What motivates teenagers to learn
When do schoolgirls feel most motivated? What motivates a student to tackle a school challenge instead of going out for ice cream with friends? Why are some pupils more motivated than others to get involved in school? Many parents and teachers ask themselves these questions - especially when they notice how a child's ambition at school wanes over the years.
This decline often becomes apparent during the transition from primary school to secondary school, usually around the age of eleven. This is the point at which school begins to focus more on performance and pupils come under increased pressure.
Social relationships are becoming more important
This new environment does not always meet pupils' needs. The transition to secondary school can also have an impact on social relationships: Friendships end, the influence of parents decreases and school classes become larger, which can have a negative impact on the relationship between teacher and student. At the same time, pupils' interest in social relationships grows.
Based on the fact that motivation often wanes during this phase, we wanted to identify the factors that are most closely linked to motivation at school. So that we can help teachers and carers to motivate students to reach their full potential.
Positive relationships promote a happy learning environment and lead to motivated learners.
Over the last four decades, many studies have used questionnaires to investigate the motivation of learners, both in and out of the classroom. We systematically analysed the results of these studies and found that researchers had already compiled data from over 5000 studies and from more than 25 million students aged 4 to 20 years.
Given the large number of such summaries (we found 125!), it can be difficult to analyse them for answers to specific questions. As a first step, we therefore compiled a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge. We found three factors that seem to be most important for school motivation: learning opportunities, self-confidence and positive relationships.
Three motivating factors
Good learning opportunities such as high-quality teaching promote motivation. The more pupils learn, the more motivated they are to continue learning. Motivation in turn leads to more learning. This creates a feedback loop between learning and motivation.
High-quality teaching requires effective classroom management. This includes efficient use of lesson time and clear rules in the classroom. It also requires challenging tasks that encourage pupils to actively shape their learning, as well as support for pupils in solving these tasks. Learning opportunities should be adapted to the abilities of the pupils.
The focus should be on learning as a process and not on competition in the classroom.
Pupils who rate their academic abilities higher also report being more motivated. How students perceive their learning - i.e. their self-perception in relation to school tasks - could therefore be just as important as the quality of learning opportunities. Teachers can help students to perceive themselves as competent and strengthen their motivation by giving feedback. In doing so, they show ways in which each learner can make the greatest individual progress, which in turn increases learning.
Teachers can set motivating goals for their students, whereby the focus should be on learning as a process and not on competition in the classroom. The relationship between learners and teachers also has a significant impact on motivation: Schools where positive relationships prevail create a happy learning environment and lead to motivated learners.
Which aspects of motivation are important and when?
During adolescence, social relationships outside the family (especially with peers) become increasingly important. Supportive learning environments can help to address pupils' emotional needs and provide a sense of belonging and connection to classmates and teachers. Such an environment has a positive influence on motivation.
Further research is needed into whether some aspects of motivation are more important than others in certain contexts. In our review, we were unable to consider the interplay between the different aspects of learning in the classroom.
It is important to promote academic skills, relationships and self-confidence at the same time.
These aspects are important when we look at individual classes, teachers and pupils. We do not know, for example, whether certain teaching methods can be successful in different ways for pupils with different backgrounds and learning requirements. And we know little about the relationship between the use of technology in the classroom and academic motivation.
However, the results of our study emphasise the importance of simultaneously promoting academic skills, positive self-esteem and relationships. If students find that they are making progress, are welcome in school and their class, and have a connection with their teachers and peers, then they might just be motivated enough to forgo ice cream with friends and tackle a school challenge instead.
This text first appeared in English on the BOLD platform.
