CEP Report Summarizes Research on Understanding, Spurring Motivation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 22, 2012 – A series of papers by the Center on Education Policy
(CEP) underscores the need for teachers, schools, parents and communities to pay more
attention to the role of student motivation in school reform. While there is no single strategy that
works to motivate all students, or even the same student in all contexts, the many different
sources reviewed by CEP suggest various approaches that can help improve student
motivation, the report finds.
For example, programs that tailor support to individual students who are at risk of losing
motivation, that foster “college-going” cultures in middle and high schools, or that partner with
low-income parents to create more stimulating home learning environments can increase
motivation, the report notes, but only if they incorporate factors that research has shown to be
effective.
The CEP report, Student Motivation—An Overlooked Piece of School Reform, pulls together
findings about student motivation from decades of major research conducted by scholars,
organizations, and practitioners. The six accompanying background papers examine a range of
themes and approaches, from the motivational power of video games and social media to the
promise and pitfalls of paying students for good grades. Each paper covers one of these six
broad topics:
What Is Motivation and Why Does It Matter?
Can Money and Other Rewards Motivate Students?
Can Goals Motivate Students?
What Roles Do Parents, Family Background, and Culture Play in Student Motivation?
What Can Schools Do To Better Motivate Students?
What Nontraditional Approaches to Learning Can Motivate Unenthusiastic Students?
“Student motivation isn’t a fixed quality but can be influenced in positive or negative ways by
students’ experiences and by important people in their lives,” said Alexandra Usher, CEP senior
research assistant and lead author of the summary report and background papers. “How
teachers teach, how schools are organized, and other key elements of school reform can be
designed in ways that may either encourage or discourage motivation.”
The summary report and accompanying papers highlight actions that teachers, school leaders,
parents, and communities can take to foster student motivation. The following are just a few of
the many ideas included in the report:
Programs that reward academic accomplishments are most effective when they reward
students for mastering certain skills or increasing their understanding rather than
rewarding them for reaching a performance target or outperforming others.
Tests are more motivating when students have an opportunity to demonstrate their
knowledge through low-stakes tests, performance tasks, or frequent assessments that
gradually increase in difficulty before they take a high-stakes test.
Professional development can help teachers encourage student motivation by sharing
ideas for increasing student autonomy, emphasizing mastery over performance, and
creating classroom environments where students can take risks without fear of failure
Parents can foster their children’s motivation by emphasizing effort over ability and
praising children when they’ve mastered new skills or knowledge instead of praising their
innate intelligence.
Many aspects of motivation are not fully understood, the report and background papers caution,
and most programs or studies that have shown some positive results have been small or
geographically concentrated. “Because much about motivation is not known, this series of
papers should be viewed as a springboard for discussion by policymakers, educators, and
parents rather than a conclusive research review,” said Nancy Kober, CEP consultant and coauthor
of the summary report. “This series can also give an important context to media stories
about student achievement, school improvement, or other key education reform issues.”
The summary paper, six background reports, and an appendix table outlining the major theories
of motivation are available for free at www.cep-dc.org. For further information, contact Ali Diallo at
301-656-0348 or ali@thehatchergroup.com.
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Based in Washington, D.C. at the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and
Human Development, and founded in January 1995 by Jack Jennings, the Center on Education Policy is
a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. The Center
works to help Americans better understand the role of public education in a democracy and the need to
improve the academic quality of public schools. The Ce
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