What Underachieving Middle School Students Believe Motivates them to Learn

Chapter 1: The Challenge to Educate Everyone    The Problem      A National Priority      Student Achievement    The Research Question    The Study Chapter 2: A Review of Literature Chapter 3: Methods Chapter 4: The Results Chapter 5: Discussion References Appendixes Biography

A National Priority Over the last 50 years, national policy on education seems to have been driven by two pivotal events, raising education as a national security issue and questioning the performance of our schools. The Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 placed national attention on improving American public education, especially achievement in math and science. In 1958, national legislation specifically charged educators with the task of assisting students in maximizing their academic potential. In the National Defense Education Act (Public Law 85-864, 1958) the change was set forth as follows: The Congress hereby finds and declares that security of the nation requires the fullest development of the mental resources and technical skills of its young men and women.... (p. 2) We must increase our efforts to identify and educate more of the talent of our nation. (p. 13) This law went on to provide funding to improve teaching, guidance, and counseling for the purpose of identifying and changing the behavior and academic achievement of students with low academic motivation. The space race carried the momentum for improving academic achievement into the 1960s and 1970s. In 1983, the publication of A Nation At Risk, brought the challenge of educating all children back into the spotlight. The report condemned American public schools for their poor performance, and implored schools, and other educational organizations, to set higher standards of learning for all students. The Education Reform Act of 1984 made it easier for schools to meet this goal by providing funding for school restructuring and reform. In 1989, then Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton, proposed six national education goals at a historic education summit. These goals turned into the backbone of President Bush’s AMERICA 2000: An Education Strategy, released in 1991. Education has remained a priority issue for the Clinton Administration. Several important pieces of legislation developed by the Clinton Administration together with Congress support the efforts of local schools, communities and states to develop challenging standards and high-quality assessments and improve teaching and learning to help all children reach those standards: The Goals 2000: Educate America Act, passed in 1994, is helping communities across the country raise academic standards, improve teaching, increase parental involvement and expand the use of technology in the classroom. Communities in all 50 states and thousands of schools have decided to participate in Goals 2000 and many more than the program currently has money to support want Goals 2000 funding to raise standards. The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 fundamentally reformed Title I--a $7 billion program for teaching basic and advanced skills in high-poverty schools--to get rid of lower educational expectations for poor children and ensure that disadvantaged students are held to the same standards as other children. The Improving America's Schools Act also expands professional development focused on preparing teachers to help students reach the new standards, provides opportunities for waivers of federal requirements for the first time, and offers start-up funds for charter schools. The Clinton Administration reinforces the importance of higher standards for all children through its proposal for the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as well as through strategies to support and strengthen bilingual education programs. (National Standards of Academic Excellence, 1997) The National Education Goals Panel oversees what has grown from six to eight National Education Goals. These have been defined by the Governors and the Congress to improve learning and teaching in the nation's education system. The goals help provide a national framework for education reform and promote systemic changes needed to ensure equitable educational opportunities and high levels of educational achievement for all students. Goal 3 directly discusses the importance of student achievement: By the year 2000, all students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography, and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our Nation's modern economy. (National Education Goals Panel, 1999) American society no longer simply wants compulsory attendance; it also demands higher expectations for all children. Most states have adopted state content standards and accountability testing. Student achievement has become high-stakes. Florida was sued "on behalf of thousands of schoolchildren [who] are failing to receive an adequate education" (Sandham, 1999). "Increasingly, states use the results from standardized tests to reward and punish students, educators, and schools. The scores can help determine whether students graduate, teachers and principals receive salary bonuses, or schools get shut down" (Olson, 1999). The sense of importance around this issue is evidenced within educational research agendas. Five of the seven National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board’s priorities for educational research (1997) include helping teachers find insights into the ways diverse students learn. Not only do the research priorities include promoting high academic achievement, problem-solving abilities, creativity, and the motivation for further learning, but specifically encourage "[s]trengthening schools, particularly middle and high schools, as institutions capable of engaging young people as active and responsible learners" (National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board, 1997). The National Middle School Association’s A 21st Century Research Agenda (1997) also lists numerous priority research questions directly related to the challenge of educating all students.

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Mike Muir Assistant Professor of Education University of Maine at Farmington 104 Main Street Farmington, ME 04938 207.778.7179 wilder@somtel.com http://violet.umf.maine.edu/~mmuir