Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform

A summary paper, Student Motivation: An Overlooked Piece of School Reform, was recently released. The paper pulls together research findings from the six background papers, each of which includes a brief overview of research findings, examples of current programs and policies, and implications for the future, offering a more in-depth look at specific themes surrounding student engagement, including: 

• why motivation is important and how it might be defined and measured; 
• whether rewarding students can result in higher motivation; 
• whether students can be motivated by goal-setting; 
• the role of parental involvement, family background, and culture; 
• strategies schools might use to motivate students; and
• nontraditional approaches to motivating otherwise unenthusiastic students. 

The appendix outlines four major dimensions of motivation and how they are defined by major scholars in the field.