Teachers are often faced with the problem of older schoolchildren’s lack of desire to learn and the instability of their interests in various academic subjects. Difficulties of this kind in working with students are associated with a number of circumstances, the teacher’s working style, the lack of an individual approach to students, etc. An important aspect of this problem is the motivation to learn, which is directly related to the formation of students’ internal interest in learning and knowledge. The motivation for learning that has developed among high school students in the future can promote or hinder a person’s further self-development and self-education.
Psychologists have identified two main types of motives that motivate schoolchildren’s educational activities: broad social motives associated with the student’s diverse relationships with the reality around him, and the so-called cognitive interests generated directly by the educational activity itself, its content and the process of implementation. The motive is understood as that for which an activity is carried out, as opposed to the goal towards which this activity is directed. The specific content of learning motives and their role in the student’s educational activities throughout the entire period of schooling varies depending on the age of the children. This section presents new data obtained from studying the learning motives of modern high school students.
As the main methodological technique, we used the projective technique of unfinished sentences, the content of which reflects the students’ attitude to various aspects of educational activity (to school in general, to studying, to grades, cognitive interests). The methodology includes 23 sentences, 6 of which, in content, are directly aimed at identifying students’ known motives for learning (I study in order to...), and the rest are indirect (If the lessons were broadcast on TV and it would be possible to study at home , I...) Completing indirect sentences helps to discover students' actual attitudes towards various aspects of school life. In addition, to study the ideas that high school students have about their immediate future, which is barely coming immediately after graduating from high school, an essay was conducted on the topic “I am in my senior year: problems, searches for solutions.”
All learning motives named by high school students were divided into two main areas.
I. Cognitive motives, reflecting the presence of interest in the content of specific subjects, in the process of educational work itself, which in high school age are largely mediated by the students’ focus on continuing education after graduating from high school, mastering the chosen profession (In high school, it is necessary to introduce a division into “ techies” and “humanities”, and everyone could choose those subjects that are interesting to them and needed in the future).
II. Social motives for learning, which are divided into several categories:
1) motives of self-determination related to ideas about the future profession, study, life in general (I am studying in order to become a good specialist in the future and benefit people. I am studying to become a full-fledged member of society);
2) motives for self-development; here we included students’ statements related to their awareness of the need to develop certain personal qualities in the course of educational activities, such as will, composure, purposefulness, broadening their horizons (I get grades lower than those that I would like to have, but I don’t have the will to force myself study regularly; When answering at the board, I try not to get confused and answer as clearly as possible);
3) narrowly practical motives, i.e., direct indications from high school students about the importance for them of those aspects of studying at school that are the formal grounds for entering a university or acquiring any specialty (I want to get a good certificate; With bad marks in the certificate, I won’t be able to enter the institute that I chose; For a future life, in any case, I need to finish school well);
4) motives for communicating with adults at school (with the teacher) (In a lesson, the most interesting thing for me is the live story of the teacher; The teacher must be able to captivate you with his subject; No TV can replace a live teacher, who can always explain if you don’t understand something Understood);
5) motives for communicating with peers at school (We come to school not only to learn, but also to communicate. I would not be able to study at all on my own);
6) motives of self-affirmation associated with the need for self-esteem among high school students, which can be realized through achievements in educational activities. Here we included students’ statements regarding their ideas about themselves, about their abilities in the eyes of classmates and teachers, as well as statements related to self-esteem (The higher the grades, the more confident you feel; The better you study, the better teachers treat you; More Most of all I worry about bad grades, because because of them I lose confidence in my abilities);
7) motives reflecting the situational attitude towards learning, towards school, towards classmates and teachers, associated mainly with the desire to avoid troubles that may arise in case of poor performance (When you come to school with unlearned lessons, you always look at your watch: I wish call, as long as they don’t call me to answer; I try not to get bad grades so that they don’t scold me at home). This is sometimes called negative motivation or trouble-avoidance motivation.
A content analysis of the identified categories of learning motives showed that at senior school age, self-determination, cognitive, narrowly practical and self-development motives reflect the high school students’ aspiration for the future, the presence of certain life plans related to graduation from school and the choice of a future life path. The motives for communicating with adults and peers at school, self-affirmation and avoiding troubles are more related to the present day of high school students and the role of school in their daily lives. Gender differences in the content of educational motives were not identified.
Depending on the representation of learning motives related to the present and future in students’ statements, we identified three groups of high school students: I - students whose statements are dominated by learning motives addressed to the present (43.8%); II - students whose statements are dominated by learning motives related to plans for the future (18.7%); III - students in whose statements learning motives related to the present or future are represented almost equally (37.5%). The differences between groups I and II of high school students are statistically significant at p<0,1, а III группа - как бы промежуточная между двумя первыми (различия в обе стороны недостоверны). Полученные данные свидетельствуют, что значительная часть старшеклассников воспринимают свою учебу в школе с позиции настоящего, либо побудительная сила настоящего и будущего одинакова, и лишь небольшая часть старшеклассников рассматривают свой? сегодняшний день в школе с точки зрения будущего.
Of course, a high school student, especially a ninth grader, cannot ignore the role of school in everyday life, subordinating all his educational interests only to the goals of the future. Although at high school age the degree of involvement in various spheres of social reality is steadily increasing, studying at school still constitutes the main content of students’ lives. This is evidenced by the above data on the features of the time profile of high school students, obtained using J. Nuytten’s methodology: the largest category of student statements occurs during the period directly related to studying in high school. And despite the fact that at the age of 15-16, interest in one’s future sharply increases, and ideas about it become more specific and realistic, this future is only to a small extent connected by schoolchildren with their present day at school.
Senior school age is heterogeneous: the status of a student in grade IX and a school graduate is very different, which cannot but affect their perception of the role of school in terms of preparation for adult life. For a more detailed analysis of this issue, we examined the groups of students we identified separately for grades IX and X. Data on the temporal relationship of the studied teaching motives are given in Table. 8. From the table it follows that by the 10th grade the number of students whose schooling is motivated primarily by the interests of today not only does not decrease compared to the 9th grade, but, on the contrary, increases sharply (the differences are significant at p<0,1) при одновременном уменьшении количества учащихся, для которых роль на стоящего и будущего в их учебе в школе практически одинакова (различия достоверны при р<0,1). Трудно поверить в то, что для десятиклассников связь их учебы в школе с перспективами ее окончания менее актуальна, чем для девятиклассников, хотя внешне это расхождение выглядит убедительно (рис. 3).
29. The characteristics of the relationship between high school students and teachers largely depend on the personality of the teacher, his ability to understand and responsiveness; the level of his knowledge and the quality of teaching are also important. High school students also pay attention to such a trait of the teacher as fairness. Another problem with these relationships is their different vision on the part of the student and the teacher: often the teacher overestimates his closeness to the educational community, and, accordingly, the strength of his influence on the students. (not enough, but to hell with it).
30. Communication with adults
Communication occupies a huge place in the lives of older schoolchildren and is of independent value to them. Already in the transition period from adolescence to adolescence, children develop a special interest in communicating with adults. In high school this trend intensifies.
In youth communication, two opposing trends are noted: the expansion of its scope, on the one hand, and growing individualization, on the other.
The expansion of the sphere of communication is manifested, first of all, in an increase in the time spent on it (3-4 hours a day on weekdays, 7-9 hours on weekends and holidays), in a significant expansion of its social space (among the closest friends of high school students - students of other schools, technical schools and vocational schools, students, workers, military personnel), in the very search for this communication, in constant readiness for contacts.
As for the second tendency - towards the individualization of relationships - it is evidenced by high selectivity in friendly affections, and sometimes maximum demands in communication with a friend.
There is evidence that informal communication not only with one friend, but also in groups is subject to such motives as the search for the most favorable psychological conditions for communication, the expectation of sympathy and empathy, the thirst for sincerity and unity in views, the need to assert oneself ( Sharov A. S. Interrelation of value orientations and motives for communication with peers among adolescents and older schoolchildren: Dis. Ph.D. psychol. nauk.-M, 1986.).
But youthful sociability is often self-centered, and the need for self-identification and disclosure of one’s experiences is higher than interest in the feelings and experiences of others. Hence - mutual tension in relationships, dissatisfaction with them.
The sphere of relationships with adults is also quite contradictory. According to V. E. Pakhalyan ( PahalyanV. E. Psychological features of communication with adults in high school age: Dis. Ph.D. psychol. nauk.-M., 1981.), 85% of the high school students he surveyed recognize the need to communicate with adults as relevant for themselves, of which over 66% name their parents as their most desirable communication partners.
With a favorable style of relationships in the family, after adolescence, emotional contacts with parents are usually restored, and at a higher, conscious level. According to numerous surveys conducted in Russia, answering the question: “Whose understanding is most important to you, regardless of how that person actually understands you?” - Most boys put their parents first.
Girls' answers are more contradictory, but for them parental understanding is extremely important. When answering the question: “Who would you consult with in a difficult everyday situation?” - both boys and girls put their mother in first place, the father was in second place for boys, and their friend was in second place for girls.
With all their desire for independence, children need life experience and help from their elders; family remains the place where they feel most calm and confident. But at the same time, one indispensable condition must be observed: communication with adults must have a confidential form.
When the question is raised about who understands them better than others and with whom they are more open, the majority name their peers. Communication with peers is confidential in 88% of respondents, and with parents only in 29%, and even then mainly with mothers; unregulated communication with teachers is a rare event (4% of cases).
Lack of trust in communication is one of the reasons for the anxiety that older schoolchildren experience when communicating with their parents and those adults on whom they depend to some extent. For older schoolchildren, coercion and outside interference in their affairs are unbearable, but this does not mean that they will not be grateful for tactful help.
Life prospects, mainly professional ones, are discussed with parents at this time. With the father, the most important plans for the future are clarified, ways to achieve the goals are outlined, and, in addition, difficulties associated with studying are analyzed. The range of issues discussed with the mother is wider: it includes, in addition to plans for the future, satisfaction with the situation at school and features of life in the family. Children can discuss their life plans with teachers and with their adult acquaintances, whose opinion is important to them.
A high school student treats a close adult as an ideal. He values different qualities in different people; they act as standards for him in different areas - in the field of human relations, moral standards, in different types of activities. To them he seems to try on his ideal “I” - what he wants to become and will be in adulthood. As one survey showed, 70% of high school students “would like to be people like their parents,” 10% would like to be like their parents “in some ways.”
Relationships with adults, although they become trusting, maintain a certain distance. The content of such communication is personally significant for children, but it is not intimate information. In addition, when communicating with adults, they do not have to achieve deep self-disclosure or feel real psychological closeness. The opinions and values that they receive from adults are then filtered, can be selected and tested in communication with peers - in communication “as equals”.
The problem of developing self-awareness is one of the key ones in psychology. It is widely discussed within the framework of domestic and foreign psychological research. The study of the structure of self-consciousness and the dynamics of its development is of great interest, both theoretically and practically, since it allows us to get closer to understanding the mechanisms of personality formation in ontogenesis.
A significant number of works, both in domestic and foreign psychology, are devoted to the problem of self-awareness. In domestic psychology, these studies are concentrated mainly around three groups of questions:
philosophical and methodological historical and cultural aspects of self-awareness associated with personal responsibility, moral choice, moral self-awareness [I.S. Kon, 1978, A.G. Spirkin 1972, A.I. Titarenko 1974], etc.; general psychological aspects of the formation of self-awareness in the context of the problem of personality development [L.I. Bozhovich, 1968; I.I. Chesnokova, 1977; S.L. Rubinshtein, 1989], etc.;
social-perceptual aspects of the formation of self-awareness in the context of the problem of personality development [L.I. Bozhovich, 1968; I.I. Chesnokova, 1977, S.L. Rubenstein, 1989] ;
social-perceptual aspects of self-awareness associated with the characteristics of self-esteem, their relationship with the assessments of others, with self-awareness and knowledge of other people [A.V. Zakharova, 1980; A.I. Lipkina, 1976; V.V. Stolin, 1983], etc.
In the literature, many different terms are used: “self-consciousness”, “I”, “I-concept”, “self-image”, “attitude towards oneself”, “self-esteem”, “self-image”, etc. The authors of a number of works tried to correlate concepts and streamline the terminological field of the problem. (M.I. Lisina, 1980; V.V. Stolin, 1983).
The concept of “self-awareness” is used as a generic concept to refer to the entire area as a whole, including both procedural and structural characteristics. The terms “self-awareness” and “self-image” are used to describe the cognitive side of self-awareness, a person’s knowledge of himself. The emotional side of self-awareness is described using the terms “attitude toward oneself” and “self-esteem.” The “Image of Self” is considered as a structural formation of self-consciousness, a kind of “final product” of the inextricable activity of its three sides - cognitive, emotional and regulatory. [V.V. Stolin, 1983].
The greatest interest among domestic psychologists is the problem of the emergence of self-awareness, its structure and level organization. The central psychological process of adolescence is the development of self-awareness, which encourages the individual to measure all his aspirations and actions with certain attacks and the image of his own “I”.[I.S. Con No. 14].
The youthful “I” is not yet defined, vague, it is often experienced as vague anxiety or a feeling of inner emptiness that needs to be filled with something. Hence, the need for communication increases and at the same time its selectivity and the need for privacy increases.
A young man's idea of himself always correlates with the group image of "We", that is, the image of a typical peer of his gender, but never completely coincides with this "We". The older and more developed a person is, the more differences he finds between himself and his “average” peer. [I.S.Con No. 14].
An extremely important level of self-awareness, largely established in early youth, is self-esteem. This concept is multi-valued, it implies self-satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-esteem, a positive attitude towards oneself, and the consistency of one’s actual and ideal “I”. Depending on whether we are talking about a holistic self-esteem of oneself as an individual or about any individual social roles performed, a distinction is made between general and private self-esteem. Since high self-esteem is associated with positive, and low self-esteem with negative emotions, the motive of self-esteem is “the personal need to maximize the experience of positive and minimize the experience of negative attitudes towards oneself” (G. Kaplan, 1980) [I.S.Con No. 14] .
A person with high self-esteem considers himself no worse than others, believes in himself and that he can overcome his shortcomings. Low self-esteem, on the contrary, implies a persistent feeling of inferiority and inferiority, which has an extremely negative impact on the emotional well-being and social behavior of the individual. For young men with low self-esteem, a general instability of self-images and opinions about themselves is typical. They are more inclined than others to “close themselves” from others, presenting to them some kind of “false face”, “represented self”.
Young men with low self-esteem are especially vulnerable and sensitive; they react more painfully than others to criticism, laughter, and reproach. What worries them most is the bad opinion of others about them. They react painfully if something doesn’t work out for them at work or if they discover some kind of shortcoming in themselves. Low respect encourages one to avoid any activity in which there is a moment of competition. Such people often refuse to achieve their goals because they do not believe in their own strength. [#4].
In adolescence, as part of the formation of a new level of self-awareness, a new level of attitude towards oneself also develops. One of the central points here is the change in the bases and criteria for self-esteem - they shift, in the words of L.S. Vygotsky, “from outside to inside,” acquiring qualitatively different forms, compared with the criteria for a person’s assessment of other people. The transition from private self-esteem to a general, holistic one (change of bases) creates conditions for the formation, in the true sense of the word, of one’s own attitude towards oneself, sufficiently autonomous from the attitudes and assessments of others, private successes and failures, and all kinds of situational influences. The assessment of individual qualities and aspects of the personality plays a subordinate role in such one’s own attitude towards oneself, and the leading one is some general, holistic “self-acceptance”, “self-respect”. It is in adolescence that an emotional and value-based attitude towards oneself is formed, that is, “operative self-esteem” begins to be based on the conformity of behavior, one’s own views and beliefs, and the results of activities. [#46]
Self-esteem plays a leading role in the study of problems of self-awareness.
Self-esteem is a person’s assessment of himself, his capabilities, qualities and place among other people. [No. 18] Self-esteem is characterized as the core of the process of self-awareness, an indicator of the individual level of its development, an integrating principle and its personal aspect, organically included in the process of self-knowledge.
Adolescence is characterized by a balanced development of the cognitive and emotional components of self-esteem. The growth of a conscious attitude towards oneself leads to the fact that knowledge about oneself begins to regulate and lead emotions addressed to one’s own “I”. Relatively stable ideas about oneself as an integral person, different from other people, are formed.
Performing regulatory functions, self-esteem is a necessary internal condition for the subject to organize his behavior, activities, and relationships. It is the most important factor in a person’s mobilization of his strength, the realization of hidden capabilities, and creative potential. [A.V.Zakharova]
Numerous studies indisputably indicate that an effective solution to the problems of self-awareness, self-determination, and self-affirmation is impossible without communicating with other people, without their help. [#37]
In adolescence, two opposing trends in communication are noted: expansion of its sphere on the one hand, and growing individualization and isolation on the other. When communicating with people, boys and girls feel the need to find their position in their environment, their “I”. But understanding this need and ways to realize it is possible if there is a need for solitude. [A.V.Mudrik. No. 26]
In youth, the ability to feel the states of other people and the ability to experience these states emotionally as if they were our own become more acute. This is why youth can be so sensitive, so subtle in its manifestations towards other people, in its identification with them. Identification refines a person’s sphere of feeling, making him richer and at the same time more vulnerable. [V.S. Mukhina No. 27]
Thus, self-awareness in adolescence acquires a qualitatively specific character. It is associated with the need to evaluate the qualities of one’s personality, taking into account specific life aspirations, in connection with solving the problem of professional self-determination.
32. All researchers of the psychology of adolescence agree in recognizing the enormous importance that communication with peers has for adolescents, therefore one of the main trends of adolescence is the reorientation of communication from parents, teachers and generally elders to peers, more or less equal in status.
Mudrik A.V. notes that the need to communicate with peers, who cannot be replaced by parents, arises in children very early and intensifies with age. The behavior of adolescents, believes Mudrik A.V., in its specificity, is collective - group. He explains this specific behavior of adolescents as follows:
Thirdly, this is a specific type of emotional contact. The consciousness of group belonging, solidarity, and comradely mutual assistance gives the teenager a sense of well-being and stability.
Relationships with friends are at the center of a teenager’s life, largely determining all other aspects of his behavior and activities. Bozhovich L. I. notes that if at primary school age the basis for uniting children is most often joint activities, then in adolescents, on the contrary, the attractiveness of activities and interests are mainly determined by the possibility of broad communication with peers. By the beginning of adolescence, children come with different experiences of communicating with friends: for some children it already occupies a significant place in their lives, for others it is limited only to school. Over time, communication with friends increasingly goes beyond the boundaries of study and school, includes new interests, activities, hobbies and turns into an independent and very important sphere of life for adolescents. Communication with friends becomes so attractive and important that learning is relegated to the background, and the opportunity to communicate with parents no longer looks so attractive. It should be noted that the communication traits and communication styles of boys and girls are not exactly the same.
At first glance, boys at all ages are more sociable than girls. From a very early age, they are more active than girls in making contact with other children, starting joint games, and so on.
However, the difference between the sexes in the level of sociability is not so much quantitative as qualitative. Although fussing and power games bring enormous emotional satisfaction to boys, there is usually a spirit of competition in them, and the game often turns into a fight. The content of a joint activity and their own success in it mean more to boys than the presence of individual sympathy for other participants in the game.
Girls' communication looks more passive, but more friendly and selective. Judging by the data of psychological studies, boys first come into contact with each other and only then, during play or business interaction, do they develop a positive attitude and develop a craving for each other. Girls, on the contrary, come into contact mainly with those they like; the content of joint activities is relatively secondary for them.
From an early age, boys gravitate towards more extensive, and girls towards intensive communication, boys often play in large groups, and girls - in twos or threes. Kon I. O. believes that the psychology of communication in adolescence and adolescence is built on the basis of the contradictory interweaving of two needs: isolation (privatization) and aphoriliation, i.e. the need for belonging, inclusion in some group or community. Separation most often manifests itself in emancipation from adult control.
33 . The period of adulthood is the longest period of ontogenesis (in developed countries it accounts for three quarters of human life). There are usually three subperiods, or three stages of adulthood:
Early adulthood (youth),
Middle adulthood
Late adulthood (aging and old age).
The concept of adulthood and criteria for achieving adulthood. Taking into account the multidimensionality of the development process and the heterochronicity of achievements in different areas, many signs of adulthood can be identified:
A new pattern of development, now less associated with physical growth and rapid cognitive improvement;
The ability to respond to changes and successfully adapt to new conditions, positively resolve contradictions and difficulties;
Overcoming addiction and the ability to take responsibility for yourself and others;
Some character traits (firmness, prudence, reliability, honesty and compassion);
Social and cultural guidelines (roles, relationships) for determining the success and timeliness of development in adulthood.
The concepts of “adulthood” and “maturity” are not identical. Maturity is the most socially active and productive period of life; This is the period of adulthood when the tendency to achieve the highest level of intellect and personality development can be realized. The ancient Greeks called this age and state of mind “acme”, which means “peak”, the highest level, a blooming time.
In E. Erikson’s theory, maturity is the age of “committing acts”, the most complete flowering, when a person becomes identical to himself
The main lines of development of a middle-aged person are generativity, productivity, creativity (in relation to things, children and ideas) and restlessness - the desire to become the best parent possible, to achieve a high level in one’s profession, to be a caring citizen, a loyal friend, a support for loved ones. Work and care are the virtues of mature people. If the personality turns out to be “calmed” in any respect, then stagnation and degradation begin, which manifest themselves in infantility and self-absorption - in excessive self-pity, in indulging one’s whims. Successfully resolving the conflict between restlessness and stagnation is in the mindset of overcoming problems and difficulties, rather than endlessly complaining about them.
In humanistic psychology (A. Maslow, G. Allport), central importance was attached to the process of self-realization, self-actualization of an adult. According to A. Maslow, self-actualizing people are not limited to satisfying basic needs, but are committed to the highest, ultimate, existential values, including truth, beauty, and goodness. They strive to reach heights (or possibly a higher level) in their business. G. Allport believed that the maturity of an individual is determined by the degree of functional autonomy of his motivation. An adult individual is healthy and productive if he has surpassed early (childhood) forms of motivation and acts quite consciously. Allport, having analyzed the work of many psychologists, presented a description of a self-actualizing personality in the form of the following list of traits:
1) interest in the outside world, a greatly expanded sense of Self;
2) warmth (compassion, respect, tolerance) towards others;
3) a sense of fundamental emotional security (self-acceptance, self-control);
4) realistic perception of reality and activity in action;
5) self-objectification (self-understanding), bringing one’s internal experience into the currently experienced situation and a sense of humor;
6) “philosophy of life”, which organizes, systematizes experience and imparts meaning to individual actions.
Human development must be encouraged from childhood to the end of life.
B.G. Ananyev in his book “Man as an Object of Knowledge” (1969) emphasized that middle-age psychology is a relatively new branch of developmental psychology.
The period of adulthood, the main stage of human life, deserves to clearly formulate its own social and psychological tasks for the development of this particular period.
IN AND. Slobodchikov and G.A. Tsukerman believe that the essence of the first stage of adulthood (17-42 years) is the individualization of a system of social values and ideals in accordance with the personal position of a person who becomes a subject of public (not narrowly social) relations.
Maturity period by age (40-45 - 55-60 years) and by the state of a person’s spirit, the ancient Greeks sometimes called it acme, which meant the pinnacle, the highest degree of something, the moment of greatest flowering of the human personality, self-identity. Domestic psychologist N.N. Rybnikov (1928) proposed to designate with the term acmeology a special section of developmental psychology - about the period of flowering of all human vital forces, studying a mature personality.
The idea of maturity as acme existed among many peoples (the ages were called 45, 50, 55 years, etc.). Let us turn to the information in §1 of this chapter, where in different periodizations one way or another there is a stage (period, stage) of maturity - essentially the content, despite the different names (a person in the prime of life, the second period of middle adulthood, late maturity, middle adulthood, late adulthood of the fourth cycle of adulthood, etc.). The idea of maturity as the flowering of personality is important from the point of view of the actual modern problems of the psychology of maturity. According to many psychologists, with the onset of maturity, development as such ceases; instead, a simple change in individual psychological characteristics occurs. Thus, the Swiss psychologist E. Claparède believed that mature age is tantamount to a stop in development, fossilization. In the Committee on Human Development at the University of Chicago, development tasks are not formulated in any way specifically in relation to a mature individual. It must be assumed that the reason for this is the interpretation of maturity that takes place in modern psychology, the view of maturity as the goal of development and at the same time its end. At the same time, numerous studies by domestic and foreign scientists have shown that the process of human development is fundamentally limitless, since development is the main way of existence of the individual. As in previous periods, personality development at the stage of maturity has its own specific psychological characteristics. In the most general form, they boil down to the following: continued fulfillment of professional and social roles (they can alternately dominate and weaken); the departure of children from the parental family and a change in lifestyle in connection with this (some women, for example, return to production, to their professional activities); menopause; changes in physical and intellectual development, etc. According to many experimental data, the midpoint of this stage of development is between 45-50 years. People of the same age are similar in many major ways (and maturity is no exception). At the same time, it is indisputable that there are so many different destinies for as many people as there are. And the further we try to move into the depths of a particular person’s life path, the more significant the differences will appear in comparison with his (her) peers, the more diverse the individual characteristics of existence will be.
Methods for studying the learning motivation of high school students
Questionnaire
Full name _____________________Class __________
Carefully read each unfinished sentence and all possible answers to it. Underline two answer options that coincide with your own opinion.
I. 1. I need schooling and knowledge to...
a) later life;
b) admission to university, further education;
c) my general development, improvement;
d) future profession;
e) orientation in society (in life in general);
f) creating a career;
g) obtaining starting qualifications and getting a job.
2. I wouldn’t study if...
a) there was no school;
b) there was no need for this;
c) not entering a university and future life;
d) didn’t feel it was necessary;
3. I like to be praised for...
a) knowledge;
b) academic success;
c) good academic performance and a job well done;
d) abilities and intelligence;
e) hard work and efficiency;
e) good grades.
II. 4. It seems to me that the purpose of my life is...
a) get an education;
b) start a family;
c) make a career;
d) development and improvement;
e) be happy;
f) be useful;
g) take a worthy part in the evolutionary process of humanity;
h) not yet determined.
5. My goal for the lesson is...
a) obtaining information;
b) gaining knowledge;
c) try to understand and absorb as much as possible;
d) choose what you need for yourself;
e) listen carefully to the teacher;
f) get a good grade;
g) chat with friends.
6. When planning my work, I...
a) I think about it, delve into the conditions;
b) first I rest;
c) I try to do everything diligently;
d) do the most difficult thing first;
e) I try to do it quickly.
III. 7. The most interesting thing in the lesson is...
a) discussion of an issue that interests me;
b) little-known facts;
c) practice, completing assignments;
d) an interesting message from the teacher;
e) dialogue, discussion, debate;
f) receive a mark “5”;
g) communication with friends.
8. I study the material conscientiously if...
a) he is very interesting to me;
b) I need him;
c) I need a good grade;
d) I always try;
e) they force me;
e) I'm in a good mood.
9. I like to do my homework when...
a) there are few of them and they are not difficult;
b) I know how to do them, and everything works out for me;
c) I will need them;
d) they require diligence;
e) rest after school and extracurricular activities;
f) I’m in a mood;
g) the material or task is interesting;
h) always, as this is necessary for deep knowledge.
IV. 10. They encourage me to study better...
a) thoughts about the future;
b) competition and thoughts about the certificate;
c) conscience, sense of duty;
d) the desire to obtain higher education at a prestigious university;
e) responsibility;
f) parents (friends) or teachers.
11. I work more actively in class if...
a) I expect the approval of others;
b) I am interested in the work being done;
c) I need a mark;
d) I want to know more;
e) I want to be noticed;
f) I need the material being studied.
12. Good grades are the result...
a) my hard work;
b) teacher’s work;
c) preparedness and understanding of the topic;
d) luck;
e) conscientious attitude towards learning;
e) talent or abilities.
V. 13. My success in completing assignments in class depends on...
a) mood and well-being;
b) understanding the material;
c) luck;
d) preparation, effort;
e) interest in good grades;
f) attention to the teacher’s explanation.
14. I will be active in class if...
a) I know the topic well and understand the material;
b) I can cope;
c) almost always;
d) they will not scold you for a mistake;
e) firmly confident in his successes;
e) quite often.
15. If any educational material is incomprehensible to me (difficult for me), then I...
a) I don’t do anything;
b) I resort to the help of others;
c) I put up with the situation;
d) I try to figure it out no matter what;
e) I hope that I will understand later;
f) I remember the teacher’s explanation and look at the notes during the lesson.
VI. 16. Having made a mistake in completing a task, I...
a) I do it again, correcting mistakes;
b) I'm lost;
c) I ask for help;
d) I apologize;
e) I continue to think about the task;
f) I quit this task.
17. If I don’t know how to perform an action, then I...
a) asking for help;
b) I leave him;
c) I think and reason;
d) I don’t complete it, then I write it off;
e) I turn to the textbook;
f) I get upset and put it off.
18. I don’t like doing tasks if they...
a) require a lot of mental effort;
b) too light, does not require effort;
c) require memorization and execution according to a “template”;
d) do not require intelligence (savvy);
e) complex and large;
f) uninteresting, do not require logical thinking.
Thanks for answers!
Processing the results.
Questions 1, 2, 3, included in the first content block of the diagnostic methodology, reflect such an indicator of motivation as the personal meaning of learning.
Questions 4, 5, 6 are included in the second content block of the methodology and characterize the ability to set goals.
Key to the questionnaire for blocks I, II, III of indicators of motivation of 11th grade students.
Answer options | Offer numbers and points corresponding to them |
||||||||
Motivation indicators | |||||||||
To eliminate randomness of choice and get more objective results, students are asked to name two answer options. The points of the selected options are summed up, and the motivation indicators based on the sum of points reveal its final level. Using the evaluation table, you can determine the levels of motivation for individual indicators (I, II, III) and the final level of motivation of adolescents.
Sum of points for the final level of motivation.
The following final levels of motivation for schoolchildren are identified:
– very high level of learning motivation (72–85);
– high level of learning motivation (55–71);
– normal (average) level of learning motivation (42–54);
– reduced level of learning motivation (30–41);
– low level of learning motivation (up to 29).
The level of motivation in block I shows how strong the personal meaning of learning is for the student. The level of motivation in block II indicates the ability to set goals. Analysis of data for each of these indicators will allow the heads of the educational institution, teachers, and school psychologists to draw a conclusion about the effectiveness of pedagogical activities in the aspect of forming the personal meaning of learning, the ability to set goals, and will help take corrective actions.
Since block III of the questionnaire reveals the focus of motivation on the cognitive or social sphere, in an element-by-element analysis it can be noted which motives are typical for the children. To do this, it is necessary to calculate the frequency of representation of certain types of motives across the entire sample of schoolchildren. After this, calculate the percentage ratio between the types of motives and draw a conclusion about the prevailing ones.
Symbols for types of motifs:
at – educational motive;
With – social motive;
P – positional motive;
O – evaluative motive;
And – game motive;
V – external motive.
Questions 13, 14, 15 are included in block V of the methodology and characterize such an indicator of motivation as a teenager’s desire to achieve academic success or avoid failure. Whether all these motives are realized in the behavior of schoolchildren will determine the questions of the sixth content block of the questionnaire (16, 17, 18).
The answer options chosen by students according to the three named indicators (IV, V, VI) are assessed using a polar measurement scale in points: +5; -5. Answers that reflect internal motivation, desire to achieve academic success, and fulfillment in behavior are awarded +5 points. If the answers indicate external motivation, a desire to avoid failure and passive behavior, then they are scored –5 points.
Educational activity remains the main activity of a senior student.
It is known that even among teenagers, interest in learning, compared to younger schoolchildren, is somewhat reduced. There is an “internal withdrawal from school” (A. N. Leontyev). This is explained by a number of reasons, and primarily by a change in the teenager’s leading activity. At middle school age, communication becomes the leading activity, which is satisfied not only in learning, but also in other types of socially useful activities. The same motives that prompted the child to study in the primary grades (the desire to be a schoolchild, to perform a new socially significant function) have already been satisfied.
High school students, compared to teenagers, have an increased interest in learning. This is due to the fact that a new motivational structure of teaching is emerging. The leading place is occupied by motives related to self-determination and preparation for independent life. These motives acquire personal meaning and become effective.
A high place in the motivational structure is occupied by such broad social motives as the desire to become a full-fledged member of society, to benefit people and the Motherland, and the conviction in the practical significance of science for society.
The motives underlying the learning activity itself, as well as their interest in the content and process of learning, retain their strength. Along with an interest in facts, which is also typical for adolescence, older schoolchildren show interest in theoretical problems, methods of scientific research, and independent search activities to solve complex problems.
Such cognitive motivation can apply to all subjects, to a cycle of any subjects, or to a separate subject. The selectivity of the cognitive interests of older schoolchildren is very often associated with life plans and professional intentions, which, in turn, contribute to the formation of educational interests and change attitudes towards educational activities.
So, the motivational sphere of a senior schoolchild is characterized by the combination and interpenetration of broad social motives and cognitive motives contained in the educational process itself. At high school age, voluntary motivation comes to the fore, i.e., increasingly, the student is guided by a consciously set goal, his own intentions.
Older schoolchildren are better aware of their attitude to learning, the reasons that motivate them to study. Due to the high level of self-criticism, older schoolchildren, analyzing the conditions that interfere with learning, point to the manifestation of such negative character traits as laziness, lack of will, restlessness, inability to organize their time and self-control, mood. That is, students associate their attitude to learning with their inherent individual mental characteristics (72% of all cases) (FOOTNOTE: See: Motivation for learning / Edited by M. V. Matyukhina. Volgograd, 1976)
It is characteristic that adolescents in the same situation point more to the teacher’s personality traits, his skill, his attitude towards students (44% of instructions) and only 26% of instructions are related to the mental characteristics of the students themselves. Such self-criticism of older schoolchildren is a prerequisite for the need for self-education, the desire to change their character traits and intellectual capabilities.
Successful work on self-education and self-improvement is closely related to the level of self-esteem of a senior student. A distinctive feature of a mature personality is the presence of differentiated self-esteem. Such self-assessment presupposes a relatively clear awareness and identification of those areas in which high results can be achieved, and those in which a person cannot claim high results, a clear identification of his strengths and weaknesses.
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MOTIVES FOR EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
I.S. Sudina, Volgograd State Pedagogical University (VSPU), Volgograd
Key words: adolescence, motivation, educational and professional activity, life perspective, method of motivational induction, self-awareness, semantic radical.
In domestic developmental psychology and pedagogical practice oriented towards it, the most established ideas about the age characteristics of students are associated with the concept of leading activity (A.N. Leontyev) and with the periodization of mental development based on this concept. In accordance with this periodization, the motives of professional self-determination become leading in adolescence, which unites high school students (early adolescence) and students (adolescence). The subject of our research is the motivation of modern high school students.
Determining the leading activity of the youth period, D.I. Feldstein writes in one of his works: “Having an educational and professional character, this activity, on the one hand, acquires elements of research, on the other, it receives a certain focus on obtaining a profession, on finding a place in life. Basic psychological neoplasm
age is the ability... to draw up one’s own life plans, to look for means of their implementation, to develop political, aesthetic, moral ideals, which indicates the growth of self-awareness.” . V.V. held similar ideas. Davydov: “The leading activity of high school students and vocational school students is educational and professional activity, in the process of which they develop a need for work and professional interests; it is at this age that students acquire initial qualifications in one of the mass professions. Their age is the age of conscious choice of life path. They make life plans, think about the prospects for their future activities. Boys and girls develop stable ideological, moral and civic personality traits, a stable worldview (scientific, moral, artistic and political beliefs,
general value orientations, etc.)".
In both cases (both D.I. Feldstein and V.V. Davydov) the implementation of educational and professional activities is indicated in the context of personal changes that are not directly related to the subject of this activity itself. Educational and professional activity is important, but still one of the components of development, combined with the ideological, aesthetic and social searches of a young person. Thus, educational and professional activities are considered in the broader context of socialization and inculturation.
Discussing the characteristics of adolescence, psychologists point to its ontological ambiguity and the ambiguity of the scientific attitude towards it. “In general, we can make an assumption,” writes K.N. Polivanov, - that the younger the child, the “older” the age, the more definite... its manifestations. On the contrary, the higher an individual moves along the “ladder” of ages, the higher the influence of specific circumstances of individual life and sociocultural characteristics.” Starting from youth, the dependence of the content of subjective life on chronological age becomes weaker; to a much greater extent it is determined by the personal circumstances of a person’s life - social environment, occupation, value system, life experience, etc. Boys and girls reach first adulthood with different goals and intentions and arrange their lives
according to various samples and scenarios. Multidimensional processes of construction and restructuring of social behavior and the subjective world do not fit well into theories of successive stages.
On the existence of this problem L.I. Bozovic pointed out back in 1968: “Senior school age has been studied very little in psychology. This cannot be explained by the complexity of the subject alone. There are much more serious and profound reasons at play here. If we approach development from the point of view of changes that occur in individual mental processes and functions, then it is difficult to find qualitative originality in the development of the personality of a senior schoolchild. From this point of view, all major new formations already end in adolescence, and only their strengthening and improvement remains for the senior school age.” And further: “Thus, an approach to the analysis of mental development that does not take into account changes in the personality structure (emphasized by the author - I.S.) of the child and ignores the content side in the formation of his psyche (we mean ignoring what mental processes and what motives motivate them), led to the fact that high school age began to be considered as the age of completion of neoplasms that arise in a teenager, and not of the formation of qualitatively new features of his personality.” L.I. Bozovic connects this with ignoring the peculiarities of social
the developmental situation and internal position of a senior school student, which have qualitative differences from the content of other school ages. “It is at this age,” L.I. further writes. Bozhovich, “on the basis of a completely new, newly emerged social situation of development, fundamental changes occur in the content and correlation of the main motivational tendencies of the schoolchild, which determine the restructuring on this basis of all his other psychological characteristics.” The social situation of development and the internal position of a senior schoolchild counter-determine the content of his motives. At the same time, the implementation of motivational tendencies during this period is not guaranteed, which constitutes a socio-psychological task (an age-related task - in the terminology of E. Erikson). For example, the feeling of adulthood that emerges towards the end of adolescence may not coincide with the expectations of the social environment, which suggests maintaining the previous schoolboy position.
We believe that this point of view has retained its significance for 40 years, moreover, its relevance is only increasing in connection with social changes affecting the life prospects of new generations. Today, in the context of the emergence of the labor market, changing ideas about the prestige of a number of professions, the emergence of employment problems, and other life prospects are increasingly determined by the unique individual circumstances of a young man’s life and his subjective motivation. Co-
Our study was devoted to keeping the social situation, internal position and motivation of high school students in the projection of their life perspective.
In our work, we used a projective technique built in the form of unfinished sentences - the method of motivational induction (MMI) by J. Nuytten. In making such a choice, we believed that existing methods for determining professionally important qualities, professional preferences, etc., widely represented in modern labor psychology (for example, in the works of E.A. Klimov), will not allow us to get an idea of the subjective motivational context in which professional choice is one of the components.
MMI is based on the concepts of “motivational objects” and “temporal code”. (In the future, we will use the Russian-language analogue of this concept - “time code”, since we are talking about a moment or an interval of time, and the word “tempo” is more associated with the speed of the process.) J. Nutten based his method on the technique of completion unfinished sentences started in the first person singular. According to J. Nutten, unlike other methods aimed at studying motivation, MMI provides optimal conditions under which a person spontaneously “gives out” a large number of personal motives (motivational objects). The MMI stimulus material is a set of neocon-
sentences, consisting of positive (positive) and negative (negative) inducers. Examples of positive inducers: “I hope...”, “I really want...”, “I intend...”; examples of negative inducers: “I will be most upset if...”, “I don’t want to...”, “I will protest if...”. Their number may vary. The most complete list for adult subjects includes 60 inducers (40 positive and 20 negative), two short lists - 45 (30+15) and 30 (20+10), respectively. We used a list of 30 inductors: 20 positive and 10 negative.
It should be noted that for many participants in our study, even this short list seemed redundant and tedious. (This can be seen from the statements of respondents: “I am doing everything possible to complete this questionnaire”, “I do not want to write further this test”, etc.)
When working with the methodology, each motivational object must be assigned a specific time code. Coding consists of assigning a time sign to each anticipated event, goal that the subject thinks or dreams about, even if he himself does not indicate the exact time of its occurrence (achievement, completion). In most cases, this time limit can be established by having an idea of the sociocultural life of the respondent.
When working with MMI, motivational objects are classified not on the basis of life experience and subject matter.
active experiences of the subject, but on the basis of ideas about the “normal”, “average” for a given social group temporary localization of certain events. This representation of the time code is based on the fact that the time perspective arises on the basis of experience, which is also formed in the process of socialization of the individual, who checks his time experience against the “social clock.” In order to assign a specific time sign to each statement, one must answer the question: “If we assume that a person will live an ordinary, normal life, like the majority of people in his social group, then when should the event happen or the goal that he writes about be achieved?” Or for a negative judgment: “When is what this person wants to avoid most likely to overtake him?” Answers to such questions make it possible to translate each utterance into time code terms.
We used the following encodings (time stamps):
0 - training period;
B - period of productive life, “adulthood”;
S - old age.
These periods were also divided into separate phases. Thus, the training period was presented as follows:
01 - training in the present - in the senior classes of secondary schools;
O1. - graduation;
O2 - admission to university;
02 - studying at a university;
Kazan Pedagogical Journal
O2. - graduation from university.
A letter with a subscript indicates a period or phase. The beginning of a new period is indicated by a dot before the symbol, the end - by a dot after the symbol.
The period of adulthood can be divided into three independent phases: the transition to adulthood (B0), the phase of professional self-determination and social autonomy (VD phase of maturity and social autonomy (B2). The approximate relationship of these phases with chronological age can be expressed as follows:
B0 - 18 - 25 years;
IN! - 25 - 45 years;
B2 - 45 - 65 years.
A special symbol denotes motivational objects that are not limited in time. Examples of such motivational objects are the desire to be successful, smart, speak English perfectly, etc. These are those qualities and manifestations of life that the subject is ready to possess (or avoid them, if we are talking about negative motivation) “today and always.” In the terminology of J. Nuette they are usually referred to as “open present” - “ON”. We denoted references to the past with the symbol “P”, and goals related not only or not so much to the life of one person, but to the life of all humanity, as “IB” (“historical future”).
Volgograd schoolchildren, 9th grade students, took part in the study. At the same time, in aerobatics
The study, aimed at identifying content analysis categories for coding statements, involved 123 schoolchildren from different schools; 286 schoolchildren who participated in the main study made up an independent, non-overlapping sample. In analyzing the results of the main study, we examined a total of more than 7,200 responses from respondents.
According to time indexes, respondents' statements were distributed as follows. (The “+” sign indicates positive forecasts for the future, the “-” sign indicates negative ones.)
P - 0.8% (“+” - 0.8%);
ABOUT! - 34% (“+” - 22.3%; “-” - 11.7%));
ABOUT]. - 18.6% (“+” - 17%; “-” - 1.6%);
O2 - 10.4% (“+” - 7.2%; “-” - 3.2%);
O2. -0.5% (“+” - 0.5%);
B0 - 2% (“+” - 2%);
B1 - 4% (“+” - 4%);
C - 2% (“-” - 2%);
OH - 22.3% (“+” - 16.2%; “-” - 6.1%);
IB - 5.4% (“+” - 3.3%; “-” - 2.1%).
In order to obtain a generalized picture of the time perspective, we summarized the data for the entire sample and calculated the percentage of representation of time codes of motivational objects (Fig. 1).
25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% -15%
P O1 O1. .02 O2 O2. B0 B1 B2 C OH
Rice. 1. Biographical distribution of motivational objects
When considering the biographical distribution of motivation, the following was obtained.
In the first place in the time profile was “O1” - schooling, in second place - the open present (“ON”); on the third "O1." - graduation from school, on the fourth “.O2” - admission to a university. Statements related to the historical future (“IB”) fell within the five percent barrier. In itself, such a distribution of motivational objects over time does not seem unexpected to us for the age under consideration. Below are examples of statements from respondents that we classified into these categories.
I have a definite intention to study well.
I will be very upset if I get a C in chemistry.
I dream of becoming an excellent student.
I strive with all my might to finish school.
I have a great desire to do well in the final exam.
I intend to finish school well.
I dream of going to college.
I hope that I will enter the VAGS and replace my mother at work.
I decided to enter Moscow State University or another metropolitan institute.
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I hope to graduate from a good institute.
I will be very pleased if I graduate from college and get a decent specialty.
I want to get a medical education and become a surgeon.
I have the definite intention of graduating from VAGS and becoming a wealthy businesswoman.
The distribution of statements related to the perspective of higher education is noteworthy. Enrolling in a university is planned in 10.4% of the total number of statements, including both hopes and fears; its successful completion is found in only 0.5% of statements (36 responses out of more than 7,200), and the period of study at the university itself is not represented at all. Therefore, there is no need to talk about the structure of the next period, determined by educational and professional activities. In addition, there are statements that cover the entire period of education, containing education “in general”: “With all my strength I strive to get a good education.”
I would so much like to be able to change this world for the better.
I do everything to look good.
I wouldn't regret anything to be happy.
I strive to be a successful person.
I would not regret anything so that every person on Earth has his own happiness, his own family, his own home, his own happy future.
I hope that democracy will win in our country.
I want there to be peace on our entire planet.
I wish the Sun would never go out.
Assessing the results obtained through MMI as a whole, we can state the following.
Motivation corresponding to educational and professional activity, in this case an indication of a profession and methods of acquiring it (for example, the desire to enter a university and study in a certain specialty) in the spectrum of motivational objects is represented by only 2.4% of responses. Therefore, the assumption that the respondents’ life prospects are determined by educational and professional activities is not confirmed in this case.
The respondents' answers most strongly represented hopes for success and a happy future and fears that they will not come true, as well as an appeal to their “I” as the point of application of efforts to transform it or as the subject of these transformations. This corresponds to the ideas of L.I. Bozhovich about self-awareness as the main new formation of the age under consideration. At the same time, the features of the method
in particular, the multiplicity of questions of the same type and the rhythm of working with them (questions were dictated at a certain pace), as we believe, predetermined the uniformity and condensed nature of the answers. This forced us to subsequently supplement MMI with other projective techniques, the description of which is the content of the following publications.
The vast majority of the answers we received relate to the current situation - studying at school and communicating with peers. These responses can be divided into “event-based”, containing a direct description of what is happening, and “reflective”, in which an evaluative attitude towards what is happening and one’s role in it is more represented. In a significant number of cases, answers assigned to these categories can be united by a common “semantic radical”. These are issues of harmonization of relationships and experiences in three most important areas that generally make up the intimately personal and personally valuable: friendship, love, compliance of the internal position with the opinion of the reference social environment.
To summarize, it should be noted that, firstly, the actual educational and professional motivation of our 15-year-old respondents is noticeably inferior to infantile and reflexive attitudes; secondly, the content presented in the answers is more typical for adolescence (communication, self-change, image,
existential experiences) than for adolescence; thirdly, the J. Nuytten MMI technique we used in a significant number of cases limits the degree of development of answers. In further research, we supplemented the methodological apparatus with other projective techniques - metaphorical stories and structured self-descriptions, and also expanded the age range by inviting students from Volgograd universities to collaborate. The results of these studies will be presented in future publications.
Literature:
1. Bozhovich L.I. Personality and its formation in childhood (Psychological research). - M.: Education, 1968.
2. Borisova E.M., Gurevich K.M. Psychological diagnostics in school career guidance // Questions of psychology. - 1988.- No. 1.- P. 77-83.
3. Davydov V.V. Problems of developmental education. - M.: Pedagogy, 1986.
4. Klimov E.A. Psychology of professional self-determination. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1996.
5. Nytten J. Motivation, action and future prospects. - M.: Smysl, 2004.
6. Polivanova K.N. Psychology of age-related crises. - M.: Publishing Center "Academy", 2000.
7. Feldshtein D.I. Psychology of personality development in ontogenesis. - M.: Pedagogy, 1989.
8. Elkonin D.B. Selected psychological works. - M.: Pedagogika, 1989.
9. Erickson E. Identity: youth and crisis. - M.: Progress Publishing Group, 1996.
L.I. Bozovic, considering the structure as a whole, pays great attention to the motives of the teaching. She identifies two broad categories of learning motives. The first includes the cognitive interests of children, the need for and mastery of new skills, abilities and knowledge (cognitive motives). The second is connected with the child’s needs for communication with other people, for their assessment and approval, with the student’s desire to take a certain place in the system of social relations available to him (broad social motives). Both of these categories of motives have been shown to be necessary for successful implementation. Motives coming from the activity itself have a direct impact on the subject, while social motives of teaching can encourage his activity through consciously set goals, decisions made, sometimes even regardless of the person’s direct relationship to the activity.
M.V. Matyukhin, based on the classification proposed by L.I. Bozovic and P.M. Jacobson, identified the following groups and subgroups of motives.
1. Motives inherent in the educational activity itself, associated with its direct product. In this group of educational and cognitive motives, two subgroups of motives are distinguished.
- Motives related to the content of the teaching. The student is motivated to learn by the desire to learn new facts, master knowledge, methods of action, and penetrate into the essence of phenomena. Such motivation can be conditionally called motivation by content.
- Motives associated with the process itself. The student is encouraged to learn by the desire to be intellectually active, to think and reason in class, to overcome obstacles in the process of cognition, in the process of solving difficult problems; The child is fascinated by the decision process itself, and not just the results obtained. Such motivation can be conditionally called process motivation.
2. Motives associated with the indirect product of learning, its result, with what lies outside the educational activity itself. This group includes the following subgroups of motives.
- Wide social motives: motives of duty and responsibility to society, class, teacher, etc.; motives (understanding the importance of knowledge for the future, the desire to prepare for upcoming work, etc.) and self-improvement (to gain development as a result of learning).
- Narrowly personal motives - the desire to gain approval from teachers, parents, classmates; desire to get good grades. This motivation is conventionally called well-being motivation. This also includes the desire to be among the first students, the desire to be the best, the desire to take a worthy place among comrades. Such motivation is conventionally called prestige motivation. This category of motives includes negative motives, the desire to avoid troubles that may arise from teachers, parents, and classmates if the student does not study well. Such motivation can be conditionally called motivation to avoid troubles.
There are other classifications of teaching motives.
The age-related development of motivation consists of the emergence of psychological new formations, i.e. qualitatively new features characterizing its higher level. The motivational sphere of a small child is characterized by a single-level structure and juxtaposition of individual impulses, situational nature and impulsiveness of behavior. School age is characterized by the presence of a hierarchy with a predominance of some leading motives, which change from age to age. It must be emphasized that the characteristics of the motives and cognitive interests of students of different ages are not “fatally inevitable” and are necessarily inherent in these ages. Modern developmental psychology, demonstrating the presence of large development reserves at each age, affirms the possibility of creating a new type of attitude towards learning (for example, developing interest in ways of acquiring knowledge) already in (V.V. Davydov, V.V. Repkin). At the same time, there are qualitative differences in the motives for learning at different age periods.
At primary school age, both positive and negative (in terms of educational activities) features of motivation are noted. Positive features: general positive attitude towards school, increased curiosity; breadth, intensity of cognitive need; openness, gullibility, faith in the authority of the teacher, willingness to complete tasks. Negative features: instability of interests (they quickly fade away and are not renewed, require constant support); weak awareness of motives.
The general line of development of motivation: from interest in the external side of being at school, to the first results of one’s activities and further - to the very methods of acquiring knowledge. Social motives develop from a general undifferentiated understanding of the importance of school to an understanding of the real reasons for the need for schooling. In general, by the end of primary school age, a positive attitude towards learning decreases, and a “motivational vacuum” arises.
At middle school age there are also positive and negative features of motivation that do not coincide with the features. Positive features: the need for adulthood, the desire to take a new social position, which determines the adolescent’s increased susceptibility to learning the ways and norms of adult behavior; general increased activity, desire to get involved in various forms of activity; need for self-esteem; the desire for independence, which requires the development of methods and knowledge; an increase in the measure of stability and certainty of motives. Negative features: immaturity of self-esteem and assessments of other people makes contacts difficult, they, in turn, block the development of social motives and lead to conflicts; the contradiction between desire as independence from the opinions of adults and sensitivity to their assessments; a sharply negative attitude towards ready-made knowledge; lack of understanding of the connection between studying academic subjects and the possibility of using them in the future; breadth of interests, leading to their scattering.
The general line of development of motives is the dominance of social motives.
Development of cognitive motives: interest in facts is replaced by interest in general patterns.
At high school age, cognitive motivation increases, which is associated with the need to acquire knowledge in terms of preparation for the predicted profession. There is an awareness of the personal significance of the teaching. Positive features of motivation at this age are the following: a relatively formed need for professional self-determination, awareness of the need to acquire new knowledge and skills; the formation of social motives of debt; formed interest in self-education; stability and certainty of motives and interests compared to all other ages. Negative features: persistent interest in some subjects to the detriment of others; negative attitude towards strict control on the part of teachers, lack of formation of obligation motivation.
The issue of individual determination of motives is insufficiently studied in psychology. However, some materials have been obtained to clarify it. Thus, differences in motives have been identified depending on the type of temperament. Sanguine people are characterized by a relatively high intensity of motivational manifestations, an average degree of stability and breadth of motives, and a predominance of social motives. Cholerics exhibit rapid emergence of motives, their instability, rapid change and lability of motivational manifestations. There is also a great breadth and unstructuredness of motives, and a relative predominance of social motives. Phlegmatic people are characterized by the slow formation of motives, their greater stability, the presence of one dominant motive, as well as their resistance to negative external influences. In melancholic people, there are similarities in the characteristics of motivation with those of phlegmatic people. However, their motives are less stable and, as a rule, negative motivational attitudes predominate (the so-called motivation to avoid failure).
There are also certain differences in motivation in terms of extraversion - introversion. Extroverts have social motives, while introverts have cognitive motives. Motives also differ depending on gender. Boys have a slower development of all aspects of the motivational sphere than girls. By the end of school, the breadth, structure and content of motives are more pronounced in boys compared to girls. There are also differences in the content of cognitive motives, which is manifested, first of all, in preferred academic subjects.