Updated 2020-02-19

Enthusiastic Students: A Study of Motivation in Two Alternatives to Mandatory Instruction

Research study using Self-Determination Theory as a framework for understanding motivation in a Self-Directed learning community and a home school resource center.
Donald A. Berg, Jennifer Henderlong Corpus author
Berg, D., & Corpus, J. H. (2013). Enthusiastic students: A study of motivation in two alternatives to mandatory instruction. Other education: The journal of educational alternatives, 2(2), 42-66. Retrieved from https://www.othereducation.org/index. php/OE/article/view/31

Description

The present study used Self-Determination Theory as a framework for examining age-related changes in motivation for 57 students aged 7-17 years in the context of two alternative educational environments: a home school resource center and a democratically organized school. Students completed the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire in order to assess their intrinsic motivation and three types of extrinsic motivation. In stark contrast to the well-replicated negative correlation between age and intrinsic motivation in traditional schools, there was no relationship between age and any of the four motivation subscale scores in the present study. Interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed.

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