What Impacts Student Motivation (Part One)?

There are a variety of factors that impact student motivation.  First, let’s look at the personal factors that influence motivation. Students may have emotional or physical problems that impact motivation. One of my students struggled after his foster brother was tragically killed in a car accident. Jarod experienced severe nightmares, anxiety, and depression. Despite his best efforts at school, his motivation—and his learning—suffered.

Students may also have low self-confidence. This may be based on several things, including

a lack of skills for the present learning activity or their past experiences in school. When students have a negative experience, that tends to snowball into self-defeating thoughts and behaviors. Often, these occurrences are caused by the absence of the necessary prior knowledge or skills needed to be successful.

Finally, students may have low interest in the subject, or they may not have a sense of trust or respect with the teacher.   Each of these can impact student motivation.  Next posting, we’ll look at school-based factors.