Project LEMO

Learning Motivation of Children in Primary School

Motivation is an integral part of every learning process. It manifests itself in our efforts to learn new skills, to improve and demonstrate them. A beneficial dispositional motivation may contribute to a child’s willingness to deeply engage in solving a task and to persist in the face of difficulties. However, research on structure and effects of goal orientations remains to be done as regards primary school pupils. The situation of children at risk for developing school difficulties is of special interest to us. The emphases lies on social (e.g., having an immigrant background) and cognitive at-risk factors (e.g., reduced working memory capacity) that often have been linked to less successful academic development. In addition, work-avoidance goals of primary school children and their potentially detrimental effects are being investigated.

Research by Dweck (e.g., 1986), Nicholls (e.g., 1984), and Elliot (e.g., 1999) on mastery goals and performance goals as well as on approach and avoidance tendencies build the study’s theoretical framework.

Selected Publication

Grohmann, A.-C. (2013). Lernziel- und Leistungsorientierungen bei Grundschulkindern: Welche Rolle spielt der Migrationshintergrund?. Zeitschrift für Grundschulforschung, 6, 142–155.