Motives in Learning Process: Proposal of Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

According to conception of psychological activity, motives represent essential structural component of any kind of activity. Learning process at school is a clear example of collective joint activity, in which pupils conform and acquire different motives. External motives are related to external needs of activity, such as such school marks or stimulation of learning by permission of attractive objects with no relation to cognition. Internal motives are related to cognitive needs, when the pupils are really interested and motivated by the content of school matters. The objective of this study is to propose the qualitative way of analysis of the sphere of motives by specifically organized interview and creation of interactive drawings by pupils. The study was accomplished in a small private school in the city of Puebla, Mexico, with the pupils of the third grade of primary school. The results show that internal motives help to guarantee positive emotional relation of children to school life in general and sincere interest in learning process in particular. External motives can be divided into three groups: motives, which support the learning process, motives, which are indifferent to the learning process and motives, which become serious obstacles for cognition. Drawing method helps to characterize reflection of motives by pupils. Reflective consideration of differences of motives in learning process at school age is one of the ways for qualitative modification of social situation of school learning, communication and teaching in modern school.