Purpose is an important aspect of character development and thriving in adolescence; yet, there is little research explaining how it develops or how contexts such as school can support its development. In this study, 1,304 eighth graders completed a survey that measured purpose as the integration of 2 dimensions-- beyond-the-self life goal…

Having a purpose is a form of intrapersonal giftedness. An even rarer giftedness is motivation to positively change society or culture. This exploratory chi-square and ANOVA study reports the prevalence, age distribution, stability over time, and characteristics of two change oriented aims in American adolescents. In a sample of 270, 12%, who tend…

This study used an exploratory mixed methods design to address the questions: (1) "Is there a positive language of youth purpose, and if so, what is it like?" and (2) "Which kinds of purpose best predict reports of positive states and coping styles?" Qualitative coding identified references to positive states and coping…

This study examines the relationships between students' academic motivation, evidence of achievement as measured by assessments and the effects of feedback in mediating effort. Policy makers currently view student achievement is as synonymous with proficiency on standardized tests. Testing students as a means of determining educational…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…