The interaction of student motivation and teacher behaviour upon academic performance

Abstract

This study is concerned with learning as it typically occurs in classrooms. It draws upon the cognitive psychological theories of Piaget, the needs-press model of human behaviour of Hurray and various understandings of social interaction that are evident in recent works of sociologists such as M.F.D. Young, Berger and others. In so doing, an interactive perspective is adopted and school-based learning is viewed within an interactive framework that represents a synethesis of both cognitive and social aspects of knowledge construction. Within this framework are proposed two models of learning, one associated with achievement-orientated behaviour and the other with intrinsicmotivated behaviour. The research study employed a nonexperiment al, (short-term) longitudinal design and examined the teacher’s presentation of a section of the Biological Science: Web of Life curriculum to senior students in both independent and government schools of the Australian Capital Territory. Tests were administered to measure the students’ knowledge of prerequisite concepts necessary for an understanding of the section of curriculum under consideration; following the teacher’s presentation of the curriculum, approximately seven weeks later, the students' knowledge of both the details of the curriculum and an integrated understanding of the curriculum were measured. While the curriculum was being taught, the researcher assessed the learning goals presented by the teacher and the properties of the learning environment likely to facilitate the arousal of intrinsic motivation. These assessments included a variety of procedures, including teaching observations, student interviews and student questionnaires. Evidence from each of these sources was used by the researcher to rate the learning environment on each of three dimensions, viz., emphasis on integration, emphasis on specific detail and facilitation of intrinsic motivation. Questionnaires were used to assess both the achievement press of the school and the students' levels of achievement motivation and intrinsic motivation. Both multiple regression and analysis of variance procedures were used in the data analysis. The student interview and teacher observation data generated insights into the dynamics of the classroom situation which enabled the researcher to better explain the results of the analyses. These results support the overall interactive perspective adopted in this study, and both the achievement-orientated and intrinsicmot ivated models of learning that have been proposed. Show more