A More Holistic Perspective on Student Motivation: The Case for an Integrative, Person-Oriented Approach

• In Event: Motivation and Learning: What Is Provocative and/or Novel?

Abstract

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 and is often conducted within a single theoretical perspective (e.g., expectancy-value theory), examining how specific forms of motivation uniquely and independently predict educational outcomes. In contrast, a person-oriented approach focuses on how multiple motivational processes combine to shape academic engagement and achievement, which is especially promising in that one can simultaneously consider variations in several motivational indicators across theories to better understand the multiple ways students utilize motivational resources to support engagement and achievement.

In this presentation, we integrate across several theoretical perspectives and employ a person-oriented approach to model unique patterns or profiles of motivation and examine their relation to academic learning and engagement. We begin by highlighting relevant prior research and then turn to a series of studies we conducted across multiple levels of schooling (elementary through college). Specifically, we use our empirical data to (1) illustrate the existence of surprisingly consistent integrative motivational profiles across a variety of samples and levels of schooling, and (2) highlight the consistent relation of these motivational profiles to students’ engagement and learning across samples. Building from these findings, we discuss next steps for future research, including (1) the need to consider shifts in membership in motivational profiles over time, and (2) the identification of contextual elements that may support students’ retention in profiles associated with higher levels of engagement and learning and/or the shift out of profiles negatively associated with those outcomes. Given the growth in person-oriented research over the past few years, we also offer several cautions regarding its use. We conclude by considering implications for translating integrative research into effective classroom practices to support student motivation.

Authors

• Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia, Michigan State University

• Stephanie V. Wormington, University of Virginia