Examined the conceptions of learning held by second-year medical students in South Africa in relation to their academic achievement. Found that students with a good academic record expressed more transformative conceptions of learning than did their lower-achieving peers, who appeared to rely on memorization and recall. (EV)

The present study investigated the perceptions of both pupils and staff at a pupil referral unit (PRU) towards the reward system currently in use. The main aims were to establish whether teachers and pupils perceived the same rewards as effective, to determine whether staff and pupils perceived that rewards changed behaviour, and finally whether…

The issue of students' engagement in learning physics has generally been analysed in science education research using attitudes towards science, or motivation to learn science. However, the corresponding studies have their limitations. Therefore, the object of this paper is to present and to analyse an alternative to these theoretical approaches;…

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of students' perception of both teacher support and students' reaction to questioning on the instrumental help-seeking strategy used by students. The researchers also examined the relationships between these three variables and the motivational components of achievement goal theory. A…

This article describes the authors' experience of teaching conversational English to students in Baotou in Inner Mongolia. Teaching in Baotou confirmed that students do not need to be entertained through the use of computers or theatrics. Intrinsic motivation, particularly that which comes from understanding the value of an education in changing…

Following the collapse of the USSR in 1989, educators in socialist countries such as Latvia not only had to establish democratic governance structures, they also faced huge uncertainty as they turned toward a postmodern Europe. Faculties of education and public schools were expected to relearn to reteach. They had to decentralize leadership,…

In Japan, Internet based learning is still at an early stage. However, adult learners in Japanese society expect the development of flexible e-learning programs. This case study examines motivational factors affecting online learning in a Japanese and Australian MBA program, using observations, interviews and a questionnaire survey. The data were…

In the field of SLA, there have been various attempts to define second language learning motivation and to discover relationships between motivation and gender. Using two well-known motivational models: Expectancy-value theory, and Gardner's Socio-educational model, the present study sought to (1) first define foreign language learning motivation…

The present study sets out to examine motivation to learn English by Chinese research students in an informal setting. Data were collected, using semi-structured interviews, from four research students at two points in time during their first year in the UK. The main findings are: they believed that learning English was important; their main goal…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent and some of the characteristics of learning by high school drop-outs. Subjects were 70 men and 71 women who were resident in the Borough of North York. (Author)

A study of 66 British participants at the beginning of and 2 years into labor education revealed that 80% had left school at age 16 and had negative schooling experiences. However, continual engagement in union activities and education, opportunities to see connections between work and learning activities, and the mutual reinforcement of these…

Research on older adults at the United Kingdom's Open University over 25 years showed that the proportion of undergraduates over 50 is 14%, over 60 is 5%; that their course choices, motivation, and study preferences differ from those of younger students; and that their achievement compares favorably with that of younger students. (SK)

A study of 652 physicians enrolled in the Maintenance of Competence program found that, for those with less than 10 years of experience, learning was often stimulated by audits of practice. Physicians with more than 30 years of experience most often initiated learning in response to patient interaction. (Author/JOW)

Used Learning Process Questionnaire to examine urban South African students' endorsement of various learning approaches. Found that strategies used by students in Western educational contexts were similar to those used by African counterparts. Urban South African responses, compared with counterparts from Nigeria, Australia, and Hong Kong,…

Presents a theoretical framework that classifies autonomy as procedural/technical, personal/practical, or critical. Discusses sociocultural barriers to learning motivation and identifies which assessment practices foster which type of autonomy. (Contains 71 references.) (SK)