Teachers' perceptions of motivational strategy use and the motivational characteristics of tasks

Abstract

This thesis investigates the motivational strategy practices of teachers working in Muğla University's preparatory school and their attitudes towards motivational strategies. It also looks at the teachers' perceptions of motivational characteristics of tasks. Questionnaires and interviews were employed to collect data from 33 participants, all of whom were English teachers in the preparatory school. Five of questionnaire participants were interviewed. Data obtained from the questionnaires were analysed quantitatively, and categorisation was employed to analyse the interview data. Analyses of data revealed that the teachers working in the preparatory school use motivational strategies to a great extent in their teaching and they have strong positive attitudes towards these motivational strategies. A comparison of the use of and attitude toward motivational strategies revealed both close matches and significant differences. Another important finding of the study was that the teachers reported nine characteristics which they believe make tasks motivating. In terms of using some motivational strategies the teachers do what they believe they should do. On the other hand, the teachers cannot use some strategies as often as they believe they should because they are overburdened and short of time because of a tightly scheduled curriculum. Curriculum reform is recommended to enable the teachers to do what they believe they should to motivate students effectively. Such reform will need to take into consideration the perceived motivational characteristics of tasks when decisions are made about the materials to be used in the program.