Motivation for the selective attitude of students towards school subjects

Elena D. Bozhovich

Elena D. Bozhovich Psychological Institute affiliated with Russian Academy of Education Moscow, Russia

Keywords: Personality, position of the learning agent, teenage student, school subject, selective attitude, motives for learning, system of values.

Abstract

This article analyses selective attitude of teenage students towards school subjects. Selectivity in the attitude to the World is found in any living or acting agent. We consider selectivity regarding school subjects to be a manifestation of the learning agent’s position. Children were found to significantly differ in their attitudes regarding social value (importance for a present-day educated person), interestingness (ability to interest), and direct appeal (regarding as favorite) of subjects. Although, objectively, these criteria may be in harmony with each other, assessments of one and the same subject against them may show statistically significant fluctuations. The direct cognitive motive, i.e. interest in the subject, shows lower results than assessment of its social value, the direct appeal (regarding a subject as favorite) being even lower. As for the general attitude towards learning, the cognitive motive also demonstrates lower results in general. Selectivity regarding schools subjects in relation to age shows stagnancy from the 5th to 10th grade. A change is observed only in the final grade (11), when the motivational landscape for learning remarkably shrinks due to focus on career in the nearest future.

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Author Biography

Elena D. Bozhovich, Psychological Institute affiliated with Russian Academy of Education Moscow, Russia

Doctor of Psychology, Senior Researcher Psychological Institute affiliated with Russian Academy of Education
Moscow, Russia

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