BackgroundThere has been an increasing interest in negative or ‘undermining’ motivations for reading. In this study, we aimed to strengthen knowledge on the validity of the distinction between affirming and undermining motivations. First, we examined whether the structure of a questionnaire based on this distinction could be confirmed. Second, we examined the predictive value of undermining motivations for reading comprehension. Third, we studied moderator effects of gender and age.MethodsWe administered a reading motivation questionnaire and a reading comprehension test to 324 low-achieving adolescents. The questionnaire included items on affirming and undermining motivations for school and leisure time reading: intrinsic motivation and avoidance, self-efficacy and perceived difficulty.ResultsConfirmatory factor analyses supported the assumed structure of the questionnaire. Undermining motivations, particularly perceived difficulty, explained unique variance in reading achievement. Gender and age did not moderate effects of motivational variables.ConclusionsEducators need to be aware of the role of undermining motivations. Future research should examine if interventions can lead to the reduction of such motivations.
Before the start and during the first weeks of their first year, it has been observed by teachers that engineering students start with a high level of motivation, which often seems to decrease during the course of the first semesters. Such a decrease in motivation can be a main driver for students dropping out of University early. A qualitative research will be carried out to answer the main questions that have been raised within the engineering department of the Fontys University of Applied sciences: to what extent does a decrease in the motivation of first-year students exists, exactly when during the course of the first year does this decrease occur and what are the underlying reasons causing this decline in motivation? Gaining more insight in the motivation drop of students could result in modifications to the curriculum. The final objectives are reducing the dropout level of students in the first year and increasing the quality level of young propaedeutics. In [1] and [2] studies are carried out to measure student’s motivation constructs, which have been carried out for first year Engineering students. The authors describe a certain level of motivation drop for first year students at an Engineering University. In Geraedts 2010 [3] it is defined that Maslow rules for students can be seen as an element of a student’s perception onto his or hers education. Often it can be observed that in most cases undergraduates start their education as an unconscious insufficient competent student having a very limited view on the work arena and complexity of the engineering discipline. Quickly after the start of the education year this view develops into a more defined perception of what the content and complexity of the future work field is and what is expected of the student during his or hers education. It is hypothesised that this gain in insights of the student into the work field and the related expectations is a significant contributor to the decline of intrinsic motivation. In this paper the investigated hypothesis and possible other aspects that influence the motivation of students will be presented. Based on results, potential corrective and preventive measures will be defined and discussed. Corrective and predictive measures depend on the results of this study and could be aimed for instance at: 1) making adjustments to the content and/or structure of the first semester curriculum, 2) improving the support of students in making adaptations into a better learning strategy and 3) improve the information on-which students decide to start a mechanical engineering education. This paper will focus on the first year mechanical engineering students of the Fontys University of Applied Sciences. About 100 first year students will be questioned using predefined questionnaires and additionally 20 of them will be interviewed for validation. References [1] Brett D. Jones, Marie C. Paretti, Serge F. Hein, Tamarra W. Knott, An analysis of Motivation Constructs with first-Year Engineering students, Journal of Engineering Education; Oct 2010; 99, 4; Research Library pg. 319 [2] L. Benson, A Kirn, B. Morkos, CAREER: Student Motivation and Learning in Engineering, 120th ASEE annual conference & Exposition June 2013 [3] HGM Geraedts (2010) Innovative learning for innovation ISBN 978-90-5284-624-8 4751
Benjaminse, A, Nijmeijer, EM, Gokeler, A, Broekhaar, DC, and Cortes, N. Motivation unraveled: giving choice to football players to improve anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention. J Strength Cond Res 38(12): e735–e743, 2024—Providing athletes some control over a training session facilitates motor skill acquisition. This is a promising concept to use in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention, as the key for risk reduction is to improve quality of movement. The goal of this study was to better understand why improved motor learning occurred when football players had the opportunity to choose when to receive feedback when practicing sidestep cutting (SSC) movements. Healthy male recreational football players (n 5 22, 22.9 6 1.7 years, 185.5 6 7.2 cm, 79.3 6 9.2 kg) were included and assigned to the self-control (SC) or the yoked (YK) group. The players performed anticipated and unanticipated SSC. They received video instructions and were instructed to “copy the movement of the model to the best of their ability.” During the training blocks, the SC group could ask for feedback, whereas the YK group could not. Cutting movement assessment scores (CMAS) were measured to test quality of movement and the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was administered to measure constructs of motivation. In the anticipated condition, SC group showed better scores in immediate post and the retention test compared with pretest (p, 0.001), whereas the YK group showed worse scores in the retention test compared with immediate posttest (p 5 0.001). Perceived competence (p 5 0.017) and self-efficacy (p 5 0.032) were consistent factors that correlated with improved CMAS in the SC group. This has given us innovative insights into underlying mechanisms optimizing the quality of movement, necessary to improve current ACL injury prevention approaches.
The transition towards an economy of wellbeing is complex, systemic, dynamic and uncertain. Individuals and organizations struggle to connect with and embrace their changing context. They need to create a mindset for the emergence of a culture of economic well-being. This requires a paradigm shift in the way reality is constructed. This emergence begins with the mindset of each individual, starting bottom-up. A mindset of economic well-being is built using agency, freedom, and responsibility to understand personal values, the multi-identity self, the mental models, and the individual context. A culture is created by waving individual mindsets together and allowing shared values, and new stories for their joint context to emerge. It is from this place of connection with the self and the other, that individuals' intrinsic motivation to act is found to engage in the transitions towards an economy of well-being. This project explores this theoretical framework further. Businesses play a key role in the transition toward an economy of well-being; they are instrumental in generating multiple types of value and redefining growth. They are key in the creation of the resilient world needed to respond to the complex and uncertain of our era. Varta-Valorisatielab, De-Kleine-Aarde, and Het Groene Brein are frontrunner organizations that understand their impact and influence. They are making bold strategic choices to lead their organizations towards an economy of well-being. Unfortunately, they often experience resistance from stakeholders. To address this resistance, the consortium in the proposal seeks to answer the research question: How can individuals who connect with their multi-identity-self, (via personal values, mental models, and personal context) develop a mindset of well-being that enables them to better connect with their stakeholders (the other) and together address the transitional needs of their collective context for the emergence of a culture of the economy of wellbeing?
