The more that educators understand about student motivation, the better that teachers can tailor their pedagogy to prepare students for the job market. The purpose of this study was to acquire a more complete understanding of what drives secondary students and how student motivation and development relate to effective teaching. It is hoped that an improved understanding of what motivates students will prompt teachers to modify their strategies so as to foster self-directed learning in their students. An examination of the literature suggests that educators should decrease the competitive nature of the classroom, pay more attention to developing students' self-esteem, note the importance of making content relevant and learning enjoyable, and that teachers should work to create an environment conducive to learning. Utilizing a qualitative research design, information was gathered through classroom observations, student interviews, and a teacher interview of a 10th-grade, advanced world history course. Specific themes, such as learning, social, friends, and teacher, were examined as they related to increasing student motivation. The study also describes strategies that teachers can implement in order to increase student motivation. Contains 11 references. (RJM)