Research project Why do so many students lose their desire to learn – and how can schools reverse this trend? In a collaboration between researchers, teachers and school leaders, motivational teaching methods are being developed and tested in all subjects at two lower secondary schools. Pupils' motivation to study and teachers' teaching practices are being monitored to identify specific teaching and assessment practices that strengthen motivation over time – practices that are sustainable in everyday work.
The aim of the project is to reverse the decline in student motivation by working with teachers to develop and test teaching and assessment practices that strengthen students' perception of the value and relevance of learning, their sense of competence and autonomy, and positive emotions associated with learning. By following students over time and simultaneously studying motivation in the classroom, the project aims to identify specific working methods that increase engagement and perseverance. The result is expected to be scalable principles and tools for sustainable motivation in school.
Anders Holmgren, PhD, Teacher at Skellefteå Municipality.
anders.k.holmgren@skelleftea.se
Many students experience a decline in their "personal" motivation to learn as demands increase in secondary school. Instead, external motivation increases, driven by external demands. The project addresses this issue by focusing on what happens in the classroom: which teaching and assessment practices can strengthen pupils' autonomy, sense of competence, perceived value of schoolwork and positive emotions – and thus their engagement and perseverance over time? It is also essential to understand which pupils benefit most from different teaching methods.
The research team will work side by side with teachers and school leaders for two years. Together, they develop a comprehensive teaching intervention that is integrated into regular teaching in all subjects at two secondary schools, with two matched control schools for comparison. The approach is based on iterative cycles: plan, test, analyse and improve, aiming at the development of both effective and practically feasible teaching practices.
Students are followed for three years with recurring surveys that capture general study motivation and experiences of teaching. To understand what triggers motivation in the moment, close studies are also conducted in several classes and subjects: short digital surveys of students during lessons, classroom observations and audio recordings of teachers. This provides a "micro-macro" perspective where individual teaching moments can be linked to both short- and long-term changes in student motivation.
The project combines statistical analyses of observation- and survey data with systematic teacher reflections. AI is used to structure and interpret large amounts of qualitative data from teachers' development work and to provide feedback to teachers on how their teaching practices and experiences relate qualitatively to those of their colleagues. The project aims to develop concrete principles and examples of motivational teaching practices, as well as provide knowledge about the conditions under which this type of development work and the resulting teaching practices become sustainable in the long term.
