Why Does Motivation Decline in Secondary School?

Why the decline in motivation at high school?

• contextual/environmental factors OTHER than puberty

• changes in classroom learning environments (different to primary school)
• instructional practices and educational policies in high schools
• e.g. comparative student performance (exams, assignments)
• students become convinced ability is fixed, expending effort demonstrates their inability to others

• change in authority relationships

• high schools are
• less personal
• less positive teacher-student relationships

• positive teacher-student relationships are associated with student achievement

• adolescents seek opportunities for developing a sense of self-efficacy and autonomy
• adult power is constantly challenged

• secondary schools are generally very regimented places with explicit power hierarchy
• greater emphasis on teacher control and discipline
• fewer opportunities for student decision making, choice and self-management

• with little opportunity to take charge of their own learning and motivation, many adolescents simply oppose or withdraw from engagement
• Primary schools emphasise the fun of learning, captivating students intrinsically in activities
• many secondary classrooms are 'crushingly dull places'
• Little real stimulation in classrooms -> students engage in a range of more stimulating non-academic activites
• It is not a case of adolescent student lacking motivation, but rather of investing their motivational energy in the wrong activities for the lack of something better at school