Intrinsic Motivation Among Regular, Special, And Alternative Education High School Students - Statistical Data Included

Adolescence, Spring, 2001 by Dudley J. Wiest, Eugene H. Wong, Joseph M. Cervantes, LuAnn Craik, Dennis A. Kreil

The sampling procedure was not random. However, the students were picked from classes that reflected the diverse nature of the district. Site administrators, teachers, and the researchers sought to obtain a representative cross-section of the schools.

Procedure

The district agreed to sponsor the study, and participating teachers were contacted to develop rapport and generate support for the project. Parents were informed (by letter) of the study; rationale, goals, procedures, and confidentiality were explained. Negative permission was utilized--parents had to return a form (waiver notice) if they did not want their child to participate. This approach was considered necessary, since it was suspected that unmotivated and alienated students would otherwise not participate, and the sample would be skewed with compliant students.

During the administration of the survey instrument, standard instructions were given to all students, who were encouraged to complete each item. Students were assured that their responses would remain confidential. A proctor read the scales out loud to the students with learning disabilities, since their reading levels were generally low and they tended to have difficulty with the instructions. Grade point averages were added to the data file as each student turned in the instrument.

Measures

Demographic information, such as gender and family income, was obtained. The following scales were utilized.

Perceived Competence Scale for Children (PCS). The PCS (Harter, 1982) is a domain-specific measure of competence. Three subscales were employed in the present investigation: academic, social, and general. The academic and social subscales are indices of competence in the classroom and with peers, respectively; the general subscale is a measure of global self-worth. The PCS was modified slightly for this study, with items being rated on a Likert scale. (Item example: "I always feel like I am as smart as other kids my age.") High scores indicate high perceived competence and high self-worth. Reliability ranging from .73 to .86 has been reported.

Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perceptions of Control (MMCPC). The MMCPC (Connell, 1985) is a domain-specific measure of perceived control with respect to success and failure. (Item example: "When I get my schoolwork done right, I don't understand why.") It can also be considered a measure of "precompetence"; that is, it assesses how well the individual understands what is needed to develop competence. In each domain, three sources of control are identified: internal, powerful others, and unknown. This research employed the cognitive, social, and general subscales, with respondents rating items on a 4-point scale. Reliability coefficients range from .60 to .68 for the domain-specific subscales.

Children's Perceptions of Parents (CPP). The CPP (Grolnick, Ryan & Deci, 1991) assesses children's perceptions of autonomy support from parents and parent involvement. (Item example: "My parents always like to talk to their children's teachers about how they are doing in school.") Respondents are asked to rate items on a 4-point scale. The CPP has good reliability (.82 to .91).