Students' identities and motivation in efl classroom

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

Human motivation and professional practice: of knights, knaves and social workers

Efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of public services by harnessing the self-interest of professionals in state agencies have been widely debated in the recent literature on welfare state reform. In the context of social services, one way in which British policy-makers have sought to effect such changes has been through the "new community care" of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. Key to this is the concept of care management, in which the identification of needs and the provision of services are separated, purportedly with a view to improving advocacy, choice and quality for service users. This paper uses data from a wide-ranging qualitative study of access to social care for older people to examine the success of the policy in these terms, with specific reference to its attempts to harness the rational self-interest of professionals. While care management removes one potential conflict of interests by separating commissioning and provision, the responsibility of social care professionals to comply with organizational priorities conflicts with their role of advocacy for their clients, a tension rendered all the more problematic by the perceived inadequacy of funding. Moreover, the bureaucracy of the care management process itself further negates the approach's supposedly client-centred ethos. The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER INSTRUMENTAL SUPPORT AS A PREDICTOR OF MOTIVATION IN READING AND MATH AND ACHIEVEMENT FROM SECOND THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE

In this study, relations among students’ perceptions of instrumental help/support from their teachers and their reading and math ability beliefs, subjective task values, and academic grades, were explored from elementary through high school. These relations were examined in an overall sample of 1,062 students from the Childhood and Beyond (CAB) study dataset, a cohort-sequential study that followed students from elementary to high school and beyond. Multi-group structural equation model (SEM) analyses were used to explore these relations in adjacent grade pairs (e.g., second grade to third grade) in elementary school and from middle school through high school separately for males and females. In addition, multi-group latent growth curve (LGC) analyses were used to explore the associations among change in the variables of interest from middle school through high school separately for males and females. The results showed that students’ perceptions of instrumental help from teachers significantly positively predicted: (a) students’ math ability beliefs and reading and math task values in elementary school within the same grade for both girls and boys, and (b) students’ reading and math ability beliefs, reading and math task values, and GPA in middle and high school within the same grade for both girls and boys. Overall, students’ perceptions of instrumental help from teachers more consistently predicted ability beliefs and task values in the academic domain of math than in the academic domain of reading. Although there were some statistically significant differences in the models for girls and boys, the direction and strength of the relations in the models were generally similar for both girls and boys. The implications for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

How do servant leaders ignite absorptive capacity?: the role of epistemic motivation and organizational support

This study examines the role of servant leadership in absorptive capacity. Data from manufacturing and service sector organizations found that: a) there was moderation of servant leadership influence on knowledge identification through POS by high need for cognition, b) there was moderation of servant leadership influence on knowledge application through POS by low time pressure, and c) POS mediated relationship between servant leadership and knowledge dissemination. The findings illustrate and support the importance of a comprehensive model integrating servant leadership, POS, and epistemic motivation in determining absorptive capacity.

THE INFLUENCE OF MOTIVATION ON EMOTION REGULATION AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE: EXAMINATION OF A NEURO-AFFECTIVE MODEL

Mental stress is known to disrupt the execution of motor performance and can lead to decrements in the quality of performance, however, individuals have shown significant differences regarding how fast and well they can perform a skilled task according to how well they can manage stress and emotion. The purpose of this study was to advance our understanding of how the brain modulates emotional reactivity under different motivational states to achieve differential performance in a target shooting task that requires precision visuomotor coordination. In order to study the interactions in emotion regulatory brain areas (i.e. the ventral striatum, amygdala, prefrontal cortex) and the autonomic nervous system, reward and punishment interventions were employed and the resulting behavioral and physiological responses contrasted to observe the changes in shooting performance (i.e. shooting accuracy and stability of aim) and neuro-cognitive processes (i.e. cognitive load and reserve) during the shooting task. Thirty-five participants, aged 18 to 38 years, from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) at the University of Maryland were recruited to take 30 shots at a bullseye target in three different experimental conditions. In the reward condition, $1 was added to their total balance for every 10-point shot. In the punishment condition, $1 was deducted from their total balance if they did not hit the 10-point area. In the neutral condition, no money was added or deducted from their total balance. When in the reward condition, which was reportedly most enjoyable and least stressful of the conditions, heart rate variability was found to be positively related to shooting scores, inversely related to variability in shooting performance and positively related to alpha power (i.e. less activation) in the left temporal region. In the punishment (and most stressful) condition, an increase in sympathetic response (i.e. increased LF/HF ratio) was positively related to jerking movements as well as variability of placement (on the target) in the shots taken. This, coupled with error monitoring activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, suggests evaluation of self-efficacy might be driving arousal regulation, thus affecting shooting performance. Better performers showed variable, increasing high-alpha power in the temporal region during the aiming period towards taking the shot which could indicate an adaptive strategy of engagement. They also showed lower coherence during hit shots than missed shots which was coupled with reduced jerking movements and better precision and accuracy. Frontal asymmetry measures revealed possible influence of the prefrontal lobe in driving this effect in reward and neutral conditions. The possible interactions, reasons behind these findings and implications are discussed.

Efecto determinante de la motivación de viaje sobre la imagen de destino en turistas de ocio a un destino urbano: El caso de Monterrey, México. Una aproximación por medio de mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS) = Determinant effect of travel motivation on the destination image of leisure tourist in an urban destination: the case of Monterrey, México. An approach through partial least squares (PLS)

Los turistas urbanos se caracterizan por ser uno de los segmentos de mayor crecimiento en los mercados turísticos actuales. Monterrey (México), uno de los principales destinos urbanos del país, ha apostado en la actualidad por mejorar su competitividad. Esta investigación se propuso encontrar evidencia acerca de la relación causal de la motivación de viaje sobre la imagen percibida del destino, dos variables importantes por su influencia en la satisfacción de los visitantes. Una revisión de la literatura permitió proponer constructos teóricos integrados en un instrumento para la recogida de datos vía encuesta a una muestra representativa. Por medio del método de regresión y ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales (PLS), se identificaron los componentes principales de ambas variables y se obtuvo un modelo explicativo de la imagen percibida del destino en función de la motivación de viaje. Finalmente, se emiten recomendaciones para la gestión del destino urbano en función de los resultados obtenidos. ABSTRACT: Abstract Urban tourists are recognized as one of the fastest growing segments in today’s tourism markets. Monterrey, Mexico, one of the main urban destinations in the country aims at improving its competitiveness. This research work had the purpose of finding evidence on the causal relationship between travel motivation and destination image, two important variables because of their influence on visitors’ satisfaction. A literature review enabled the proposal of a research instrument with theoretically based constructs to gather data through survey from a representative sample. Using regression and structural equations modelling by partial least squares (pls) a set of main components of both variables were identified thus enabling the obtention of a explanatory model of destination image in terms of travel motivations. Finally based on the results some recommendations of tourism management are given.

Impact des jeux vidéo sur la motivation dans la réadaptation pour membre supérieur suite à un AVC : perspectives des patients

Dans le cadre du cours PHT-6123 : Travail d’intégration

Public service motivation in public and nonprofit service providers: The cases of Belarus and Poland

The work motivation construct is central to the theory and practice of many social science disciplines. Yet, due to the novelty of validated measures appropriate for a deep cross-national comparison, studies that contrast different administrative regimes remain scarce. This study represents an initial empirical effort to validate the Public Service Motivation (PSM) instrument proposed by Kim and colleagues (2013) in a previously unstudied context. The two former communist countries analyzed in this dissertation—Belarus and Poland—followed diametrically opposite development strategies: a fully decentralized administrative regime in Poland and a highly centralized regime in Belarus. The employees (n = 677) of public and nonprofit organizations in the border regions of Podlaskie Wojewodstwo (Poland) and Hrodna Voblasc (Belarus) are the subjects of study. ^ Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three dimensions of public service motivation in the two regions: compassion, self-sacrifice, and attraction to public service. The statistical models tested in this dissertation suggest that nonprofit sector employees exhibit higher levels of PSM than their public sector counterparts. Nonprofit sector employees also reveal a similar set of values and work attitudes across the countries. Thus, the study concludes that in terms of PSM, employees of nonprofit organizations constitute a homogenous group that exists atop the administrative regimes. ^ However, the findings propose significant differences between public sector agencies across the two countries. Contrary to expectations, data suggest that organization centralization in Poland is equal to—or for some items even higher than—that of Belarus. We can conclude that the absence of administrative decentralization of service provision in a country does not necessarily undermine decentralized practices within organizations. Further analysis reveals strong correlations between organization centralization and PSM for the Polish sample. Meanwhile, in Belarus, correlations between organization centralization items and PSM are weak and mostly insignificant. ^ The analysis indicates other factors beyond organization centralization that significantly impact PSM in both sectors. PSM of the employees in the studied region is highly correlated with their participation in religious practices, political parties, or labor unions as well as location of their organization in a capital and type of social service provided.^

Social-cognitive Antecedents of Ambidextrous Orientation in Family-owned Startups: The Role of Family Ties, Achievement Motivation, and Internal Locus of Control

Regulatory Focus Theory predicts that the motivation to self-regulate goal-directed thought and behavior depends on two distinct regulation strategies: a promotion focus based on attaining gains and a prevention focus based on avoiding losses. This study took a social-cognitive approach predicting that regulatory focus has an impact on how family startups (several family related founders) explore “new ideas”, exploit “old certainties” and achieve the balance of both (ambidexterity), compared to lone founder startups (only one founder present). It was proposed that the social context of family ties among founders leads them to a prevention focus concerned with avoiding the loss of the socio-emotional benefits of those ties. In order to avoid such a loss, family founders were expected to increase their risk perceptions and thus, explore less than lone founders, who lack such socio-emotional ties. It was also proposed that two commonly used psychological traits in entrepreneurship research --achievement motivation and internal locus of control, predispose entrepreneurs to a promotion focus. Founders with a promotion focus, in turn, were hypothesized to lead startups to more risk-seeking behaviors and to more explorative orientation. The previous argument was used as a springboard to derive hypotheses about ambidexterity (the ability to exploit and explore simultaneously) and survival hazards. Using Regulatory Focus Theory, exploitative orientation, conceptualized as the motivational strength to continue on previous paths of action, was hypothesized to be not significantly different from that of lone founder startups. Taking previous arguments together, lone founder startups were hypothesized to be more ambidextrous than family startups. Finally, ambidexterity and internal locus of control were hypothesized to reduce survival hazards in family startups. The findings suggested that family startups explore less than lone founder startups even after controlling for group effects. Interesting but contradictory findings revealed that internal locus of control have both a positive direct effect and a positive interaction that increases the explorative and ambidextrous orientation gap of family startups over lone founder startups. As expected, ambidexterity and internal locus of control reduced survival hazards on family startups. Implications for practitioners were derived based on a sample of 470 nascent entrepreneurs.

Impact des jeux vidéo sur la motivation dans la réadaptation pour membre supérieur suite à un AVC : perspectives des patients

Dans le cadre du cours PHT-6123 : Travail d’intégration

Traditional Toys and Student Motivation and Commitment in Technological Education

Technological Education is a subject where students acquire knowledge and technical skills, which will enable them to analyse and resolve specific situations and will prepare them for an increasingly technological world. This course requires students to gain knowledge and know-how such that motivation and commitment are crucial for the development of classroom projects and activities. It is in this context that traditional toys come up in this study as catalysts for motivation and student interest. Thus, the aim of the research performed is to understand whether the units of work related to traditional toys promote the students’ motivation and commitment on Technological Education. In terms of methodology, we carried out an exploratory research of qualitative nature, based on semi-structured interviews with teachers and students in the 2nd cycle of basic education at five schools in the municipality of Viseu, Portugal. Nine teachers and forty-five Technological Education students, aged between 10 and 12 years, attending the 5th and 6th years of schooling participated. Content analysis of the answers revealed that the implementation of units of work involving the construction of traditional toys are conducive to students’ motivation and commitment, constituting an added value in Technological Education. As this is a classroom project, it allows students to apply technical knowledge they have acquired. Thus, starting from a first idea, it allows them to experience all of the stages of toy building, from conception to completion, contributing to greater student satisfaction in the teaching-learning process.

Traditional Toys and Student Motivation and Commitment in Technological Education

Problem Statement: This research aims to understand the contribution of traditional toys as catalysts for motivation and student commitment in the development of Technological Education projects and activities. Research Questions: To what extent do work units related to traditional toys promote student motivation and commitment in the subject of Technological Education. Purpose of Study: Technological Education requires students to gain knowledge and know-how such that motivation and commitment are crucial for the development of classroom projects and activities. It is in this context that traditional toys are assumed to be catalysts for motivation and student interest. Research Methods: In terms of methodology, an exploratory research of a qualitative nature was carried out, based on semi-structured interviews to teachers and students within a 2nd cycle of Basic Education environment, encompassing five state schools in the Viseu municipality, Portugal. Nine teachers and forty-five technological education pupils, aged between 10 and 12, attending the 5th and 6th years of schooling participated. Findings: Content analysis of the answers revealed that the implementation of work units involving the construction of traditional toys are conducive to student motivation and commitment. Starting off with an initial idea, pupils are enabled to experience all the stages of toy building, from conception to completion, contributing to greater student satisfaction in the teaching-learning process. Conclusions: The traditional toys constitute an added value in the subject of Technological Education, promoting student motivation and commitment in the development of projects and activities. Students acquire knowledge and skills, which will enable them to analyze and thus resolve specific situations and prepare them for an increasingly technological world.

Motivation and relationship of the student with the school as factors involved in the perceived learning

Motivation should be seen as a very important factor in the learning process. The motivated student has the inner strength to learn, to discover and capitalize on capabilities, to improve academic performance and to adapt to the demands of the school context. Contextual factors like the psychological sense of school membership may be also especially important to students’ classroom engagement, their motivation and learning success. So with this study we intend to examine how the sense of school belonging and intrinsic motivation influences perceived learning.A structural model reveals that the negative sense of school belonging has a negative impact on intrinsic motivation and on perceived learning. In turn, intrinsic motivation positively and significantly influences perceived learning in the course.

Différences sur le plan de la motivation au travail, de la capacité de résilience et du sentiment d’efficacité personnelle en classe et à l’école des enseignants débutants selon leur participation à des programmes d’insertion professionnelle offerts dans leurs commissions scolaires d’attache

Actuellement au Québec, le contexte d’insertion professionnelle en enseignement représente plusieurs défis pour les enseignants débutants, et ce, en raison de multiples causes (p.ex. la précarité et le manque de soutien). Résultat : près de 15 % à 20 % d’entre eux quitteront la profession dans les cinq premières années de leur carrière et cette statistique ne cesse d’augmenter. Pour remédier à la situation, l’une des solutions envisagées est la mise en place de programmes d’insertion professionnelle (PIP) par les commissions scolaires, lesquels offrent différentes mesures de soutien telles que du mentorat, des ateliers de formation et des réseaux d’entraide en ligne. Cela dit, les modalités de mise en place de ces programmes varient grandement d’un milieu à l’autre, et ce, autant en ce qui a trait aux services offerts qu’à l’admission des candidats. De plus, ceux-ci ne sont généralement évalués que de façon informelle par le milieu. On ne sait donc pas si les enseignants débutants qui y participent se distinguent réellement quant à leur persévérance dans le métier, laquelle repose notamment sur leur motivation au travail, leur capacité de résilience et leur sentiment d’efficacité personnelle (SEP) en classe et à l’école (Bandura, 1997, 2007; Bélair & Lebel, 2007; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002; Fernet, Sénécal, Guay, Marsh, & Dowson, 2008; Zacharyas & Brunet, 2012). Ce projet de recherche vise d’une part à mesurer les différences sur le plan de ces variables chez les enseignants débutants participant ou non à un PIP. D’autre part, il vise également à mesurer la prédiction de ces variables par les différentes mesures de soutien offertes dans les PIP chez ceux qui y participent pour constater leur contribution respective dans un PIP. Pour ce faire, une étude préexpérimentale a été menée auprès de 86 participants. À l’aide d’un questionnaire, la motivation au travail, la capacité de résilience et le SEP en classe et à l’école ont été mesurés afin de comparer les résultats du groupe d’enseignants participant à un programme à ceux n’y participant pas. Une MANCOVA a d’abord été conduite avec ces variables et trois variables contrôles « avoir pensé quitter » le milieu d’enseignement, « ordre d’enseignement » et « expérience d’enseignement » comme covariables. Des régressions linéaires multivariées ont ensuite été menées à partir des mesures de soutien. Aucun résultat significatif n’a été obtenu quant aux différences entre les participants en fonction de la participation à un PIP ce qui est représentatif des résultats obtenus dans d’autres recherches sur le sujet (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011). Aucun résultat significatif n’a été obtenu concernant la prédiction des variables d’intérêt par les mesures de soutien.

Étude portant sur la motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants du programme Soins infirmiers par rapport à leur apprentissage de la biologie au Collège de Maisonneuve

Ce projet d’essai a émergé de préoccupations d’enseignantes et d’enseignants du Collège de Maisonneuve, par rapport à la motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants du programme Soins infirmiers lors des cours obligatoires de biologie. De fait, il a été remarqué par les enseignantes et les enseignants de biologie que ces étudiantes et ces étudiants semblent posséder, pour la plupart, une bonne motivation dans leurs cours de biologie au cours des deux premières sessions du programme. Toutefois, à la troisième session, ces derniers semblent perdre leur motivation graduellement face à leur apprentissage de la biologie. Cela peut certainement nuire à la réussite scolaire, car l’effort fourni semble diminuer dans les activités en classe, leur préparation est bâclée, et un taux d’absentéisme est observé. C’est pour valider ces perceptions initiales qu’une étude a été menée auprès de ces étudiantes et ces étudiants à la session d’automne 2012. La question générale de l’étude vise à savoir: comment se situe la dynamique motivationnelle des étudiantes et des étudiants du programme Soins infirmiers dans le cadre de leur apprentissage de la biologie? Le premier objectif spécifique de l’étude est d’abord de connaître le degré de motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants du programme Soins infirmiers à l'égard de la biologie au fil des trois premières sessions du programme. L’étude nous permet ensuite d’évaluer chez les étudiantes et les étudiants l’évolution de leur motivation au sein d’un même cours, grâce à un questionnaire administré au début et à la fin de la session. Nous avons également interrogé par écrit les étudiantes et les étudiants afin que nous puissions identifier les causes justifiant l’évolution de leur motivation, s’il y a lieu. Une fois ces causes connues, lorsqu’il s’agit de causes sur lesquelles les enseignantes et les enseignants ont de l’emprise, nous avons voulu proposer quelques pistes d’intervention à réaliser dans le cadre de leurs pratiques, afin de favoriser la motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants. Plusieurs auteures et auteurs se sont intéressés à la motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants en contexte scolaire. Plusieurs de ces travaux ont permis d’élaborer le cadre théorique de cette étude. Les principaux travaux sur lesquels s’appuie cette étude sont ceux de Viau (2009) ainsi que d’autres auteures et auteurs tels Barbeau, Montini et Roy (1997a et b). Viau (2009) présente dans son ouvrage les différents facteurs qui peuvent influencer ce qu’il appelle la «dynamique motivationnelle» (p. 12). Ces facteurs sont reliés, certes à la classe et à l’école, mais également à la société et à la vie personnelle de l’étudiante et de l’étudiant. Lorsqu’une étudiante ou un étudiant est motivé par rapport à une activité, il s’engage dans cette activité pédagogique et il y persévère. Plus il s’engage et persévère dans une activité, plus il fait les apprentissages visés. Ses chances de réussite scolaire sont ainsi favorisées (Viau 2009). Lors de l’étude, nous avons questionné, au cours d’une même session, les étudiantes et les étudiants de trois cours de biologie via un questionnaire électronique (annexe C), à deux moments dans leur session, au début et à la fin. Le questionnaire porte sur les déterminants de la motivation selon Viau (2007, 2009), à savoir la perception de la valeur des activités pédagogiques, le sentiment de compétence par rapport à la réalisation de ces activités et la contrôlabilité sur le déroulement des activités. Cela nous a permis d’observer qu’en général la motivation de ces individus est suffisamment élevée et que, peu importe le cours, nous observons une diminution de la motivation au cours de la session. Nous avons également constaté que pour le troisième cours de la séquence, Biologie 903, le niveau de motivation est plus faible dès le début de la session par rapport aux deux autres cours. La raison la plus fréquemment invoquée pour justifier cette baisse de motivation est la charge de travail. Cette étude a permis de brosser le portrait de la situation motivationnelle en biologie à cette période et émettre quelques suggestions auprès du corps enseignant afin que celui-ci favorise et maintienne la motivation des étudiantes et des étudiants du programme Soins infirmiers.