Development and Motivation

Children undergo development with regard to the attributions they are likely to make for their successes and failures (Nicholls, 1978; Meyer, et al, 1979; Blumenfeld, et al., 1982) and in the ways they respond to criticism (Parsons, Kaczala, & Meece, 1979). For example, there is clear evidence that early adolescents show a marked decline in academic motivation during their transition from elementary school to middle school or junior high school. As chapter 4 suggested, there is often a mismatch between characteristics of the environment of typical middle school classrooms and the developmental needs of early adolescents. Specifically, middle school teachers tend to exercise excessive control, provide few decision-making opportunities, and feel low self-efficacy themselves. In addition, middle schools tend to employ ability grouping in ways detrimental to student motivation. By taking into consideration the principles of attribution theory and related concepts, educators can design programs that may reverse this trend.

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Introduction
Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation
Challenge
Curiosity
Control
Fantasy
Interpersonal Motivation
Summary of Intrinsic Motivation
Motivating Through Curriculum
Reinforcement and Punishment
Affective Aspects of Motivation
Physiological Aspects of Motivation
Cognitive Aspects of Motivation
Needs and Motivation
Self-Efficacy
Attribution Theory
Development and Motivation <<You are here>>
Motivation as a Personality Characteristic
Teacher Expectancy
Social Aspects of Motivation: Classroom Structure
What Teachers Can Do About Motivation
What Parents Can Do About Motivation
What Students Can Do About Motivation
Chapter Summary
Annotated Bibliography
Footnotes
Answers to Quizzes