Students’ Study Motivation – A Question for All Actors in Daily Work in School

This study aimed to describe and analyze what determines upper secondary students’ motivation or lack of motivation. The theories used are social cognitive theory and didactic theory. The study design is a mixed method approach, followed by an inductive content analysis. The empirical results show many similarities in perceptions of study motivation, such as the role of the teacher, study results, friends and family, and teaching. There were also crucial differences between the three groups, such as such as the view of that the physical and social environment, and aspects of the importance of teachers and the content. Students, teachers, and principals can together create a situation with high study motivation and thus make the students become more successful in their learning.