The article links student and family characteristics, along with homework characteristics and homework purposes, to homework management as reported by 194 middle-school students in Grades 5-6. The results revealed that homework management was not related to grade level, amount of parental education, time spent on homework, or extrinsic reasons for…

A selected review of the effects of various grading systems on student motivation at the university level has been summarized and interpreted. Particular emphasis is devoted to contract grading and the identification of student characteristics, both personal and intellectual, that appear to interact favorably with this relatively new grading…

Explores a model of student motivation and introduces the concept of academic resilience. Draws together seminal motivation theory, posits constructs that represent these theories, and then repackages them into a model that can be used by educators and understood by students. Discusses strategies for enhancing motivation and academic resilience.…

In this article it is argued that peers have the potential to provide contexts for learning that can have a profound impact on the development of students' academic enablers. Describes ways in which peer collaborative contexts can promote academic engagement as well as provide a supportive structure for the development of specific problem-solving…

The article explores theoretical and practical factors that support or challenge the effectiveness of various awards programs intended to motivate improvement in youth fitness, motivate youth to take fitness tests, and encourage active lifestyles. (Author/CB)

Discussion of the affective domain, learning, and motivation focuses on serious play as a suitable goal for situations requiring learners, both children and adults, to engage in creative higher-order thinking coupled with intense personal commitment and involvement. Suggests that interactive computer games offer opportunities to support serious…

Examines two aspects of continuity, stability of individual differences and means, in a study from the middle elementary through high school years. Two hypotheses were supported: academic intrinsic motivation is a stable construct through these years, and with advancement in age, academic intrinsic motivation becomes increasingly stable. (Contains…

Music educators are interested in how students learn music performance skills. In this way, music teachers have something in common with certain music psychologists who study how musicians become expert performers. These researchers work with highly skilled musicians to learn what factors have contributed to their achievement in performance.…

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to investigate features of Japanese students' contact with the target language (English) outside the classroom in a study abroad context. (Methodology) The participants in this study were 29 Japanese students taking general English courses, for 12 weeks, at two private English language schools in New…

Introduction: A variety of studies has shown that the type of goal orientation determines students' cognitive and behavioral reactions as well as their educational performance (e.g. Ames 1992, Ames/Archer 1988, Valle et al. 2003). Contrary to many views, this study perceives goal orientation as a multidimensional construct with different…

In Canada, education in French as a second language (FSL) offers students the opportunity to learn a second official language. Is such an opportunity appropriate for allophone students who are still in the process of learning English? This literature review provides a fourfold consideration of the issue. Section 1 examines the political response…

The purpose of this study was to determine the best-fitting structural equation model between the freshmen's physics achievement and selected affective characteristics related to physics. These characteristics are students' situational interest in physics, personal interest in physics, aspiring extra activities related to physics, importance of…

Authors reviewed the theoretical history of the "motivation" construct, and its utilization within past/current health behavior research. Textbooks and review articles functioned as sources for the theoretical history review. Research published within a 10-year period (1993-2002) in four health promotion journals (all with impact factors greater…

Reviews theories and research findings on intrinsic motivation for young children and suggests ways for parents and educators to facilitate children's development in this area. (Author/BJD)

A study of American Jewish day-school graduates in Israeli "yeshivas" revealed that American schools teach Hebrew and transmit the Talmudic traditions poorly. Students study secular subjects more seriously than religious ones. Journal available from Human Sciences Press, 72 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011. (AM)