Motivating adolescents : Goals for Australian students in secondary schools

Student motivation during adolescence has become an increasingly important issue for educators and researchers. Using a goal theory perspective, researchers have investigated a range of goals (including achievement goals, social goals and future goals) that influence students’ desire to achieve at school. The present study examines the range of goals pursued by adolescents (N=195) from two secondary schools and investigates the achievement goals that are important to their motivation. The results show that future goals have a critical impact on students’ motivation and that students pursue multiple and related goals in learning situations. Implications for future research are discussed.