivation. For instance, educators can motivatestudents by establishing caring classroom environ-ments. Studies indicate that positive student–teacher


relationships are crucial to motivation, and whenteachers truly care, their students will work harderand display more appropriate behaviors (Mendes2003). Erwin (2003) found that quality, warm, andtrusting student–teacher relationships will also havea positive effect on academic achievement. Moreover,when teachers show empathy, students are more likelyto develop academic goals (Wigfield, Eccles, and Ro-driquez 1998). Indeed, teachers can influence studentmotivation when they understand their students’ livesand affirm their interests and needs.Opportunities for student choice, decision making,

and responsibility also correlate with student motiva-tion (Deci, Koestner, and Ryan 2001). Therefore, teach-ers need to allow for choice by letting students decidetheir seating arrangement, offer them a variety of as-signments to choose to complete, or provide studentsan assortment of options that will demonstrate theirunderstanding of the course content. Furthermore, ed-ucators can influence student motivation when they in-corporate investigative or hands-on activities becausestudents are provided the opportunity to construct theirown knowledge.

ImplicationsIf educators wish to improve academic achievement

by maximizing their ability to motivate students, thenthey must understand the various motivational theoriesand know which constructs are the most effective.Mentoring and in-service programs should includediscussions on how to engage students, and collegesshould include student motivation in educationcurricula. As well, there are important implicationswhen teachers understand the practical and theoreticalfoundations of student motivation. When educatorsbelieve they can motivate students effectively, theycan improve the learning environment and increaseacademic achievement (Bandura 1993). Efficaciousteachers will have high expectations for themselves andtheir students, challenge students without frustratingthem, and create a classroom environment wherestudents are active learners.Additionally, practice should incorporate the con-

structs that are most likely to motivate students, namelythe goal and intrinsic motivation theories. When teach-ers assign long-term projects, they can ask students tobreak the assignment into shorter segments and then en-courage them to set short, proximal goals to completeeach component of the assignment. As an additionalexample, at the beginning of each unit, teachers coulddiscuss the learning goals that all students must master,providing students with an opportunity to adopt thegoals for themselves. Teachers can also post the chap-ter objectives in the room, which can guide discussionsthroughout the courseof the chapter. At thedistrict level,Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) Understanding by De-

sign model is an excellent framework that incorporatesthe goal motivation theory. Educators should developthe assessments and then create instructional activitiesthatwill prepare students to complete themsuccessfully.Terrell Bell, former Secretary of Education, empha-

sized the importance of motivation by stating: “Thereare three things to remember about education. The firstis motivation, the second one is motivation, and thethird one is motivation” (Covington 2000). While eachstudent might respond differently to the various moti-vational practices, teachers can maximize their abilityto motivate students when utilizing certain constructs.To be sure, if students are more likely to be motivatedbecause of the goals they adopt or they are inherentlyinterested in a subject, then educatorsmust developpro-grams, lesson plans, and activities that utilize the goaland intrinsic motivational theories.

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