Perception of the value of learning activities and motivation for learning: Elementary and junior high school students

The present study examined the relation between elementary and junior high school students' perception of the value of learning activities and their motivation for learning. The measure of the perception that the activities or contents of everyday learning are valuable for success or happiness consisted of 4 categories : (1) appreciating the significance or legitimacy of the learning activities or their contents, (2) recognizing that the learning activities are valuable for future work or future life, (3) recognizing that the learning activities are valuable for entrance examinations for later school or occupation, and (4) not recognizing any value. The results common to both elementary and junior high school participants were as follows: The perception of the value of learning was positively correlated with motivation. Analysis of the degree of motivation among students who strongly held one of the above 4 perceptions revealed a decreasing amount of motivation from (1) through (4). This same result was found even when the degree to which the students liked the school subjects was controlled.