Eliciting classroom motivation : not a piece of cake

Nuland, H.J.C. van (2011)

Doctoral Thesis

This thesis attempted to contribute to the quest of practitioners and researchers to find guidelines on how to establish a healthy motivational orientation in the classroom. This is not an easy objective. There are many theories and concepts regarding motivation. We provided an overview in Chapter 2 of 36 motivation theories to gain more insight into what motivation is and how it works in the classroom. In Chapter 3 we highlighted motivation constructs derived from different motivation perspectives that can predict classroom performance together. Further, we presented the effects of a motivational intervention on intrinsic motivation, persistence, self-regulatory skills and performance (Chapter 4); we distinguished between the effects for boys and girls (Chapter 5); and investigated the applicability of self-determination theory across situations (Chapter 6). This chapter will start by presenting and elaborating on our results. We use the metaphor of the motivation cake that was introduced in the first chapter of this thesis to illustrate our conclusions. Subsequently, we discuss study limitations and present our suggestions for future research as well as the theoretical and practical implications of the present thesis.

• Adolescents
• Classroom motivation
• Gender differences
• Intrinsic motivation
• Motivational intervention
• Self-determination theory
• Self-regulation theory

• All authors: Nuland, H.J.C. van
• Supervisor: Boekaerts, M.; Martens, R.L.
• Committee: -
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Education Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University
• Date: 2011-04-05
• ISBN (print): 9789490858056
• Court: LEI Universiteit Leiden