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“I Just Want The Credit!” – Perceived Instrumentality as the Main Characteristic of Boys’ Motivation in a Grade 11 Science Course

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Abstract

This case study examines the motivational structure of a group of male students (n = 10) in a grade 11 General Science class at an independent single-sex school. We approach the concept of motivation through the integration of three different theoretical approaches: sociocultural theory, future time perspective and achievement goal theory. This framework allows us to stress the dialectical interdependence of motivation, as expressed through individual goals, and the socially and culturally influenced origins of these goals. Our results suggest that the boys internalised the administrative description of the course as meeting a diploma requirement, which they expressed in their perception of the course as being for “non-science” people who “just need a credit.” However, we also found situational changes in students’ motivational structure towards more intrinsic orientations when they were engaged in topics with personal everyday and future relevance. These situational changes in students’ goal structures illustrate that our participants did not internalise classroom and school goal messages wholly and, instead, selectively and constructively transformed these goal messages depending on their own motivational structure and beliefs. These results stress the importance of teachers scaffolding not only for conceptual learning but also for student motivation in science classes, especially those that purposefully teach towards scientific literacy.

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Notes

  1. The terms goal and goal orientation are used interchangeable in this study, although some researchers distinguish between both based on their theoretical approach.

  2. In order to guarantee anonymity, the course calendar and other official documents of Smith Academy are not noted in the list of references. Individuals interested in these sources may contact the first author.

  3. Independent schools in Ontario are governed by the Ministry of Education and charge tuition fees. The school’s name as well as all students’ names and the teacher’s name are pseudonyms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum Teaching and Learning, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V6, Canada

    Martina Nieswandt & Marie-Claire Shanahan

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  1. Martina Nieswandt
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  2. Marie-Claire Shanahan
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Correspondence to Martina Nieswandt.

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Nieswandt, M., Shanahan, MC. “I Just Want The Credit!” – Perceived Instrumentality as the Main Characteristic of Boys’ Motivation in a Grade 11 Science Course. Res Sci Educ 38, 3–29 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-007-9037-x

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