The Differences in Elementary School Student’s Motivational Levels

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2020-05

Department

Program

Masters of Education

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

This work may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. To obtain information or permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Goucher Special Collections & Archives at 410-337-6347 or email archives@goucher.edu.

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the differences in elementary school students’ motivational levels and how their motivation to participate in physical education differs between grade levels. The researcher collected data on the motivational levels of 601 elementary school students. Data was then broken down by grade level to determine if there were any significant changes in motivation based on grade. The researcher found that there were some differences in grade level. Additionally, the researcher identified the main factors that were associated with students displaying a low level of motivation in order to help teachers and future research target these areas and improve physical education curriculum. Research in this area should continue and remain focused on why students have a low level of motivation and how that can be changed to increase physical education participation. Future research should also include multiple schools and age ranges in order to help gain a better understanding of student motivation and the factors that affect motivation.