Motivation of High School Students for School Work

Many secondary school teachers are currently facing students' lack of interest in the subjects taught. Research findings have also repeatedly shown that students' motivation for school work decreases as the length of the studies increases. Furthermore, students' level of motivation reaches a very low level during adolescence despite the fact that many of them make choices regarding their future careers. This thesis focuses on the relation between the motivation of students for school work and the attitudes and skills of teachers - their educational styles, and whether the relationship between students and them is positive or negative. The theoretical part of this paper introduces and describes the above mentioned concepts - educational styles and motivation - or more precisely, what kinds of motivation there are, and how these affect not only the learning process itself, but also the performance, results, and performance goals, all of which are closely linked. The practical part consists of a research investigation focused on verifying the link between students' motivation for school work and the educational styles used by their teachers. Key words motivation, education style, adolescence, achievement goals, academic achievements, learning process, teacher, secondary school studen