Background: Promoting and improving STEM education is being driven by economic concerns as modern economies have a rising demand for qualified researchers, technicians, and other STEM professionals. In addition, women remain under-represented in STEM-related fields, with significant economic and societal consequences. Abundant research has shown…

Motives for writing is a new research area in the field of writing motivation. Recent studies have identified important motives for students' writing. Adding to this nascent foundation, the current study examined relationships between writing motives, writing self-efficacy and time spent on writing using a sample of grade 4 Chinese students in…

Building on the existing body of literature on academic motivation, this research examines various factors associated with the academic motivation of students living in refugee camps in Kenya. I employ self-determination theory and a sense-of-belonging construct to explore the academic motivation of these students who, despite the overwhelming…

A person-centered, mixed-methods approach (self-report surveys, semistructured interviews, school records) was used to characterize and evaluate profiles of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations among 243 third- through eighth-grade students. Cluster analysis suggested four distinct profiles: high quantity (high intrinsic, high extrinsic), primarily…

Background: The development of primary pre-service teachers' chemistry motivation and attitudes toward chemistry were examined in order to develop their science literacy using case-based learning. Students' ideas were emphasized, real-life situations were discussed, and students could share their ideas and knowledge with peers; as a result,…

What are the motivational differences between students who intend to continue their learning in instrumental and choral music programmes and those who intend to discontinue? Using an achievement-goal perspective, this study investigated motivation and learning intentions of Australian students who had engaged in these extra-curricular music…

This study examined the effects of using "Physical Best" lessons to promote adolescent energy balance knowledge and task values. Seventh graders (N = 90) were randomly assigned to the experiment and the comparison groups. The experiment group took 10 selected "Physical Best" lessons, while the comparison experienced 10 district…

Background: School physical education (PE) programs provide a prime environment for interventions that attempt to develop school-aged children's motor competence and overall physical fitness, while also stimulating competence motivation to engage in physical activity during childhood. It is generally recognized that a pedometer-based intervention…

Introduction: The authors examined a tablet computer application (iPad app) for its effectiveness in helping students studying prealgebra to solve mathematical word problems. Methods: Forty-three visually impaired students (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) completed eight alternating mathematics units presented using their…

This study explored what reasons/factors can truly motivate athletes/students to continually participate in taekwondo practices and competitions in New York City (NYC). Participants were 85 taekwondo athletes/students (51 Boys, 34 Girls; age range 10-22 years) from seven taekwondo schools/clubs in NYC. Data collection was done by the Adapted…

There lacks a valid and reliable measurement on perceptions of teachers' caring behaviors and little is known about the link between perceptions of teachers' caring behaviors and students' motivational responses in physical education (PE). The goals of this study were to develop and validate a context-specific measurement of perceptions of…

Physical educators have a responsibility to create a learning environment that is viewed as supportive of students' psychological needs and which helps reduce amotivation. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of students' perceived need support on four dimensions of amotivation in physical education (PE) ("deficiency in…

The authors used a person-centered, longitudinal approach to identify and evaluate naturally occurring combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations among 490 third- through fifth-grade students. Cluster analysis revealed 3 groups, characterized by high levels of both motivations ("high quantity"): high intrinsic motivation but low…

Although previous research has shown the potential of innovative learning for enhancing motivation and learning outcomes, further understanding is needed on which aspects of IL are most effective and whether these are equally motivating for different types of students. The present study investigated how developments in students' motivation and…

Considering the essential role that socio-motivational relationships at school play with respect to achievement motivation, this study examined the differences between students with a low school self-concept and students with a high school self-concept in a large sample of 7th and 8th grade students (N= 1088; M[subscript Age]= 13.7) in secondary…