![[PDF]](/pb-assets/Icons/adobe-pdf-icon-1498649896243.png){kind=icon}
Abstract
This study examined the role that Ghanaian caregivers’ values toward education play in shaping students’ intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation for learning, and the ways these values and motivational orientations predict school attendance and achievement. Study participants included 88 students (M = 11.63 years; 48% female) from two primary schools in peri-urban Ghana and their 68 caregivers (M = 40.02 years; 60% female). Results revealed that caregivers’ perception of education as valuable was related to more intrinsically oriented profiles of motivation and higher attendance in students. Contrary to research results from Western contexts, students whose motivation was more extrinsically oriented attended school significantly more often than their intrinsically motivated peers. Finally, although attendance positively predicted academic achievement, neither caregiver values nor student motivational profiles were directly related to achievement. These findings suggest that caregivers’ values may have important implications for students’ academic thoughts and behaviours, and may be a central target for school staff aiming to improve student outcomes. These results also highlight the need for better understanding of motivational processes―both in terms of socialization and academic outcomes―in under-represented contexts where cultural values around education differ.
References
Section:
| Adjei, P. B. (2007) Decolonising knowledge production: The pedagogic relevance of Gandhian Satyagraha to schooling and education in Ghana. Canadian Journal of Education 30: 1046–1067. doi: 10.2307/20466678. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Agbenyega, J. S. (2006) Corporal punishment in the schools of Ghana: Does inclusive education suffer? The Australian Educational Researcher 33: 107–122. doi: 10.1007/BF03216844. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Akyeampong, K. (2003) Teacher training in Ghana––Does it count?, Accra: Muster. Google Scholar | |
| Atkinson, C. (2009) Promoting high school boys’ reading engagement and motivation. School Psychology International 30(3): 237–254. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| Covell, K., McNeil, J. K., Howe, R. B. (2009) Reducing teacher burnout by increasing student engagement: A children’s rights approach. School Psychology International 30(3): 282–290. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Dass-Brailsford, P. (2005) Exploring resiliency: Academic achievement among disadvantaged black youth in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology 35(3): 574–591. doi: 10.1177/008124630503500311. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., Ryan, R. M. (1999) A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin 125: 627–668. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Dei, G. J. S. (2007). Thinking and responding to difference: Pedagogical challenges for African education. In A. Mazama, & M. Asante (Eds.) Africa in the 21st Century. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Google Scholar | |
| Drew, P. Y., Watkins, D. (1998) Affective variables, learning approaches and academic achievement: A causal modelling investigation with Hong Kong tertiary students. British Journal of Educational Psychology 68: 173–188. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01282.x. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Eccles, J. S. (2004) Schools, academic motivation, and stage-environment fit. In: Lerner, R. M., Steinberg, L. D. (eds) Handbook of adolescent psychology, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Wiley, pp. 125–153. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Fan, W., Williams, C. M. (2010) The effects of parental involvement on students’ academic self-efficacy, engagement and intrinsic motivation. Educational Psychology 3: 53–74. doi: 10.1080/01443410903353302. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Farrell, A. F., Collier, M. A. (2010) School personnel’s perceptions of family-school communication. Improving Schools 13: 4–20. doi: 10.1177/1365480209352547. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| Fryberg, S. A., Covarrubias, R., & Burack, J. A. (2012). Cultural models of education and academic performance for Native American and European American students. School Psychology International. 34(4), 439–452. Google Scholar | |
| Ginsburg, G. S., Bronstein, P. (1993) Family factors related to children’s intrinsic/extrinsic motivational orientation and academic performance. Child Development 64: 1461–1474. doi: 10.2307/1131546. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Global Partnership for Education & Ghana Development Partner Group. (2012). Appraisal of the government of Ghana Education Sector Plan 2010–2020. Retrieved from http://www.globalpartnership.org/media/GHANA%20Final%20ESP%20Appraisal%20Report%20-%20March%202012.pdf. Google Scholar | |
| Hidi, S. (1990) Interest and its contribution as a mental resource for learning. Review of Educational Research 60: 549–571. doi: 10.2307/1170506. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Hu, L., Bentler, P. M. (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis. Structural Equation Modeling 6: 1–55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Jukes, M. C. H., Grigorenko, E. L., & Alcock, K. J. An assessment of parental attitudes toward education in Gambia and Tanzania. Unpublished material. Google Scholar | |
| Jukes, M. C. H., Grigorenko, E. L. (2010) Assessment of cognitive abilities in multiethnic countries: The case of the Wolof and Mandinka in the Gambia. British Journal of Educational Psychology 80: 77–97. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | |
| Lepper, M. R., Corpus, J. H., Iyengar, S. S. (2005) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations in the classroom: Age differences and academic correlates. Journal of Educational Psychology 97: 184–196. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.184. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Lewis, S. G., Naidoo, J. (2004) Whose theory of participation? School governance policy and practice in South Africa. Current Issues in Comparative Education 6: 100–112. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2005.09.003. Google Scholar | |
| Marfo, K., Pence, A., LeVine, R. A., LeVine, S. (2011) Strengthening Africa’s contributions to child development research. Child Development Perspectives 5: 104–111. doi: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00164.x. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| McInerney, D. M., Roche, L. A., McInerney, V., Marsh, H. W. (1997) Cultural perspectives on school motivation: The relevance and application of goal theory. American Educational Research Journal 34(1): 207–236. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| McInerney, D. M., Sinclair, K. E. (1991) Cross cultural model testing: Inventory of school motivation. Educational and Psychological Measurement 51: 123–133. doi: 10.1177/0013164491511011. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| Muthén, L. K., Muthén, B. O. (1998–2011) Mplus User’s Guide, 6th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén. Google Scholar | |
| Noels, K. A., Clément, R., Pelletier, L. G. (1999) Perceptions of teachers’ communicative style and students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Modern Language Journal 83: 23–34. doi: 10.1111/0026-7902.00003. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Oduro, A.D. (2008). An investigation into poverty and educational outcomes in Ghana. A Preliminary Paper Prepared for Associates for Change, Accra, Ghana. Retrieved from http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/output/182691/default.aspx. Google Scholar | |
| Overett, J., Donald, D. (1998) Paired reading: Effects of a parent involvement programme in a disadvantaged community in South Africa. British Journal of Educational Psychology 68: 347–356. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1998.tb01296.x. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Pelco, L. E., Ries, R. R. (1999) Teachers’ attitudes and behaviors towards family-school partnerships: What school psychologists need to know. School Psychology International 20(3): 265–277. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| Pintrich, P. R. (2003) A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in learning and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology 95: 667–686. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.4.667. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Pintrich, P. R., Schunk, D. H. (2002) Motivation and education: Theory, research, and applications, (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Google Scholar | |
| Ryan, R. M., Connell, J. P. (1989) Perceived locus of causality and internalization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 57: 749–761. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L. (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist 55: 68–78. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68. Google Scholar | Crossref | Medline | ISI | |
| Salili, F. (1994) Age, sex, and cultural differences in the meaning and dimensions of achievement. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 20(6): 635–648. doi: 10.1177/0146167294206002. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | |
| Salili, F., Chiu, C. Y., Lai, S. (2001) The influence of culture and context on Students: Motivational orientation and performance. In: Salili, F., Chiu, C., Hong, Y. (eds) Student motivation: The culture and context of learning, London: Plenum, pp. 221–247. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Satorra, A., Bentler, P. M. (2001) Scaled difference chi-square test statistic for moment structure analysis. Psychometrika 66: 507–514. doi: 10.1007/BF02296192. Google Scholar | Crossref | |
| Theron, L. C. (2013) Black students’ recollections of pathways to resilience: Lessons for school psychologists. School Psychology International 34(5): 527–539. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Theron, L. C., & Donald, D. R. (2013). Educational psychology and resilience in developing contexts: A rejoinder to Toland and Carrigan (2011). School Psychology International, 34(1), 51–66.. Google Scholar | |
| UNESCO. (2011). UIS statistics in brief: Education (all levels) profile―Ghana. Retrieved from: http://stats.uis.unesco.org/unesco/TableViewer/document.aspx?ReportId=289&IF_Language=eng&BR_Country=2880&BR_Region=40540. Google Scholar | |
| Vallerand, R. J. (1997) Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 29: 271–360. doi: 10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60019-2. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Walker, C. O., Greene, B. A., Mansell, R. A. (2006) Identification with academics, intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy as predictors of cognitive engagement. Learning and Individual Differences 16: 1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.lindif.2005.06.004. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Watkins, D., McInerney, D., Akande, A., Lee, C. (2003) An investigation of ethnic differences in the motivation and strategies for learning of students in desegregated South African schools. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 34: 189–194. doi: 10.1177/0022022102250563. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Wentzel, K. R. (1999) Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: Implications for understanding motivation at school. Journal of Educational Psychology 91: 76–97. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.91.1.76. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI | |
| Wolf, S., McCoy, D. C., Godfrey, E. B., Schwartz, B., Armstrong, C., Briggs, K., & Hwang, J. (2012, June). Barriers to education in developing countries: Empirical evidence from a Ghanaian school sample. Poster presented at the Annual Conference of the Society for Prevention Research, Washington, DC. Google Scholar | |
| World Bank (2002) Constructing knowledge societies, Washington, DC: World Bank. Google Scholar | |
| Yamauchi, H., Tanaka, K. (1998) Relations of autonomy, self-referenced beliefs, and self-regulated learning among Japanese children. Psychological Reports 82: 803–816. doi: 10.2466/PR0.82.3.803-816. Google Scholar | SAGE Journals | ISI | |
| Zimmerman, B.J. (1990) Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational Psychologist 25: 3–17. doi: 10.1207/s15326985ep2501_2. Google Scholar | Crossref | ISI |
