Understanding and Supporting Student Motivation for Learning

Abstract

This chapter highlights the importance of motivation for children’s learning and describes the ways in which motivation may be strengthened. We begin by discussing the construct of motivation and the various theories that have attempted to explain why some students are more highly motivated than others. Drawing on the framework of mastery motivation, we describe developmental aspects of the drive for mastery, highlighting the ways in which this drive increasingly becomes differentiated and affected by interplay of individual child characteristics, such as self-efficacy and self-regulation, and contextual factors, such as cognitively stimulating environments, optimal challenge, and support for autonomy. The contexts in which children live and learn have important implications for motivation. We discuss motivation in children with learning and developmental disabilities, considering the experiences that potentially undermine their engagement with learning. The final part of the chapter focuses on strategies for promoting and sustaining motivation. In particular, we emphasize the importance of providing optimal challenge, experiences of success, and support for autonomy, as well as the benefits of positive strategies for developing self-regulatory skills.