The dissertation uses a contemporary motivation theory, identity-based motivation, to predict when and how motivation can be leveraged to improve attainment among low-income, minority students. Identity-based motivation theory predicts that people prefer to act in identity-congruent ways but are sensitive to contextual cues that influence which identities come to mind, what these identities mean in context, and how difficulty is interpreted (e.g., Are people like me succeeding? When I experience difficulty with schoolwork, does that mean the work is impossible or important?). Following these predictions, the first paper examines gender as a identity that can be framed as congruent or incongruent with achievement success to increase or decrease motivation. In the second paper, I turn to interpretations of difficulty in the classroom and show that contextual cues about difficulty can improve or undermine motivation depending on whether students accept or reject the messages they communicate. Lastly, the third paper attempts to leverage students;; and professionals;; past experiences of success despite difficulty to promote interpretations of difficulty that support motivation in response to difficult tasks in the present. The final chapter provides a theoretical synthesis across these three papers and considers the implications of these results for intervention and policy to encourage student motivation and success.
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Improving Academic Effort and Achievement among Low-income Minority Youth Using Small Scale Interventions.
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