Survey Says Student Motivation High, Part One

January 12th, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Student Motivation

In a recent My Voice survey from the Educational Assessment group of Pearson and the Quaglia Institute, researchers found only 48 percent of students felt that teachers cared about them as individuals and 45 percent felt that teachers cared if they were absent from school. Sixty-five percent said they have a teacher who is a positive role model.

“What these results illustrate is that while teachers have the potential to inspire students, they are not doing so in ways that students recognize,” said Dr. Russell J. Quaglia, founder of the My Voice survey. “Most troubling is the fact that over half the students in this country don’t think teachers care if they even show up.”

Quaglia said that the student responses about teachers caring about students are pathetically low. “The kids’ perceptions are different from ours,” Quaglia said. “They want teachers to know their name, to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria, and to see them at their games or at practice.”

These problems of student achievement and success can be fixed, insists Quaglia. “There are things teachers can do today to fix things.”

The Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations (www.qisa.org) has identified eight conditions for student success in schools. The eight are: belonging, heroes, a sense of accomplishment, fun and excitement, curiosity and creativity, spirit of adventure, leadership and responsibility, and confidence to take action.

Quaglia insists that these qualities aren’t new and they’re not difficult to implement. “My whole notion is that we can all do these things. These eight conditions are why we became teachers,” he said. “That’s the beauty: we’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re reminding you that there is a wheel.”

The research about the first four of Quaglia’s eight conditions are listed here. The other four will be posted on Wednesday, January 14.

Belonging. According to the survey, belonging means that the student feels that she is a part of a community, but is still an individual. Belonging is being a part of the community and having connections with others in the community. It’s a necessary condition for well-being, social engagement, support, and intrinsic motivation.
The survey showed that 62 percent of students felt that school was a welcoming and friendly place, but 29 percent aren’t comfortable in the cafeteria and one-third of students say that bullying is a problem in their school. Most kids (77%) feel accepted, but only 44% feel that teachers care about their personal problems and feelings.

It’s the last percentage that should trouble educators, Quaglia said. “Know your students’ names and use them. It’s so simple.”

Quaglia also said that teachers should go beyond names and know students’ aspirations. “Know the hopes and dreams of your kids,” he said. “This study’s not published yet, but the vast majority of students say that teachers don’t as them about this. That’s a conversation teachers should have. Kids don’t trust someone who takes no interest in them.”
Hero. Everyone has the hero quality, according to the survey. Anyone, a parent, a teacher or a student, who inspires someone else in a positive way, who connects with someone, and who listens to and values another person’s ideas is a hero. Educators are heroes by definition, according to the survey’s authors.
Most students (65%) have a teacher who is a positive role model, but just 39% respect teachers in general. Less than half of students believe teachers care about them as individuals (49%), believe that teachers care if they are absent from school (45%), and believe they can talk to a teacher about a problem (49%). Just over half of students (54%) say that teachers respect students and only one-third of students say students respect one another.

The survey authors write that these findings show teachers have the ability to inspire, support and encourage students, but teachers aren’t doing it in a way that students recognize. It also shows that the students perceive a severe lack of respect in their schools.

“We need to act like heroes,” Quaglia said. “[Teachers] don’t have a choice. You’re going to be a hero and you need to choose to be a good one or a bad one.”

Tell students they’re doing a nice job every day, Quaglia said. Accomplishments and behaviors that teachers take for granted, kids don’t. Those are opportunities for teachers to offer encouragement.
A Sense of Accomplishment. Educators who recognize student effort, perseverance, and citizenship, along with academic success give their students a sense of accomplishment. To give students a sense of accomplishment, according to the survey’s authors, is to recognize a student’s success in terms of her personal growth and effort, not just her test scores.
Most students surveyed (70%) said that teachers recognize students who are kind and helpful, but just over half (57%) say that teachers recognize them when they try their best.

Quaglia said that teachers need to recognize various forms of kids’ success. “We need to teach kids to set goals with two components: meaningfulness to the child and attainability.”

It’s a tragedy, he said, when our expectations for our students are lower than their expectations for themselves. “Low expectations are the bane of our existence in education,” Quaglia said. “They’re a self-fulfilling prophecy of going nowhere.”

We have to connect learning to kids’ passions and interests, he said. That’s when the real learning occurs. Quaglia called himself the King of Common Sense in Education. “Connecting learning to student interests isn’t rocket science; it’s getting back to basics.”
Fun & Excitement. Fun and excitement doesn’t necessarily mean carnival rides and balloons. “It’s not about laughing; it’s about losing track of time and space,” Quaglia said.
According to the My Voice survey, almost half of our students (49%) said that they enjoy being in school and just over half enjoyed their classes (54%). Although 64 percent of students said that learning can be fun, only about one-third of them (31%) said that teachers make it fun. About half of the students (47%) said that school is boring, and over one-third (38%) said they think their teachers don’t seem to think school is any fun, either.

Teachers need to ask students what they’re interested in and share their own interests with students, Quaglia said.

Quaglia points out that when students use the Internet they lose track of time and space because they’re having fun. That’s the kind of learning that needs to happen in the classroom, he said.

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Survey Says Student Motivation High, Part One

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