Fostering achievement motivation

Researchers defined achievement motivation as a viable research construct in the early 1950s. Adults increased their achievement motivation scores--often with correlative increased achievement. The literature is replete with ways to increase achievement but researchers paid less attention to what could be a core issue--affecting achievement motication itself. McClelland demonstrated repeatedly that adult business people could develop achievement motivation. Alschuler and deCharms found that classroom treatment procedures could yield increased student achievement motivation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which treatment activites could foster achievement motivation in a sample of rural Southern Alberta grade four students. To accomplish this, the investigator in the present study employed a combination of the methods used by Alschuler with adolescents and deCharms with younger students. The treatment group experienced achievement motivation action strategies, conceptualized achievement motivation thoughts, related the achievement motivation syndrome to three areas of personal life, and practised what they learned. Two control groups were grade four classes in rural Alberta; one received a pre-test, the other received the post-test only. This investigator used Gumpgookies (Ballif & Adkins, 1968) to quantify achievement motivation. Grade four students in rural Southern Alberta did not obtain significantly different Gumpgookies (Ballif & Adkins, 1968) (achievement motivation) scores following four weeks of achievement motivation training modelled after Alschuler and deCharms. Birth order and rank in class emerged as significant variables.

Authors

• Hillyer, F. James
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education

• Motivation in education
• Achievement motivation in children
• Academic achievement
• Dissertations, Academic

Identifier

hdl:10133/50

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/50