The instructor of a course focusing on basic academic and job readiness skills for welfare recipients at the Goodwill Employment Help Center in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, conducted an action research project to determine whether developing personal mission statements would increase students' motivation in her course. As new students were accepted into the course, they were asked to participate in the following activities: (1) complete a questionnaire about their attitudes; (2) participate in an informal discussion about personal goals, responsibility, and determining one's likelihood of achieving goals; and (3) write a personal mission statement. Students' motivation was measured through surveys administered before and after the mission statement activity, field notes, and interviews. Of the 12 students who initially agreed to participate in the project, only 3 actually remained in the study long enough to complete mission statements. All three students stated that the mission statements helped increase their feeling of responsibility for their academic and career success. The remaining 9 students dropped out of the study for reasons unrelated to the study. (Appendixes constituting approximately 60% of this document contain the following four items: mission statement of Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh; instructor's personal mission statement; mission statement lesson outline; and student questionnaire.) (MN)