The theory of self-efficacy (beliefs concerning one's capabilities to learn or perform behaviors at designated levels), has developed since A. Bandura's work (1977) and continues to be applied to a variety of educational settings and grade levels. This paper addresses various issues pertaining to self-efficacy in settings involving academic…

Established in 1894, the Naugatuck (Connecticut) Women's Study Club is an example of the women's groups that seemed to spring up simultaneously in the late 19th century across the United States. Founded for the purpose of "promoting general intelligence and culture," these clubs were established by pillars of the community and included…

Children's intrinsic motivation for school work has been recognized as an important contributor and predictor of school achievement. It is characterized by enjoyment and valuing of learning for the inherent pleasure its accomplishment brings. Important features include curiosity, persistence, autonomy, a mastery orientation, and a preference for…

Recent literature on motivation has documented that perceptions of self-competence and motivational orientations for learning are interrelated. This study focuses specifically on childrens perceptions of their scholastic abilities, how these perceptions develop and how they relate to intrinsic motivation for learning. The rationale for this study…

This study explored possible gender differences in intrinsic motivation among 120 white students at a semi-rural high school. Researchers drew students randomly from each of the four grade levels. Students provided information on age, grade level, and grade point average, then anonymously completed Harter's 1981 Scale of Intrinsic versus Extrinsic…

This report compares two approaches to incentive motivation in 82 college juniors and seniors, average age 21 years. One method uses will as a motivator; the other method focuses on skill or effective strategy use for enhancing recall and understanding of a particular body of information. In the first approach, a semiweekly test or spotquiz was…

Three studies were conducted to determine if goal striving level was related to accurate self-knowledge. The purpose of the research was to determine if the tendency of high strivers to confront stressful stimuli extends to self-evaluation processes. Three experiments were designed to investigate whether high strivers differ from low strivers in…

This study sought to determine factors that drive an HRED postsecondary faculty member to be a high producer of research. A HRED faculty career research productivity mediated model was designed and evaluated based on theory and previous literature. The model consisted of environmental variables (control variables), perceived organizational…

Student engagement, a crucial school restructuring issue for the 1990s, comprises interventions that channel the need for competence toward academic success, offer students increased access to extrinsic rewards, cultivate study of intrinsically interesting and invaluable material, provide consistent social support, and maximize student ownership…

The intent of this study was to explore the intrinsic aspects of motivation, and to see if the design of instruction could positively affect learners' levels of intrinsic motivation toward the subject matter. The following questions were addressed: (1) Will different computer-based instructional treatments which have been designed to reflect…

This paper examines the role of motivation in the way mental retardation is defined and treated. It reviews evidence that mental retardation involves a motivational self-system and a self-regulatory influence which, interacting with cognitive and metacognitive factors, result in inefficient learning. It suggests that individuals with mental…

This paper presents findings regarding the role of youth's moment to moment thinking and state of mind in determining perception. These findings, along with discoveries about innate resiliency and an understanding of the underlying principles that describe how thoughts become perception, have demonstrated efficacy in empowering youth to regain…

Malcolm Knowles, in his theory of adult learning (1972, revised 1980), presents adults as motivated, self-directed learners. Basically, once a person starts seeing himself or herself as an adult, he or she has an expectation of being independent in decision-making, valuing personal experience, and desiring respect. Courses, curriculum, and…

This study compared high, moderate, and low procrastinators on their (1) frequency and nature of rationalizations to justify procrastination, (2) reported degree of self-regulation, and (3) grades in a web-based course with 216 performances, all with deadlines. One hundred and sixteen college students enrolled in a web-based "study…

This study examined factors related to intrinsic motivation for learning and psychological need fulfillment in the home-school setting. Participating in the study were 60 families who home-schooled at least 1 child between ages 6 and 16. Families were recruited directly at meetings of home-schooling groups in Massachusetts. Parents were…