Based upon the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and informed by research from many disciplines including linguistics, anthropology, history and psychology, the knowledge about the nature of children's play and its relationship to literacy development has steadily increased. The play of young children is categorized as: (1) meaningful; (2) symbolic;…

This 2-year study examined the relative potency of locus of control (LOC) and motivational orientation (MO) as predictors of standardized achievement scores and learned helplessness. Also tested was the prediction that children with an extrinsic MO would be prone to adopt an external LOC over time. In the first year of the study, subjects were 158…

This study examined the role of motivational factors on the academic achievement of children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Four motivational factors were assessed: the child's motivational attributions, motivational goal orientation, self-perception, and mastery-oriented behaviors in the classroom. Mastery-oriented behaviors include being…

A primary goal of the quality movement, like the traditional management techniques that preceded it, is to get the most committed effort possible from the members of the organization. This document surveys the literature in order to summarize the substantial debate on how to achieve that goal, and then offers a theoretical context of strategic…

The possibility of gender-related differences in student motivation throughout their schooling was investigated in this study. Subjects were 538 elementary-school students, 1,519 high-school students, and 2,434 junior-college students from the Montreal (Quebec, Canada) area. The Adolescents Academic Motivation Scale was administered to assess…

This paper examines mastery motivation in infants from birth to 3 years of age and outlines critical areas for parent and teacher involvement in the development of motivation, including recommended activities at each level. It asserts that from birth, children have an innate desire to learn about their world, quickly learning that they can control…

This study examined the relationship between ego-oriented or task-oriented motivation on one hand and subjective well-being and perceived ability on the other. Undergraduate (N=124) and graduate (N=212) students at Purdue University responded to a questionnaire by listing up to 10 personal projects and rating the 2 most important ones with respect…

This paper examines the concept of emotional intelligence and the application of the concept to the field of educational administration and leadership. Emotional intelligence (EQ) includes such skills as self-awareness, managing emotions, self-motivation, empathy, and handling relationships by managing emotions in others. Much of the research…

A study examined the effect of adventure programs on participants' self-efficacy immediately following an adventure program experience and whether increased self-efficacy transferred to the participants' daily lives after the adventure experience. Sixty-eight participants aged 18-29 in a series of 21-day Outward Bound courses were given a pretest…

This study explored how some aspects of achievement goals theory can be integrated into the education of gifted and/or academically talented students. Specifically, the study addressed whether teachers of gifted students utilized task-focused instructional practices more often than performance-focused instructional practices, whether teachers of…

A qualitative investigation of the professional development experiences of 17 prominent U.S. Latinas across 7 occupational fields is the subject of this paper. The investigation described here explored cultural, personal, and contextual variables in relation to the career development of Latinas; in addition, it included specific exploration of…

Changes and continuities in adolescents' optimal experiences over two years are explored in this study, and related to the development of affective and motivational patterns. Optimal experience, or flow, occurs when people do intrinsically rewarding activities in which they feel optimally challenged relative to their level of skills. The major…

Instructional metacognition refers both to conceptions of students about the contribution that instructional interventions can make to their learning, and to the impact of these conceptions on students' interpretation and use of instructional interventions. This study analyzes student conceptions of efficiency-related attributes of instructional…

This study examined the links between Australian adolescents' achievement goal orientation and the information sources they used when making decisions about returning to school and selecting courses for the elective final 2 years of high school. A total of 230 year-11 students from 2 coeducational comprehensive schools in a large city…

This study examined the effects of goals--such as denoting learning and performance outcomes--and self-evaluation on the acquisition of computer skills, efficacy in performing computer tasks, perception of competence for the use of self-regulatory strategies, and frequency of strategy use while learning computer skills. Subjects were 44 college…