Title: Biographies of motivation for lifelong learning

Graeme Martin, School of Education, University of Birmingham, UK

Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Glamorgan, 14-17 September 2005

Abstract: Research in motivation for learning (or achievement motivation) has flourished in the past 30 years. Social-cognitive theories dominate the field and have provided many insights but have been criticised for relying on a traditional methodological base, lacking of contextualisation and embeddedness in individual experience. In the current ‘learning age’ sustaining motivation for (often formal/academic) learning across the life span is increasingly expected but understanding persistence for such learning across life is not well understood.

Much of the work in motivation for learning is quantitative, employing questionnaires, brief interviews or experimental manipulations. Longitudinal, qualitative research is sparse though a necessary counterpoint that can provide contextualised and alternative accounts of motivation through time and across culture. In turn insights from such accounts could better inform practical policy. This paper presents a case study applying the lifespan theory of control to an individuals’ learning biography.

Key Words: Biography; Lifelong Learning; Life Span Theory of Control; Motivation

Introduction

‘Hardly any other research field in the domain of educational psychology has received so much attention in the past few years than motivation and its role in academic learning’ (Krapp, 2003).

Motivation, development and lifelong learning

Motivation is a fundamental process[1] shaping mind and behaviour, sustaining human action and culture, and is therefore essential to understanding the processes of persistence in learning[2]. Motivation is known to be expressed differently at different life ‘stages’ and to evolve over time (for a review see Smith, Rogers and Tomlinson, 2003). Life span theories of motivation exist (see Dweck and Heckhausen, 1998) mostly supported by experimental or psychometric studies that submerge the life of the individual in hopefully generalisable conclusions of group data (Elliot and Bempechat, 2002; Smith et al, 2003). Yet life-span theory in development ‘deals with the study of individual development (ontogenesis) from conception into old age. A core assumption…is that development is not completed at adulthood… [and] that ontogenesis extends across the entire life course and that lifelong adaptive processes are involved (Baltes, Lindenberger and Studinger, 1998, p. 1029, emphasis added). Furthermore, the objectives of lifespan theory are to account for the organisation of the overall structure and sequence of development; to show interconnections and to determine the opportunities and constraints (environmental and biological) which shape individual lives. Finally, it is hoped that such knowledge can help free people to live their lives as effectively as possible (ibid, p.1030). In the ‘age’ of lifelong learning then, developmental theories of motivation for learning across life are needed. This paper argues for an individualised, biographical approach to further theory development, whilst accepting that the individual in always in interaction with their particular ecology.

Motivation and learning are inextricably linked, motivation is a developmental process for adaptation and adaptation comes about through learning. Of course motivation and learning may not result in successful adaptation but rather a maladapted existence, for instance in the example of destructive addictions or the pursuit of unobtainable goals. In the discourses on lifelong learning[3] this could mean that our failure to benefit from the opportunities of education may leave us vulnerable to an impoverished life experience. Indeed research into student ‘drop out’ in the UK shows that the consequences of not completing education at different levels is quite negative (Bynner, 2000). Whilst on the other hand the benefits of continuing learning can be quite substantial (Schuller et al, 2004).

Motivational theories have proliferated in psychology and a whole field is dedicated to Achievement Motivation (AM), which asks why a person engages and persists in tasks or activities that lead to success or alternatively failure. Quite often this is reduced to behaviours/performance in the workplace or classroom settings but AM really covers achievement in all domains of life.

Achieving something of value is a hard won experience; it often requires great investment in individual time and effort and draws on the resources of others. Teachers and students need to understand and use their motivational resources to succeed. Better understanding of motivation holds the promise of better pedagogical practices and therefore learner success. During the past few decades there has been much progress in theoretical development and many new concepts and taxonomies of motivation have emerged (Gollwitzer and Brandstädter, 1996) at the same time the field is large and fragmented with little integration of learning (cognition), motivation and emotion; exceptions being the work of Monique Boekaerts, integrating emotion and motivation and Mark Bickhard, integrating cognition and motivation (Smith et al, 2003). However, neither of these are lifespan theories and as noted the research is largely experimental or psychometric in nature with very little casework or culturally/historically situated studies (Bempechat and Elliot, 2002). Nonetheless, it is well known that learners of all ages are influenced by their beliefs, emotions, values and personal goals when it comes to learning and behaviour in classrooms (Ford, 1992), taken together these beliefs, goals, values and affect give meaning to the individuals’ life and sense of self.

To date there are no qualitative studies of the origins of motivation for lifelong learning that have taken extensive life story material to account for patterns of motivation and the events that sustain or interrupt such motivation. As a result no coherent lifespan theory of motivation for lifelong learning exists (however, the TRLP ‘Learning Lives’ project is moving towards such an account, see Biesta and Tedder, 2006). What needs to be done is to integrate a lifespan theory of motivation with a comprehensive theory of learning/lifelong learning, something that is beyond the scope of this paper.

Focusing on the individual.

Historically, of course individuals were the focus of much psychological theorising, which helped develop psychology and the study of motivated behaviour. Whole paradigms developed from case studies e.g., Freud’s Anna O (Psychoanalysis), Watson’s little Albert (Behaviourism), Piaget’s Lorens (Cognitive Developmental Theory). However, by the 1960’s the individual life had become regarded as too complex to furnish useful data and biographical approaches were abandoned. Recently, the tide has turned and biographical approaches are again being used in an increasing number of research programmes (Biesta, 2004).

A developed exception to this quantitative/empiricist approach to motivation is the work of Magai and Haviland-Jones (2002) in their book ‘The Hidden Genius of Emotion’ in which they take a biographical approach to the study of the lives of three eminent psychotherapists. Whilst not centred on motivation, they do see motivation as a part of emotion (the energy flow) and argue that the individual should be the locus of research and that the complexity in individual lives is something we need to come to terms with. They use complexity theory (or non-linear dynamics) to better comprehend the lives and work of three individuals.

The environments, cultures and the histories that people live through will affect their motivation to learn. As Coffield has stated motivation is ‘a complex social construction… best examined at the intersections between history, geography and biography’ (Coffield, 2000a, pp9-10). Others such as Paul Baltes have also argued that development is best understood through historical embedded ness and multiple perspectives (Baltes, 1997).

How individuals actively affect life outcomes is the focus of many theories of motivation (e.g., Baltes, 1997, Heckhausen, 2003, Krapp, 2003). Those who find themselves in imposed environments where they feel they have little control or little to gain will come to understand and operate in the world differently from those who perceive the environment or their own minds to have some malleability and controllability. So in terms of school or the workplace, having a sense of efficacy or mastery over helplessness will influence the opportunity to grow and learn (Bandura, 1997, Dweck, 1999). Motivation to learn is rooted in the beliefs and meaning systems people have developed and continue to develop over time. Not enough is known about the origins of an individuals’ meaning system, the varying susceptibility to stress/transformation and how this operates to sustain or interrupt learning over a lifetime. In the next part I want to briefly underline the value of knowing more about the individual.

To understand why someone does something requires knowledge of their motives and motivation and consequently their life. ‘Much intra-individual plasticity (within-person modifiability) is found in psychological development. Depending on the life conditions and experiences by a given individual, his or her developmental course can take many forms’ (Baltes, 1997, p.5) examining the developmental course of individuals can clearly contribute to enhancement of theory through appropriate conceptual generalisation. For example the emotion regret may be a powerful driver of action if one believes that the desired revenge upon the past can be achieved or alternatively it could be a source of anxiety that prevents the individual from acting. Many adults I have taught who returned to learning wished to undo their feelings of regret over not completing their education.

The enterprise of psychoanalysis is concerned with explaining personality and psychopathology by tracing forensically from the individuals narrative back to the mundane and not so mundane events of their past. There remains merit in using dynamic theories to explain motivation for learning and it makes sense to adopt similar approaches to understanding someone’s pattern of motivation, past, current and future by examining his or her life.


Why would someone paint this, what does it mean?

Figure 1 The Broken Column

(

The painting in Figure 1 is called, The Broken Column by the Mexican painter Frida Khalo, it is currently on display at the Tate Modern in London (Sept 2005).

To understand why Frida painted this picture and to ‘read’ it symbolically and literally requires some knowledge of her life. Nearly all of Frida’s paintings are representations of herself even when depicting someone or something else.

A biographical explanation

Frida Khalo was a bright student with her heart set on becoming a doctor. On 17th September 1925 aged 18, she was involved in a bus crash that transformed her life. Her injuries nearly killed her, she had multiple fractures to her spinal column and many other fractures and wounds. Immobilised for months in hospital she began sketching and then painting. She would spend the rest of her life enduring many operations and stoically managing her physical and psychological pain. Her psychological pain emanating from her many miscarriages the result of her injuries.

The cracked ionic column represents her damaged spine, her torn body is held together by the surgical corset that she often had to wear and she is alone in an unforgiving, barren landscape.

It is possible to apply a lifespan theory of motivation to Khalo’s intellectual and creative output, however, it would take the rest of the paper to do so, instead a motivational portrait of another (ordinary) lifelong learner is presented later.

What do current models of motivation say about lifelong learning?

Current theories of motivation are dominated by the ‘social-cognitive’ approach which ‘focuses on specific cognitive and affective mediators of behaviour rather than more general traits or motives’ (p. 1 Heckhausen and Dweck, 1998). Rather than seeing motivation as simple drive reduction, reinforcements or emanating from fixed personality structures, motivation is considered a process shaping thought, feeling and action. In social cognitive theory human behaviour results from a dynamic interaction of personal factors, behaviour and the environment (Bandura, 1986). Cognitions- thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and goals - are strongly emphasised in the construction of reality and meaning and then in patterns of motivation. Furthermore, cognition and emotion alter over time as a result of maturation and experience.

Two theories

1. Bandura - Self-Efficacy theory

2. Heckhausen & Shultz -Action Control Theory

1.

‘People are proactive, aspiring organisms who have a hand in shaping their own lives and the social systems that organize, guide and regulate the affairs of their society.’ (Bandura, 1997)

Self-efficacy refers to judgements of personal capability, what one can do and the level of control they can assert (Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy is strongly related to educational outcomes, the greater one’s sense of can do, the greater the potential for persistence and achievement. Even when this belief is erroneous, many children believe they can do something only to then find their performance is well below expectation (without any dent in their self-efficacy belief!). Self-efficacy develops through exploratory behaviours that allow the infant and child to test and develop their competence. The family, then peers provide the social environment in which to further efficacy beliefs. The quality of these social environments are strongly implicated in the strength of efficacy belief and strong efficacy is reputed to provide healthy development in many domains of life (relationships, health, work etc.)

School is a crucial setting for the development of cognitive competence. School practices and peer and teacher efficacy are important influences on the individual (ranking and competitive practices militate against educational competence for less efficacious students).

Adolescence, adulthood and advancing age all require further development of efficacy as each ‘stage’ requires the negotiation of new life demands and new competencies to cope. Self-efficacy is believed to undergo change over the course of a lifetime and Bandura has assembled a large body of research to support his lifespan analysis, however, there are not yet longitudinal studies directly testing the development of self-efficacy across a lifetime and some important concepts remain problematic. Persistence, a concept that must be at the heart of motivation to learn, has shown contradictory outcomes in self-efficacy research. As Schunk and Pajares (2002) have argued students may persist on task not because of high efficacy but because of teacher encouragement or others keeping them ‘on task’ (p.28). Also as skills develop task time is reduced so self-efficacy ‘will relate negatively to persistence’ (ibid). though they guess that it may predict persistence at higher levels of learning. Efficacy beliefs needn’t always be high for an individual to achieve, (see Pintrich, 2003) and I have known students who continue to express doubts about their ability to achieve some academic task when they have consistently achieved in the past.

2.

Action Control Theory posits that individuals are active in influencing their own development and try to shape their life course and optimise development. Controlling outcomes in one’s physical and social environment is central for the basic motivational systems – achievement, power and affiliation (Heckhausen and Farruggia, 2003). Regulation over the lifespan is achieved through two types of control: Primary control striving is the attempt to control outcomes in the environment often physical needs, such as foraging, seeking shelter, competing for mates, fighting off predators, caring for the young. The potential for such control changes over the life course- being low in childhood, increasing across adolescence and young adulthood peaking and plateauing in midlife and declining in old age. Secondary control is a set of strategies targeted at internal processes and serves to focus and protect motivational resources needed for primary control’ (Heckhausen and Schulz, 1998, p.53). Further, human development relies on failure, failure is inevitable and provides feedback for the improvement of performance, secondary control supplies resources to buffer against negative experiences and to help ‘in goal disengagement and self protection’ (Rogers and Smith, 2003, p.196).

An important third element in this model is the idea of developmental deadlines, these are major opportunities and constraints and a life course timetable exists for the individual to meet age normative developmental goals; for example completing primary education, finding a first job, finding a partner or having a child are considered to lie in an attainment window. Resource investment (motivation) in off-time goal achievement is considered a costly risk and ultimately futile (trying to bear a child after the typical deadline has passed is associated with increasingly negative consequences (Heckhausen et al, 2001).

In terms of education, there are no real deadlines other than of course the sensitive period of childhood for learning language and other cognitive capacities, so having had an early education it is possible to continue to develop educationally and continue studying. The constraints then become socio-cultural factors, such as availability, money, free time, social support etc. Likewise in terms of work there is no reason why an individual should stop until they are unable (for a variety of reasons) to do so.

Using this theory it is possible to ‘chart’ an individuals developmental phases, opportunities and life events to provide an illustration that may help to explain their particular learner biography and their motivational pattern. An example of this is given later in the case study.

Method

Taking a case study and biographical approach, life story data in the domain of formal learning experiences were recorded for a group of men and women (sample size, currently six) one of which will be presented here.

‘A life story is a fairly complete narrating of one’s entire experience of life as a whole, highlighting the most important aspect’ (Atkinson, 1998, p.8).

However, the life stories collected for this study do not encompass all domains of life but rather are focused on the storyteller’s experience of education. Inevitably, digressions into different aspects of life occur and these can be used to support the analysis if they perhaps touch on issues of identity, self worth other achievements etc.

The interviews were designed to allow the participants to tell the story of their education in broadly four time periods, early years and pre school, primary school, secondary school and post 16 education and professional development.