There are indicators that a substantial number of students in vocational education and training (VET) experience problems with successfully building their careers. This is often attributed to VET students' motivation. The present study provides insight into VET students' motivational profiles based on self-determination theory. Additionally,…

The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of student agency when applied to learning across "The New Zealand Curriculum" (Ministry of Education, 2007). To explore agency the author presents and describes a range of teaching pedagogies that are based on principles of intrinsic motivation. The author describes, with examples,…

Throughout the years, a lot of research has been looking at the significance of effective atmosphere in second language classroom. We often overlook the fact that humour is a vital element in attaining a supportive learning environment that can benefit students. There is limited research conducted on the effectiveness of the use of humour in ESL…

Several studies show that using technology as an intervention tool in mathematics influences student outcomes, motivation to learn, and attitude about learning. However, no meta-analysis exists that examines all three of these characteristics combined along with several facets of the interventions. Understanding how motivation and attitude changes…

Mathematics-related affect comprises an individual's attitudes, beliefs, emotions and motivations towards mathematics. These affective constructs have been widely studied in mathematics education and cognitive psychology and have been shown to be related to cognitive outcomes such as performance on a range of mathematical tasks. However, it is not…

Digital technologies are increasingly common in language learning. Online media creation provides scope for agency and spaces for identity construction, but empirically grounded conceptualizations of the influences on learners' motivation are lacking and the digital technology--second language motivation interface remains largely unexplored. Using…

Student engagement is a complex phenomenon, with diverse interpretations, even within further and higher education. This article presents three potential, interconnected, novel models which provide a measure of unification of the range of interpretations and hence may improve understanding of the broad phenomenon. The models emerged from a study…

Agency has attracted considerable attention, especially of late. Nevertheless, perceptions of language learners as nonagentive persist. In this article the Douglas Fir Group's call for a transdisciplinary perspective is heeded in a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory's (CDST) conceptualization of agency. It is suggested that CDST maintains the…

This chapter describes the ways in which the MVP model relates to recent research on neuroscience and learning, and demonstrates how those relationships may be used to better understand physiological impacts on motivation, and to facilitate improved learning.

Global companies often face cultural issues when they conduct training of employees in other countries. In today's increasingly global and digitally connected society, it is essential to assure the alignment between the learning needs of individuals from different cultures and the way content is designed and delivered, both online and…

Central to self-determination theory (SDT) is the notion that autonomously motivated learning relates to greater learning benefits. While learners' intrinsic motivation has received substantial attention, learners also display volitional learning when they come to endorse the personal meaning or self-relevance of the learning task. In Part I of…

Current research suggests that student engagement with academic schoolwork in secondary school classrooms is often insufficient. This issue is of relevance because student engagement is a prerequisite for acquiring knowledge and skills and is also a mediator of achievement and important life outcomes. In response to this, the present study…

How can teachers boost motivation and interest in writing when a student has disengaged from writing? This article looks at the case of a student with sensory and social challenges who lost interest in writing. Possible reasons for the loss of interest are explored through the elements that contribute to motivation for learning and for writing.…

Children's early mathematical abilities are fundamental to their later academic achievement. An interest in mathematics in the early years is likely to establish a positive attitude to later mathematical learning, hopefully sustaining continued interest in mathematics and mathematical learning. Approaches to early mathematics teaching in the early…

A key mandate of environment education (EE) is to motivate people to engage in environmentally responsible actions. However, school-based EE has not been successful in nurturing environmentally responsible actions in students. This is partly because of the information-oriented structure of current EE, which assumes that symbol-based knowledge…