Pupils, the forgotten partners in Education Action Zones
This digest found in
Pupil Voice
What made students feel motivated?
The most frequently cited factor affecting student motivation was how positively each student regarded the effect of having good qualifications on their future prospects.
“It’s worth learning when you are young – you have the advantage. You can get a good job and a nice car.”
Girls were less likely to say they were motivated by future prospects than boys (25% as opposed to 38%). Rather more pupils from a white ethnic background stated they were motivated to learn by the possibility of improved future prospects than students from black/ethnic minority groups (36% compared with 30%). The researchers noted differences between minority ethnic groups: 83% of a small number of Black African students cited future prospects as a motivating factor in learning.
The researchers found that 80% of students had a fairly clear idea of what they wanted to do when they left school. Black and ethnic minority males and white females were more likely to cite a profession they hoped to enter than their counterparts and white male students least likely to do so.
Other factors which students stated had an effect on their level of motivation included teachers, lesson content and friends and family.
The researchers were interested in which of the three core subjects students chose to discuss in detail during their interviews. They assumed that the students’ choice of subject for discussion reflected their enjoyment of the subject itself.
During the process of data collection, the students chose whether to answer questions on English, mathematics or science and were then asked why they had chosen that subject. Many stated that they had chosen their favourite subject.
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43% chose science;
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32% chose mathematics; and
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25% chose English.
The study found differences between ethnic groups, with white students showing a marked preference for talking about science and ethnic minorities showing a higher preference for discussing mathematics. Boys were less likely than girls to choose English. The researchers noted that the low rating for English was of interest, in that it reflected the pattern of GCSE results in Y11 within the two schools studied. They suggested that there could be a relationship between students’ early disposition to the subjects and their subsequent attainment.
When asked to rank which methods of learning they thought helped them most, students showed a wide range of opinion. They saw different learning activities as appropriate for different subjects. Many said that practical experiments were helpful.
“Practical work – it’s easier to learn hands-on than copying from a book.”
“Practical experiments which are fun and stick in your head.”
Finally, the researchers asked students whether there was anything they thought they could do to help themselves learn. The majority of students (87%) were prepared to take some responsibility for their own learning, suggesting that they could chat less, listen more or do more homework to improve their learning. They expressed responses such as:
“Pay attention, open my brain. Watch and listen more to teacher.”
“I could spend more time over my work and not get distracted.”
“Not let other people disturb me and respect the teacher.”
