Dropping out of school and tardiness are problems that may have severe consequences for the lives of students as well as for the society as a whole. These problems are rooted in the motives of students and the working climate at school. So, the most promising question to ask is: why do successful students go to school? What makes them interested in school and which motives may be dissatisfied? Therefore a survey was carried out at a high school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. In the survey, 63 students (male and female) were asked about their motives to come to school and the satisfaction of these motives. Also, some research was conducted on prior studies. In this way, a cross-cultural comparison between the student’s motives and their satisfaction at the Canadian high school and at two German high schools became possible.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Review of the Literature
2.1 Prior Studies
2.2 The Need for the Study
3 Research Design
3.1 Research Population
3.2 Limitations of the study
3.3 Variable Disturbance
3.4 Questionnaire
4 Results
4.1 Analysis of Data
4.2 Interpretation
5 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This paper investigates the underlying motives of high school students in Lethbridge, Alberta, regarding their daily school attendance. By moving beyond traditional measures of academic performance, the study seeks to understand the social and personal factors that drive student motivation, the role of school climate, and the perceived relevance of school as a means to future career success versus present well-being.
- Analysis of student motives regarding academic achievement and career preparation.
- Examination of the social functions of school and the desire for peer interaction.
- Evaluation of "school climate" and its impact on student engagement and well-being.
- Comparison of student perceptions between Canadian high schoolers and existing German studies.
- Identification of barriers to school attendance such as truancy and lack of interest.
Excerpt from the Book
1 Introduction
Being in a school in Alberta for the first time, I found some rather great differences to the schools I was used to from my German background. I knew some things about school projects and reformed schools in Europe that approached the objectives of school by loosening the schedule and trying to establish a good attitude for live long learning or intrinsic motivation. Project courses are offered in some European schools or even the cycle of class and recess are blurred or removed completely. Not so in the school system of Alberta. The high school I am working with has even longer lessons (71 min) and students most often have only 3 minutes to rush from one room to the other (see Class Schedule in the Appendix). In the lessons, most often teacher-centered techniques and ex-cathedra teaching is used. These techniques are a rather old invention, but still the Albertan high school seems to work nicely. Students attend class on a regular basis and most of them do not drop out when they have grown out of the age of education being compulsory.
Still the issue of dropouts and truancy is being discussed among education scientists in Canada (Senecal, 1994, p.1). Rood (1989, p.7) cites different studies from the United States saying that “Each school day, 2,500,000 students are absent from school. On an average Monday, many urban high schools have an absence rate of more than 30 percent.” In prior studies, reasons are discussed, why students drop out of school and great efforts are undertaken to find out how dropouts or truants think. Also the issue of educational noncontinuance after graduating from high school is examined (Hesteren & Fair, 1969, 2-3+iii-v). Not as much has been done to understand the majority of students who actually go to school. Knowing why students are attending school may give different insights into the issues connected to the dropout-phenomenon. It also may help to get students to develop a life long learning attitude.
Chapter Summaries
1 Introduction: This chapter highlights the cultural differences in schooling between Europe and Alberta, Canada, and outlines the research objective of exploring student motives for attendance.
2 Review of the Literature: This section presents existing research on student motivation, dropout rates, and the impact of school climate on attendance.
3 Research Design: This chapter details the methodology of the study, describing the questionnaire development, the research population at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, and the strategies used to minimize data disturbances.
4 Results: This chapter presents the statistical data collected from the 63 participants, comparing motives across different age groups and genders.
5 Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the key findings, noting that obtaining a diploma is the primary motivator for students, and discusses the implications compared to the German school system.
Keywords
Student motivation, school attendance, Lethbridge Collegiate Institute, high school, dropouts, truancy, academic diploma, school climate, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, educational continuance, questionnaire, social interaction, comparative education, student well-being.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this study?
The study focuses on exploring the motives of students in Southern Alberta for attending high school, analyzing what drives their daily participation beyond mere compulsion.
What are the central themes of the research?
The research explores the balance between intrinsic motivation (enjoyment of learning), extrinsic motivation (career and diploma goals), and social factors (meeting friends).
What is the research goal?
The primary goal is to gain insights into why students attend school, how they perceive the school's ability to meet their needs, and how this relates to broader phenomena like dropout rates.
Which methodology was applied?
The author employed a survey-based approach, utilizing a Likert-scale questionnaire administered to students across multiple grades to quantify their attitudes and motives.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
It covers a review of existing literature on absenteeism, the design of the study, the demographic characteristics of the research population, and a detailed statistical analysis of the survey results.
What are the key descriptive characteristics of this study?
The study is characterized by its empirical data collection, its cross-cultural reference points to German school models, and its focus on the psychological "school climate."
How did students view the importance of their graduation diploma compared to other motives?
The data revealed that obtaining a diploma was consistently ranked as the most important motive for students, far outweighing other interests like learning interesting things or socializing.
Are there significant gender differences in student motivation?
Yes, the study identifies that differences between genders in motivation are statistically larger than differences based on age, specifically regarding how boys and girls rank their desires for school.
Does the school climate effectively meet the students' personal desires?
The findings indicate a lack of correlation between the importance students place on certain motives and their conviction that the school actually facilitates those motives, suggesting a perceived gap in efficacy.
- Quote paper
- Franz Wegener (Author), 2006, An explorative survey of motives of southern albertan high school students to attend school, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/56163
