Intrinsic, identified, and controlled types of motivation for school subjects in young elementary school children

• Published in: British journal of educational psychology 2010-12, Vol.80 (4), p.711-735
• Main Authors: Guay, Frédéric, Chanal, Julien, Ratelle, Catherine F., Marsh, Herbert W., Larose, Simon, Boivin, Michel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age Differences; Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Child; Children; Differentiation; Educational psychology; Elementary Education; Elementary School Mathematics; Elementary School Students; Elementary Schools; Female; Foreign Countries; French Canadians; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender Differences; Grade 1; Grade 3; Humans; Individualized Instruction; Intellectual Disciplines; Internal-External Control; Intrinsic motivation; Learning; Learning Motivation; Male; Mathematics - education; Motivation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Pupil and student. Academic achievement and failure; Quebec; Reading; Reading Attitudes; School Attitudes; Self Concept; Self Determination; Selfreport; Statistics as Topic; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Writing; Writing Attitudes
• ISSN: 0007-0998; 2044-8279
• DOI: 10.1348/000709910X499084

Background. There are two approaches to the differential examination of school motivation. The first is to examine motivation towards specific school subjects (between school subject differentiation). The second is to examine school motivation as a multidimensional concept that varies in terms of not only intensity but also quality (within school subject differentiation). These two differential approaches have led to important discoveries and provided a better understanding of student motivational dynamics. However, little research has combined these two approaches. Aims. This study examines young elementary students' motivations across school subjects (writing, reading, and maths) from the stance of self‐determination theory. First, we tested whether children self‐report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation towards specific school subjects. Second, we verified whether children self‐report differentiated types of motivation across school subjects. Sample. Participants were 425 French‐Canadian children (225 girls, 200 boys) from three elementary schools. Children were in Grades 1 (N=121), 2 (N=126), and 3 (N=178). Results. Results show that, for a given school subject, young elementary students self‐report different levels of intrinsic, identified, and controlled motivation. Results also indicate that children self‐report different levels of motivation types across school subjects. Our findings also show that most differentiation effects increase across grades. Some gender effects were also observed. Conclusion. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing among types of school motivation towards specific school subjects in the early elementary years.