As learner-centred approaches are gaining popularity in many language classrooms, the affective dimensions of learners and the interaction effects of learners and teachers have become an important theme for research and assessment. This paper explores how Japanese learners of English as a foreign language evolve in two geographically distinct…

We examined direct and interaction effects of learners' characteristics (cognitive ability, prior knowledge, prior experience, and motivation to learn) and classroom characteristics (videoconferencing and class size) on learning from a 16-week course. A 2x2 quasi-experimental design varied the class size between large (approximately 60 students)…

This article reports research findings from a 21-month empirical project called "Making Numeracy Teaching Meaningful to Adult Learners," which was funded by the National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC). It looks at motivations behind adult learners returning to study numeracy in three FE colleges, and finds…

A class of unmotivated inner city secondary school children were introduced to an innovative, new, dedicated physical environment where computers and multimedia software were seamlessly integrated and which was served by a socio constructivist learning pedagogy. In this environment they were taught English as prescribed in the UK national…

This paper reports on research to examine the types of motivation related to school achievement. A total of 1428 students from an inner city high school in the Montreal (Quebec) area participated in the study, 714 males and 714 females. The students ranged in age from 12 to 18, and approximately 40 percent were minorities (Hispanic, Asian, Black).…

Little prior research exists on the achievement motivation of Mexican American students. In a rural south Texas junior high school, 120 eighth-grade students completed the 1969 Achieving Tendency Scales and demographic and socioeconomic questionnaires. Subjects were equally divided among four groups: Mexican American males and females and Anglo…

A field study was conducted to investigate the effect of gender, and gender combined with other variables on within-term changes in junior college student motivation. Intrinsic motivation (IM) refers to doing an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from participating. Extrinsic motivation (EM) refers to engaging in behaviors as a…

A study documented the expectations, experiences, and needs of eight women who entered education via Fresh Start/Return to Study courses and followed them as they moved on to further study/training. (Fresh Start was a project of the Inner London Education Authority.) A series of interviews was conducted between June 1985 and October 1986 in an…

This study investigated the effects of medium of instruction, task difficulty, and gender on continuing motivation. A total of 139 fifth and sixth graders with previous computer experience completed an initial learning task in one of the two media formats (computer or paper/pencil) and under either a hard or easy difficulty level. Students' choice…

This manual covers study behavior and attitudes and specific study techniques for health profession students, including scheduling, comprehension, memory, and test-taking techniques. Much of the approach emphasizes self-discipline and honesty. Focus is on how students in a health professions program can make their study time more productive and…

Reported are data from the initial use of the Motivation Checklist, a rating scale for teachers designed to help them think about student motivation problems in terms of an extended, research-based typology. Over 50 teachers rated 261 students in grades one through six who differed in their level of motivation and in their level of achievement.…

The effects of college attendance by working adults on educational motivations of their children were studied. A total of 740 parents in the Detroit area who attended a college program combining in-home televised instruction with weekend decentralized seminars were surveyed along with 211 of their children and 75 respondents from Kansas City. Many…

Andrew Wrenn describes his work with Barry Williams and the teachers of the history department at Ailwyn School (11-14 comprehensive), Ramsey in Cambridgeshire. Devoting equal attention to the "what" and the "how" of history assessment, he shows how this group of teachers developed a fresh approach to assessment out of the…

A study was conducted in Spokane, Washington, to determine motivational factors and preferred conditions that would encourage adults to participate in learning activities. Interviews were conducted with 600 randomly selected households (89 percent success rate) distributed across the age, educational attainment, occupational, and socioeconomic…

A study examined older adult participation in continuing education to determine if there are significant differences in the characteristics and participation motivations between older adults who enroll in age-integrated programs and those who participate in age-segregated programs. Questionnaires consisting of a program participant's survey…