An Integrative Perspective for Studying Motivation in Relation to Engagement and Learning

doi:10.1017/9781316823279.031

29 - An Integrative Perspective for Studying Motivation in Relation to Engagement and Learning

from Part VI - Methods, Measures, and Perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2019

K. Ann Renninger and

Suzanne E. Hidi

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia and

Stephanie V. Wormington

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K. Ann Renninger: Affiliation:
Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania
Suzanne E. Hidi: Affiliation:
University of Toronto

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Summary

Several decades of research highlight the benefits of various motivational beliefs (e.g., perceived competence, achievement goals, task value) in supporting students’ learning and engagement. Much of this research utilizes a variable-focused approach, examining how different forms of motivation uniquely and independently predict educational outcomes. In contrast, a person-oriented approach allows one to examine how motivational processes combine to shape academic engagement and achievement. Person-oriented approaches are especially promising in that they allow one to simultaneously consider variations in several motivational indicators to better understand the multiple ways that students utilize motivational resources to support engagement and achievement. This chapter presents an integrative, person-oriented approach to studying student motivation. Specifically, the approach (1) draws from multiple theoretical perspectives to operationalize motivation, and (2) utilizes person-oriented analyses to model how motivational components combine to shape learning and engagement. Based on prior research and our own work, preliminary conclusions regarding what motivates students and which combinations of motivation are most and least adaptive are discussed. Implications for translating integrative research into effective classroom practices to support student motivation are considered.

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Handbook of Motivation and Learning , pp. 739 - 758

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316823279.031 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2019

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