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Cultivating motivation and persistence for urban, high achieving, low-SES African American students

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Cultivating motivation and persistence for urban, high achieving, low-SES African American students

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Content CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE FOR URBAN,
HIGH ACHIEVING, LOW-SES AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS
by
Keith Hylton Abrahams III
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
Education (Leadership)
December 2019
Copyright 2019 Keith Hylton Abrahams III
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 2
Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the participants, their parents, and the sites of study. To the
participants, I appreciate your comfort, candor and caring for the next generation. As I stated at
first when we met, you are about to embark on a glorious path. Best of luck.
I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee for your belief in me. I
appreciate your patience and guidance. Thank you to my cohort members for motivating me and
believing that I am a valuable and necessary member to this education fraternity. I am fortunate
and humbled to have been in the presence of greatness.
To my people, you know who you are. You have provided strength, support, and
motivation. You have also humbled and consoled me.
Next, a thank you to my brother. You are 2,300 miles away from me, but your passion for
and commitment to your craft inspires me. I hope you know how proud I am of what you’ve
become. Thank you to my aunts and uncles that supported me through the years. Never have you
uttered a negative tone towards me. I recognized that.
Thank you to Grandpa MJ, Grandpa Keith the first, and Gramma. During the time you
were here, you shaped my being. You taught me what a man is and how to treat people. The
simple lesson of respect all, still drives my interactions. Your influence is substantial. Which
brings me to my final thank you. Mom, you are special. Although you were not here to see my
successes, I have a feeling you knew they were inevitable. You created the foundation. I am
blessed to have experienced your warmth and love.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 3
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................2
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................10
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................11
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................12
Chapter One: The Problem ............................................................................................................14
Factors Contributing to the Education Achievement Gap .................................................16
School Climate and Support Systems ....................................................................17
Access to Rigorous Academics ..............................................................................18
Racially Isolated Schools .......................................................................................19
Discipline Referrals ...............................................................................................20
Socio-economic Status ...........................................................................................20
Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................23
Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................24
Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................25
Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................26
Organization of Study ........................................................................................................26
Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................26
Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................................28
Three Basic Human Psychological Needs .........................................................................28
Autonomy ..............................................................................................................29
Task Choice ...............................................................................................29
Emotional Engagement ..............................................................................30
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 4
Task Choice with Emotional Engagement .................................................31
Impact of Culture on Autonomy ................................................................32
Competence ............................................................................................................34
Bandura and Self-Efficacy Theory ............................................................34
Prat-Sala and Redford (2010) ................................................................... 36
Komarraju and Nadler (2013) ................................................................... 37
Mindset ..........................................................................................38
Findings .........................................................................................38
Keye and Pidgeon (2013) .......................................................................... 39
Relatedness ............................................................................................................40
Furrer and Skinner (2003) .........................................................................41
Goodenow and Grady (1993) .................................................................... 41
Dawes and Larson (2011) ......................................................................... 42
Byrd and Chavous (2011) ......................................................................... 43
Voight, Hanson, O’Mallay, and Adekanye (2015) ................................... 44
Internal and External Regulations .....................................................................................46
Cersoli, Nicklin, and Ford (2014) ..........................................................................46
Walker, Greene, and Mansell (2006) ....................................................................48
Corpus, McClinitic-Gilbert, and Hayenga (2009) .................................................49
Gottfried, Fleming, and Gottfried (2001) ..............................................................50
Self-Determination Theory ...............................................................................................52
Cognitive Evaluation Theory and Intrinsic Motivation .........................................54
Locus of Control ........................................................................................55
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 5
Interpretation of Events ..............................................................................55
Social Environment ....................................................................................56
Organismic Integration Theory and Extrinsic Motivation .....................................56
Fully Externalized Regulation ...................................................................57
Introjected Regulation ...............................................................................57
Identified Regulation .................................................................................58
Integrated Regulation .................................................................................59
Social Networks and Academic Achievement .......................................................59
Young, Johnson, Hawthorne, and Pugh (2011) ........................................ 60
Affuso, Bacchini, and Concetta-Miranda (2017) ...................................... 60
Bokhorst, Sumter, and Westenberg (2009) ............................................... 62
Kindermann (2007) ................................................................................... 63
School Climate and Culture ...................................................................................63
Berkowitz, Moore, Astor, and Benbenishty (2016) .................................. 64
Borman and Overman (2004) ................................................................... 65
Academic Resilience and Protective Factors .....................................................................66
Theoretical Implications of Self-Determination Theory ....................................................67
Theoretical Limitations of Social Cognitive Theory .........................................................69
The Shadow Side of Self-Efficacy .........................................................................69
The Shadow Side of External Motivation ..............................................................70
Cultural Differences and Self-Determination Theory ............................................70
Summary ............................................................................................................................72
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................74
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 6
Research Questions ............................................................................................................74
Methodology ......................................................................................................................75
Qualitative Method Approach ................................................................................75
Sampling and Population ...................................................................................................77
Purposeful Sampling .............................................................................................77
Study Population ....................................................................................................77
Confidentiality and Internal Review Board Approval ...........................................80
Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................80
Qualitative Instrumentation ...................................................................................80
Interviews ...................................................................................................80
Observations ..............................................................................................81
Validity ......................................................................................................82
Reliability ...................................................................................................83
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................84
Grounded Coding: Practices, Motivation, and Persistence ....................................84
Ethics ..................................................................................................................................85
Summary ............................................................................................................................86
Chapter Four: Findings ..................................................................................................................87
Participants ........................................................................................................................87
Positionality and Reflectivity .............................................................................................89
Categories ..........................................................................................................................89
RQ1: What Discourses Do High Achieving, Low-SES African American
Students Use to Describe Their Intrinsic Motivation for Academic Persistence? .............90

Internal Locus of Control ......................................................................................90
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 7
Autonomy and Being Genuine ..............................................................................92
Competence ...........................................................................................................94
Perceived Competence ..............................................................................94
Self-awareness ...........................................................................................96
Competition ...............................................................................................98
Relatedness ............................................................................................................99
Peer Relatedness .......................................................................................99
Adult Relatedness ...................................................................................101
RQ2: What School Related Practices Do High-Achieving, Low-SES
African American Students Employ to Maximize Academic Success? ..........................102

Autonomy ............................................................................................................102
Task Choice .............................................................................................102
Pathway Choice .......................................................................................104
Emotional Engagement ...........................................................................106
Competence ..........................................................................................................107
Teacher Belief .........................................................................................107
Tracking ..................................................................................................109
Relatedness ..........................................................................................................110
Care .........................................................................................................110
Connections .............................................................................................112
Sensitivities to the Black Perspective ......................................................114
School Culture .........................................................................................115
RQ3: How Might Low-SES African American
Students Engage Extrinsic Motivation With Learning? ..................................................117

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 8
Parents .................................................................................................................117
Peers ....................................................................................................................119
School Culture .....................................................................................................120
Environment ........................................................................................................122
Class Jumping .....................................................................................................123
The Transition to Internal Regulation .................................................................125
Other Emergent Themes ..................................................................................................127
Mental Health ......................................................................................................127
Information ..........................................................................................................129
Summary .........................................................................................................................131
Chapter Five: Discussions and Recommendations ......................................................................134
Connection to Framework ...............................................................................................135
Implications for Educational Practice .............................................................................137
Facilitating Autonomy .........................................................................................138
Self-Awareness and Self-Efficacy ......................................................................139
Judgement and Praise ...............................................................................140
Placement and Incremental Success ........................................................140
Resilience ................................................................................................141
Competition .........................................................................................................141
Professional Development ..................................................................................142
Parent Engagement ..............................................................................................143
Community Engagement ....................................................................................144
Support Systems ..................................................................................................145
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 9
Recommendations for Future Research ..........................................................................147
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................149
References ....................................................................................................................................151
Appendix A: Theoretical Alignment Matrix ................................................................................169
Appendix B: Interview Protocol ..................................................................................................170
Appendix C: Observation Protocol ..............................................................................................173

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 10
List of Tables
Table 1: Participant List 88

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 11
List of Figures
Figure 1: The Self-Determination Continuum, With Regulation, Traits, and
Locus of Control ............................................................................................................57

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 12

Abstract

America still faces an immense education divide defined by socio-economic status, race, and
ethnicity. The educational achievement gap has created a widening opportunity gap for low-
socioeconomic status and minority students. Understanding the relationships between
educational practices, motivation, and persistence can inform development of a comprehensive
academic program for these students. Limited research focuses on African American students in
urban schools using the lens of Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory, the theoretical
framework for this study. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness were prescribed as factors
critical to intrinsic motivation, persistence, and academic resilience. The study explored
interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, distinguishing relationships between
motivation, protective factors, school climate, and culture. This study used a qualitative methods
methodology to identify the factors and practices that protect and foster academic motivation and
persistence for high achieving, low-socioeconomic status (SES) twelfth grade African American
students in urban high schools. The study used purposeful sampling to identify twenty-one
candidates that for the participant criteria. Twenty (20) of the possible twenty-one (21)
candidates agreed to participate in this study. Closing the achievement gap and the opportunity
gap will produce a new generation of young adults who are able to compete in an increasingly
challenging global marketplace and become economically self-sufficient, reducing income
inequality and creating pathways out of generational cycles of poverty. The keys are
interdependent: strengthening resilience that empowers persistence and nurturing motivation that
engages students in working towards their own academic success.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 13
Keywords: students, high school, urban, African American, low socioeconomic status,
motivation, protective factors, climate, culture
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 14
CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM
When Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, many
Americans, especially on the left, heralded this groundbreaking achievement as a sign that our
country had finally become a “post-racial” America (Cashin, 2014; Frankenburg & Seigel-
Hawley, 2010). Not only did an African American hold the most prestigious position of power in
the United States, arguably one of the most powerful nations on the planet, he has consistently
been ranked as one of the best presidents since World War II. (Lima, 2017; Morin, 2018; Pew,
2018). This new era was anticipated to be a paradigm shift for Americans, where we were
blinded to racial and ethnic distinctions.
Unfortunately, America is neither post-racial nor color blind. As a nation, America still
faces an immense education divide defined by socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity. Clearly
no racial or ethnic group is intellectually superior and, yet, the racial and socioeconomic
achievement gap in education is real and persistent (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016; Ogbu & Simons,
1998). The educational achievement gap has created a widening opportunity gap for low-
socioeconomic status and minority students. Together, these gaps have contributed to income
inequality and generational cycles of poverty.
In response to the achievement gap, school districts have committed resources to
diagnose the root causes of this gap and to identify remedies. Some of these remedies have
focused on fostering racial sensitivity in teachers, administrators, and other educational leaders.
Other remedies have encouraged adopting culturally relevant curricula and pedagogy.
More recently, efforts have targeted the social-emotional development of the child to
strengthen school-based protective factors (CDE, 2018). The social-emotional development
movement encourages schools to develop student competencies in self-awareness, self-
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 15
management, responsible decision-making, relational skills, and social awareness (CDE, 2018).
Protective factors, or positive practices, can support, develop, and cultivate motivation and
persistence.
The development of protective factors is essential to limiting or overcoming the threats
placed on and risks to marginalized adolescents (Fantuzzo, LeBouef, Rouse, & Chen, 2012;
McGee, 2013; Morales, 2010; Williams & Bryan, 2013). These school related threats include
academic complacency, feelings of isolation, and perceived incompetence. Environmental threats
include anxiety and stress created by residing in low income and underserved communities as
well as negative family and/or peer influences.
The mitigation or removal of threats allows for the development of motivation and
persistence, especially for African American adolescents (Brown & Tylka, 2011; Morales,
2010). There are strong relationships between motivation, persistence, academic engagement,
and achievement (Duckworth, 2016; Tough, 2012). This is especially true for African American
and low-socioeconomic status students (Dixson, Roberson, & Worrell, 2017; Strayhorn, 2014).
These relationships have been the focus of a great deal of academic research, specifically the
positive relationship between motivation and persistence with increased academic achievement.
Understanding the relationships between educational practices, motivation, and
persistence can enhance the development of a comprehensive academic program for African
American students. Effective academic programs position African American students for
academic excellence equivalent to that of their White and Asian peers. Narrowing the
educational achievement gap has the potential to decrease the longstanding racial and
socioeconomic opportunity gap. Therefore, a school’s role in the development of educational
practices that increase motivation and persistence can positively affect the academic trajectory of
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 16
its marginalized students, creating economic opportunities and reversing generational cycles of
poverty.
Factors Contributing to the Education Achievement Gap
The racial achievement gap exists nationwide and has been a significant focus for the
United States Department of Education (USDoE). In 2016, the USDoE reported 26-point
discrepancies between African American and White students in test scores for both 4th grade and
8th grade English (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). To help local educational agencies address this
concern, the USDoE Office of Civil Rights established guidelines for discussing the performance
gap (Kena, Aud, & Johnson, 2014), asserting that “all students, regardless of race, color, national
origin, or zip code deserve a high-quality education” (Kena et al., 2014). The Federal
government’s guidance has challenged school districts to produce high achieving learning
centers capable of closing the achievement gap.
Mirroring the racial achievement gap, achievement gaps have been documented along
socioeconomic lines (Huang, 2015; Kena et al., 2014). Hampton (2016) found that students from
economically disadvantaged families have the same innate ability to achieve academically at
high levels; however, these low-SES students achieve at a lower rate than their higher SES peers
(Huang, 2015).
Research on the achievement gap across race and socio-economic status, creating
culturally appropriate academic and socio-emotional programs, strengthening school social
networks, and instituting holistic systematic reform can close both the achievement gap and
opportunity gap (Borman & Overman, 2004; Huang, 2015; Milne & Plourde, 2006; Young,
Johnson, Hawthorne, & Pugh, 2011). Closing these gaps has the potential to reduce income
inequality and end generational cycles of poverty.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 17
School Climate and Support Systems
The racial and socioeconomic achievement gap has been heavily researched for decades
in an attempt to explain the root causes of the gap and to make recommendations to improve
educational practices (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010; Jeynes, 2015). One possible
explanation identified in the research was the reduced level of school-related parent involvement
for African American families compared to White families (Jeynes, 2003). Studies have shown
that a family’s participation in their children’s education produces a positive effect on academic
achievement and success (Potter & Morris, 2017). Family participation includes providing
opportunities for a child to participate in extracurricular activities, parent involvement in school
activities, setting high parent expectations for academic achievement, providing books in the
home, and togetherness.
Research also highlighted the relationship between a positive school climate, high teacher
expectations, and student academic success. Many studies have established a positive correlation
for African American students between academic achievement and a positive school climate
(Brown & Tylka, 2011; Hanselman, Bruch, Gamoran, & Borman, 2014; Quinn, 2015). Research
has also shown a positive correlation between academic achievement and high teacher
expectations (Tenenbaum & Ruck, 2007). Unfortunately, many African American students
continue to learn in schools with poor climates and low expectations, contributing to the
achievement gap (Howard, 2010; Pringle, Lyons, & Booker, 2010). Additionally, high teacher
turnover in urban schools with a large minority population has had a negative effect on academic
achievement; racially isolated schools are subject to higher rates of teacher turnover (Ronfeldt,
Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2013).
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 18
Teacher quality and pedagogy are also factors that contribute to the achievement gap. The
call for culturally relevant and related education (CRRE) began at the turn of the century (Gay,
2000). This call urged districts to meet the needs of minority youth by changing instructional
practices to infuse culturally-relevant pedagogy into everyday practice as well as shifting
teachers’ attitudes regarding African Americans (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 2009). A
conceptual framework for cultural relevant teaching practices emerged that recognizes identity
and achievement, equity and excellence, developmental appropriateness, teaching the whole
child, and high-quality student-teacher relationships (Brown-Jeffy & Cooper, 2011). While
researchers credit CRRE with creating some positive gains in student achievement, it has not by
any means eliminated the racial achievement gap (Aronson & Laughter, 2016).
Access to Rigorous Academics
Research shows that many African American students have limited access to gifted and
talented education (GATE) programs, honors programs, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses
(Conger, Long, & Iatarola, 2009; Howard, 2010; Taliaferro & DeCuir-Gundy, 2008). This lack
of access contributes to the achievement gap. Grissom and Redding (2016) found that African
American students were less likely to be assessed for gifted services, especially by non-black
teachers. Elementary school children who enter GATE programs typically receive more
challenging academic work and are more likely to be encouraged to participate in extracurricular
academic programs; this sets these children on a trajectory for high academic achievement.
Secondary school students identified as GATE have access to more rigorous educational
opportunities, enrichment programs, and summer programs. They are often strongly encouraged
to enroll in honors programs and to take AP courses.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 19
College and university admissions officers consider the number of AP courses history
when determining selection (Atkinson & Geiser, 2009; Attewell & Domina, 2008). Lack of
access to Advanced Placement courses contributes to educational inequities in admission to post-
secondary educational institutions and competitiveness for scholarships. Solorzano and Ornelas
(2004) found that African American high schoolers attending a large, urban low-socioeconomic
status (SES) high school had limited access to AP courses. They found a disparity in the
percentage of African American students enrolled in AP courses compared to peers at more
diverse high schools.
Although access itself is an inequity, merely providing additional access may not
contribute to a solution. Hallett and Venegas (2011) argued that schools and school districts with
large African American populations at times offered more AP classes to give the impression that
they were providing an equitable footing or to successfully pass a compliance review. In other
words, these schools and districts were not making a good faith effort to enroll African American
students in AP courses and to ensure that they completed these courses with passing grades to
earn college credit.
Racially Isolated Schools
Not only are African American students less likely to be enrolled in advanced courses,
they are overrepresented in racially isolated schools, where the majority of the student body are
minority students (Orfield, 2014). This phenomenon has been equated with the “re-segregation”
of American schools and has accelerated with the growth of charter schools, which are often
pushed to parents of children in under-performing urban schools (Frankenburg & Seigel-Hawley,
2010; Orfield, 2014). The National Education Association reported that 17% of charter schools
are 99% minority, compared to just 4% of traditional public schools (NEA, 2018). Condron,
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 20
Tope, Steidl, and Freeman (2013) posited that the re-segregation in American schools has
significantly contributed to the achievement gap because racially isolated schools receive fewer
resources and are subject to lower expectations.
Discipline Referrals
Not only are African American students underrepresented in rigorous academic courses
and programs, they are overrepresented in discipline referrals (Gregory et al., 2010; Howard,
2010). Morris and Perry (2016) believe that the overrepresentation of African Americans in
discipline cases impedes their academic advancement, contributing to the racial achievement
gap. Simply stated, more discipline referrals create more suspensions, which equals fewer hours
in the classroom and missed instructional content.
Socio-economic Status
Researchers have also explored the impact of community and environmental conditions
for African American students residing in urban and rural areas. Fantuzzo et al. (2012) asserted
that African American students navigate more risks than White students. These identified risks
include inadequate prenatal care, low maternal education, poverty, homelessness, food
insecurity, absent parenting, abuse and neglect, substance abuse, traumatic experiences, and lead
exposure (Fantuzzo et al., 2012). While the intent of the study was to discuss the risks that
contributed to the racial achievement gap, these underlying environmental factors impact
academic achievement, in turn affecting the opportunity gap and socio-economic status (SES)
gap.
A current area of major concern is the relationship between poverty, cognitive
development, and cognitive stimulation (Hair, Hanson, Wolfe, & Pollak, 2015; Mackey, Finn,
Leonard, Jacoby-Senghor, West, Gabrieli, & Gabrieli, 2015; Rosen, Sheriden, Sambrook,
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 21
Meltzoff, & McLaughlin, 2018). Recent advances in neuroscience have found that students from
higher SES backgrounds have differentiated brain development compared to their low-SES
peers; this higher order brain development is associated with greater academic performance
(Mackey et al., 2015).
Furthermore, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2014) explored
recent advances in neuroscience, noting that “healthy development can be derailed by excessive
or prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body and the brain, with damaging
effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan” (p. 1). They go on to describe how
stressful events that are “chronic, uncontrollable, and/or experienced without children having
access to support from caring adults tend to provoke these types of toxic stress responses” (p. 2).
Toxic stress has been differentiated from positive stress, which creates growth, and tolerable
stress, serious but temporary stresses buffered by supportive relationships. Positive stress
includes events like getting a bad grade or being admonished for poor behavior. Tolerable stress
includes events like a move, illness, or even the death of a loved one, as long as there is an
effective psychological support system.
Toxic stress can lead to a variety of psychological and physical disorders including
depression, anxiety disorders, alcoholism, and drug abuse (NSCDC, 2014). Not only does this
toxic stress affect healthy brain development, it causes psychological issues that further impede
academic achievement, putting these children at a disadvantage from the moment they enter
school. Rosen et al. (2018) believed that lower levels of cognitive development were the direct
result of lower levels of cognitive stimulation associated with poverty. Cognitive stimulation
includes activities like talking in standard English with an adult, accessing books and educational
toys in the home, time spent in parks and other natural areas, exploring museums, attending
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 22
musical or theater performances, and the like. In low-SES households where parents have low
levels of education, and may have low levels of literacy themselves, television is often the
primary stimulation these students receive. Without adequate cognitive stimulation, these
students arrive in kindergarten with a cognitive deficit.
Shenk (2010) found that higher SES parents spend significantly more face-to-face time
with their children than their lower-SES peers. By the time these low-SES children arrive in
kindergarten, they have heard 32 million fewer words than their higher-SES peers, creating a
“word deficit” that may permanently impede their academic success (Shenk, 2010).
Reardon and Portilla (2016) argued that impoverished students arrive at school with
lower levels of school readiness (lack of access to preschool, inadequate health care, poor
nutrition). Other researchers agreed with Reardon and Portilla, adding that stresses associated
with poverty (i.e., violent communities, nutrition, lack of educational motivation) exacerbate the
opportunity gap as early as kindergarten (Basch, 2011; Hair et al., 2015). As young students
arrive in school unprepared or underprepared, the responsibility for closing the opportunity gap
transfers to the educational institution. However, there are many cases where schools fail
students by doing just the opposite, widening the opportunity gap (Quinn, 2015).
Understanding the achievement gap is complex because the root causes emerge from
multiple places (home, school, community, and society). Inadequate home environments, often
the manifestation of poverty more than parental neglect, set low-SES children up for failure from
birth. These children grow up in high-crime, high violence neighborhoods where they are
exposed to trauma and stressors from which their higher-SES peers are spared. These children,
through no fault of their own, enter school unprepared or underprepared. There they are met with
a school climate and pedagogy that is often misaligned with these children’s needs and
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 23
experiences. Researchers and educators must continue to explore these issues in order to provide
guidance to schools and districts to close the achievement gap.
Statement of the Problem
Schools are obligated to prepare all students academically, socially, and emotionally for
productive adulthood and economic self-sustainability. The existing literature and resulting shifts
in instructional practices have not closed the racial achievement or opportunity gaps (Gay, 2000;
Jeynes, 2015; Ladson-Billings; 2009; Solorzano & Ornelas, 2004; Young et al., 2011). A
concerted effort to explore the academic motivation and persistence of African American
students can help to close the gap. Therefore, school leaders can better serve their communities
by implementing interventions and strategies that improve motivation and persistence.
This study utilized Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework to
understand the effects of the practices and protective factors on motivation and persistence (Deci
& Ryan, 1985, 2002: Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). SDT postulates that individuals can be
motivated either intrinsically or extrinsically. The satisfying of three basic psychology needs
(autonomy, competence, and relatedness) enhances intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985,
2002: Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). Autonomy is the goal most associated with adolescence, where
there is a strong need to be autonomous and independent (Erikson, 1963; Hill & Taylor, 2004).
Competence, perceived or real, is the need most referenced in cognitive theories (Bandura, 1997;
Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Weiner, 1986). Relatedness is the need least researched and most
significant for collectivist cultures (Dawes & Larson, 2011; Kang, Chang, Chen, & Greenberger,
2015; Park, Holloway, Arendtsz, Bempechat, & Li, 2012).
Extrinsic motivation is described as a continuum from extremely impersonal to somewhat
internal (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Three types of extrinsic motivations require varying degrees of
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 24
internal regulation. Introjected regulation is somewhat externalized and regulated by ego-
involvement and internal punishments. Identified regulation is somewhat internalized and
regulated by personal importance and conscious valuing. Integrated regulation is fully
internalized and regulated by congruence and synthesis with the self.
Effective school leaders need to show competence by making sound decisions and
utilizing effective strategies (Kouzes & Posner, 2002). Critical for closing the racial achievement
gap for African American students are strategies to 1) improve internal and external motivation
and 2) encouraging persistence (Ford & Moore, 2013; Jeynes, 2015; Tough, 2012; Voight,
Hanson, O’Malley, & Adekanye, 2015; Williams & Bryan, 2013). However, there is a critical
lack of student-centered empirical research about academic motivation and persistence for
African American students in urban areas. Identifying specific effective protective factors and
linking them to motivation and persistence will better position schools to fulfill their
responsibility in helping all students achieve productive adulthood and economic self-
sustainability.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine the practices and protective factors that led to
continual or increased academic motivation and persistence of high-achieving, low-
socioeconomic status (SES) African American high schoolers in an urban setting. This
qualitative methods study provided recommendations and suggestions to urban schools and
school districts that are struggling to narrow the racial and/or SES achievement gaps. This
research approach produced a comprehensive analysis that yielded a more complete and
thorough understanding of the research questions (Creswell, 2014). This study included
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 25
interviews and observations as means to understand how a participant defined his or her reality
(Maxwell, 2013).
This study explored and compared the satisfaction or frustration participants faced in
meeting the three basic psychological needs for intrinsic motivation. This study also explored the
impact of external influences that contributed to participant motivation and persistence (either
identified or internalized). The three research questions that guided this study were:
RQ1: What discourses do high-achieving, low-SES African American students use to
describe their intrinsic motivation for academic persistence?
RQ2: What school related practices do high-achieving, low-SES African American
students employ to maximize academic success?
RQ3: How might low-SES African American students engage extrinsic motivation with
learning?
Significance of the Study
Many studies in the existing literature have studied the achievement gap by focusing on
pedagogy and environmental factors. This study provided a different perspective on closing the
achievement gap by focusing on the cultivation of motivation and persistence among African
American high school students. There has been little phenomenological research on this high
achieving, marginalized population from the perspective of the student (Ford & Moore, 2013;
Potter & Morris, 2017). This study added knowledge to this limited research field and provided
urban educators with successful student-centered practices endorsed by students.
By focusing on the individual student and his or her assets, schools can develop practices
that foster the development of those assets. This study contributed to that toolbox by identifying
specific effective protective factors described by the students themselves as linking protective
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 26
factors to motivation and persistence. This study also identified areas for further research into
success strategies for high achieving, low-SES African American students.
Limitations and Delimitations
This qualitative study was conducted in an urban school district. Interviews and
observations were conducted at two sites. Eighteen of the twenty participants were female. Thus,
the data could be biased based on gender. Site One is regarded as a successful school with a
unique culture that includes high expectations. Site Two is considered an average school with no
clear school culture. Therefore, the qualitative data obtained through this study may be
generalizable for informing practices only at similarly unique sites.
Organization of Study
Chapter One provides an overview of the area of research, the problem addressed in the
current research study, and its significance in educational research. Chapter Two explores the
existing literature and topics discussed in the statement of the problem. Chapter Three explains
the research methodology, including the sample and population, instrumentation, data collection,
and data analysis. Chapter Four presents the findings of the study. Chapter Five synthesizes
common themes and discusses their relevance to current motivational and educational practices
as well as advancing the knowledge of persistence, motivation, and practices.
Definition of Terms
Academic Resiliency: The process and results that are part of the life story of an
individual who has been academically successful, despite obstacles that prevent the majority of
others with the same background from succeeding. (Morales, 2010)
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 27
Extrinsic Motivation: Behaviors that are instrumental for some separate consequence,
such as an external reward, social approval, avoidance of punishment, or the attainment of a
valued outcome. (Ryan & Deci, 2017)
High Achieving: Students who meet or exceed defined levels in both English/Language
Arts and Math on the 2017 state assessment.
Intrinsic Motivation: Behaviors that are performed out of self-interest and for which the
primary “reward” are the spontaneous feelings of self-efficacy and enjoyment that accompany
those behaviors. (Ryan & Deci, 2017)
Locus of Causality: Refers to a belief that one either does or does not have control over
the ability to attain desired outcomes by engaging in requisite behaviors. (Ryan & Deci, 2017)
Low-Socioeconomic Status (Low-SES): Students qualifying for free or reduced lunch
based on Federal poverty guidelines.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 28
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
There is substantial research focusing on internally regulated factors related to resilience,
motivation, persistence, and support of marginalized students. This literature focuses on the
factors that influence both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as regulatory changes
throughout the educational pathway of elementary and secondary school students.
Ryan and Deci’s (2017) Self-Determination Theory was the theoretical framework
contextualizing and organizing this study. Self-Determination Theory in essences attempts to
explain not just “how” learning occurs but also “why” it occurs (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002). Self-
Determination Theory is structured around three basic psychological needs (autonomy,
competences, and relatedness) and a motivation continuum (externalized regulation to
internalized regulation) that shapes extrinsic motivation. In order to fully understand the
underpinnings of Self-Determination Theory, it is critical to first understand these three basic
psychological needs and the motivation continuum.
Three Basic Human Psychological Needs
Human beings generally strive to meet their basic physiological and psychological needs
(Maslow, 1943). However, as social animals, we cannot exist free from the influences of external
sources in meeting our psychological needs. We are highly influenced by both intrinsic
(personal) and extrinsic (social) motivation. Self-Determination Theory posits that extrinsic
motivation is not necessarily bad; in fact, it is what allows for social cohesion. According to Self-
Determination Theory, these motivations compel us to meet three basic psychological needs:
autonomy, competence, and relatedness. How we learn is shaped by need expression, which
varies across individuals and cultures, and by the processes through which we attempt to meet
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 29
these needs, individually or collectively. We are motivated to learn in order to meet these needs,
the “why” of learning.
Autonomy
Of the three basic psychological needs, the need for autonomy is most closely associated
with the psychological developmental of high school students as they seek independence and a
need for autonomy (Hill & Taylor, 2004). Autonomy is operationalized as a person’s belief that
they have control, choice, volition and/or will. Van Ryzin, Gravely, and Roseth (2009) defined
“academic autonomy” as providing students with choice and self-governing in their learning.
Many researchers have seized on this concept and attempted to correlate a student’s need for
autonomy and the development of intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan 1985, 2002; Ryan & Deci,
2002, 2017). Ryan & Deci (2017) extended this idea by insisting that the internalized,
psychological need for autonomy was essential for the development of intrinsic motivation. A
significant body of research has explored students’ perceived autonomy with task and emotional
engagement.
Task choice. Student choice in contributing to a learning agenda and self-selecting
programmatic options affects task engagement. Pulfrey, Darnon, and Butera (2013) conducted
two separate experiments testing the hypothesis that task autonomy leads to greater task
engagement. Their first experiment studied 89 students in grades seventh to ninth; the second
studied 122 seventh grader students. Four areas were measured using several previous validated
scales and indexes:
• Task autonomy using the Reported Autonomy Index (Ryan & Connell, 1989)
• Task performance (the number of anagrams completed)
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 30
• Task interest using the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Study Scale of Intrinsic Motivation
(Midgely, Kaplan, & Middleton, 2001)
• Continuing motivations for task using the Continuing Motivation for Task Scale (Maehr
& Stallings, 1972)
Pulfrey et al. (2013) discussed and compared the results using the three scales and the
number of task completions. They confirmed that perceived task autonomy produced greater
levels of task interest and motivation, especially in non-graded settings (Pulfrey et al., 2013). As
students felt more confident in their control over choice, they were more likely to be engaged in
that task. This was important because it suggested that as educators design learning opportunities
for students, they should consider activities that involve student autonomy. This study was by the
demographics of the sample as all participant resided in the same city, raising questions about the
generalizability of the study. And, yet, in spite of these limitations, it is clear that autonomy in
task choice is motivating for students.
Emotional engagement. Equivalent to an adolescent’s task engagement is their
emotional engagement with their learning and learning environment. Many researchers have
concluded that the more engaged a student is with their learning, the greater their academic
achievement (Reyes, Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2012; Wang & Holcombe, 2010). Park et al.
(2012) conducted a three-year longitudinal study examining the three basic psychological needs
as they related to emotional engagement. The researchers utilized the Experience Sampling
Method (ESM) to track the engagement of ninety-four ethnically diverse low-socioeconomic
status ninth graders from two Northern California high schools. The ESM was used to assess the
indicators of task engagement. The indicator of autonomy was assessed by asking the students to
describe their perceived freedom of choice, or locus of control.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 31
Park et al. (2012) found two themes related to autonomy. First, the students in the study
identified the need for autonomy to emotionally engage in the learning. This was important
because emotionally-engaged learners create meaning and retain information. The creation of
meaning produces higher levels of thinking and expressing of information (Sousa, 2001; Wolfe,
2006). Second, the researchers found that perceived autonomy contributed to overall social
emotional health and could influence improved academic achievement. Positive social emotional
health fulfills the lowest level of individual needs, allowing for vulnerability and risk taking
(Durlack, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). The study was limited by the
small sample size (N = 94), single questions for each indicator, and self-reporting vulnerabilities.
Students may have embellished or fabricated their responses in part due to the Hawthorne Effect,
where participants alter their behavior because they know they are being observed. Regardless, it
is clear that emotional engagement in learning promotes deeper learning, knowledge retention,
and improved academic achievement.
Task choice with emotional engagement. Task choice and emotional engagement has
been confirmed to affect long term learning, motivation, and academic achievement.
Vansteenkiste et al. (2004) wanted to extend the contextual concept of autonomy in complete
learning situations by conducting a true experiment examining autonomy in supportive versus
controlling learning environments. A sample of 200 first-year, female college students in a pre-
school teacher program were administered a relative autonomy and superficial processing scale
(Ryan and Connell, 1989). They were also allowed free choice for a class project. Academic
performance was assessed by their college instructors, measured by a written test, and exhibited
through participation in group discussions. The instructors were blind to the study and treatment
or control groups.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 32
Autonomy-supported environments provided choice for the students and controlling
environments limited free will. Vansteenkiste (2004) established three major findings. First,
settings that were autonomy-supportive resulted in significantly improved learning and
performance. Second, the autonomy-supportive settings significantly affected the quality of
processing, test performance, and persistence. Finally, the most successful tasks were completed
when the learning environment was framed in an autonomy-supported manner, creating an
emotionally positive climate for learning. This true experimental research was limited because
the sample was exclusively female. However, the data supporting autonomy was overwhelming
and significant. Taken individually, task choice and emotional engagement are important; in
combination, they are powerful tools for motivating students and fostering academic
achievement.
Impact of culture on autonomy. Wichman (2011) conducted a meta-analysis of
literature examining autonomy and culture, comparing studies that were conducted in the United
States; non-Western, collectivist, countries; and studies that rejected the correlation between
autonomy and well-being. Wichman was careful to distinguish between 1) autonomy and
independence and 2) autonomy and free will to make decisions or act in accordance with one’s
value.
Autonomy, acting in accordance with one’s value, was found to be a universal need that
crossed cultural lines (Wichman, 2011). Both Western and non-Western collectivist cultures
valued this type of autonomy and it was found to be a contributor to overall well-being.
Wichman (2011) found that African Americans valued this autonomy as much as other cultures.
Wichman’s research reframed the limitations of previous studies by distinguishing two types of
autonomy: independence and value-integrity.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 33
However, this meta-analysis was presented with three challenges. First, Wichman
reviewed studies that discussed a correlation between the two variables instead of studies that
demonstrated causality; she did not show how independence or value-integrity caused a
perception of autonomy. Second, many of studies included individuals who volunteered to
participate, introducing the potential for response bias; Wichman could have explored this but
she did not. Finally, not all cultures were represented in the study and intra-cultural differences
were not accounted for. Consider, for example, the potential cultural differences in the United
States between urban African American communities, rural Hispanic communities, and suburban
White communities. Nonetheless, culture, especially culture that respects an individual student’s
values, is important to academic achievement.
In summary, it is incumbent upon educators to leverage the power of autonomy when
developing learning activities. Research findings confirmed that adolescents’ strong desire for
autonomy, when channeled into a positive activity, can improve academic performance.
Cavendish (2013) supported the call for more student-centered environments and increased
school efforts to involve students in planning their own educational pathways. Students having
the requisite skills should be given the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. This
learning, in and of itself, is valuable. Furthermore, these efforts by educators can lead to more
proactive learning, in and out of the classroom. In an increasingly competitive global
marketplace, the habit of lifelong learning is becoming critical for employment and promotion.
Furthermore, persistence and motivation are inextricably linked; coupled with natural ability and
learned skills, schools empower their students for lifelong success. In other words, proactive
learning, powered by drive and persistence, has the potential to close the opportunity gap and
reduce income inequality.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 34
Competence
Of the three basic psychological needs, competence (perceived or actual) and its
relationship to motivation is the most thoroughly researched (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Ryan and
Deci’s framework for competence closely aligns with Bandura’s (1997) Self-Efficacy Theory.
Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that he or she has the capabilities to achieve a desired
outcome in a defined situation or role. It is a critical factor that affects how people think, feel,
and act. Self-efficacy is a blend of perceived competence (beliefs) and actual competence
(previous experiences). Competence and self-efficacy have a significant impact on motivation,
goal-setting, persistence, and optimal challenge.
Bandura and Self-Efficacy Theory. Educators have long believed that a student’s self-
efficacy could improve their academic confidence. Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, and Pastorelli
(1996) found that to be true. Bandura et al. (1996) hypothesized that a student’s positive
academic self-efficacy would positively affect the student’s academic aspirations and
achievement. In this study, 279 middle school students (155 males, 124 females) were asked to
respond to scales that measured their self-efficacy and efficacy for self-regulated learning
(Zimmerman, 2000). These scales assessed how the students felt about their own academic skills,
resourcefulness, and potential for success.
Bandura et al. (1996) found that a student’s self-efficacy contributed significantly to their
academic aspirations and, in turn, academic performance. Furthermore, the research suggested
that self-efficacy also promoted academic engagement. Self-efficacious students were not only
more engaged but performed better than students identified as not self-efficacious.
Educators would generally agree that an important part of their job is to also inspire their
students to aspire for greatness. Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, and Pastorelli (2001) conducted
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 35
a separate study designed to refine the relationship between self-efficacy and aspirations.
Bandura et al. (2001) conducted a longitudinal study involving 272 middle school students (142
males, 130 females). The students completed self-efficacy scale and a self-regulatory scale. The
scales explored three factors: academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and self-regulatory
efficacy. These factors were compared to participants’ academic achievement (academic grades)
and occupational self-efficacy. The data provided insights into the academic and occupational
aspirations of students with high and low self-efficacy.
Bandura et al. (2001) found students with high levels of academic self-efficacy were
successful in school as measured by academic achievement and social adjustment. They also
found that students with high academic self-efficacy had accelerated educational aspirations
(Bandura et al., 2001). One can infer that a student’s beliefs about their skills and resources
affected their academic performance and design of their future self. Also implicit in this study
was the notion that a student’s perceived competence was more significant than their parents’
perception of the competence of their child. However, the student’s perception of self-efficacy
was often far superior to the student’s actual performance. In other words, students were more
likely to over-estimate their actual competence. The positive side of this is that students would be
more likely to take academic risks (enrolling in Advanced Placement courses, applying for
summer institutes). However, this overconfidence could also set the student up for rejection and
disappointment, potentially triggering a crisis of self-efficacy which could result in under-
estimating skills in other areas, not taking risks, or disengaging entirely. For example, a student
who had struggled in math but enrolled in Advanced Placement calculus and fared poorly might
be disinclined to enroll in Advanced Placement English literature in spite of a history of good
grades in English.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 36
Although the results of these studies were significant, there were major limitations to the
two studies. First, both studies were conducted with the same demographic group, limiting
generalizability. Second, the researchers used the same scales in both studies, limiting the
perceptual scope of the exploration. The current research paid attention to these potential biases.
However, decades of research have confirmed Bandura’s core premise that a student’s self-
efficacy contributes significantly to their academic aspirations and, in turn, to their academic
achievement. The principal investigator had no hesitancy in using Bandura’s Self-Efficacy
Theory.
Prat-Sala and Redford (2010). Previous research confirmed that high self-efficacious
students show increased motivation, persistence, academic achievement, and social adjustment.
Prat-Sala and Redford (2010) confirmed Bandura’s research. Prat-Sala and Redford examined
the relationship between regulatory motivational orientation, self-efficacy, and persistence. The
researchers surveyed 163 first-year students (140 females, 23 males) at a university in the United
Kingdom. They administered the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI).
The RASI has three subscales designed to gather data about deep, surface, and strategic
approaches to studying. A deep approach to studying consisted of constant and consistent focus
with the intention to seek meaning and make connections. A surface approach to studying was a
more superficial attempt that lacked depth. A strategic approach to studying focused mainly on
the organization and management of the study process itself, not the quality of the learning. In an
effort to gather richer data, the participants were surveyed twice, once in each semester.
Prat-Sala and Redford (2010) found a strong correlation between self-efficacy and a
deep approach to studying and learning. Students with high self-efficacy concentrated at higher
levels and are more focused than students with low self-efficacy. The researchers also found that
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 37
students with low self-efficacy took a surface approach to studying and learning. These findings
validated earlier researchers who asserted that self-efficacy increased motivation (Bandura,
1997; Zimmerman, 2000).
The primarily limitation in this study was its gender imbalance (86% female). An
additional limitation was its short duration when measuring persistence (four months). A
longitudinal study could have provided richer data. Finally, self-efficacy and a deep approach to
studying was only assessed in the domains of writing and reading. An exploration into other
disciplines night have provided additional data. Nevertheless, Prat-Sala and Redford’s research
confirms the importance of looking at student achievement holistically, taking a systems
approach which treats motivational orientation, self-efficacy, and persistence as interdependent
variable in student success.
Komarraju and Nadler (2013). Highly self-efficacious students not only are more
focused on their learning and perform better academically, they are also more goal-oriented and
possess a growth mindset. Komarraju and Nadler (2013) conducted a study to explore the
relationships between self-efficacy and goal setting, grade point average, and mindset. The
researchers sampled 407 diverse undergraduates in a midwestern U.S. university (48.4% males,
51.6% females; 65.8% European Americans, 22.6% African Americans).
Each student completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ),
which assessed variables such as motivational orientations, self-efficacy, task value, and
performance. The participants also completed the eight-item Implicit Theories of Intelligent
Scale, that assessed their growth mindset, and the 18-item Achievement Goal Inventory, that
assessed achievement and goals.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 38
Mindset. Dweck (2006) popularized the concept of a growth mindset and educators have
finally started to use mindset to inform instructional practice and student success. Mindset is a
self-perception or set of beliefs individuals hold about themselves. They can be conscious or
unconscious, positive or negative. They have a significant impact on learning, achievement, and
success.
With a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities or abilities are fixed traits that
cannot change; these people are often resistant to learning and challenges. One failure is often
generalized to other areas of life, or excuses are used to rationalize the failure. (Dweck, 2006)
With a growth mindset, people believe they can develop their innate capacity through
persistence and hard work. These people are often pro-active learners who meet challenges with
resilience. They inevitably learn more, and learn more quickly, leveraging opportunities to create
success. (Dweck, 2006)
Findings. Komarraju and Nadler (2013) found that high self-efficacy was associated with
setting challenging goals, increased academic performance, and possessing a growth mindset.
The participants with high self-efficacy were more likely than those with low self-efficacy to set
rigorous academic goals and express an interest in acquiring new knowledge. In addition to
setting high goals, the researchers found that self-efficacy was important in predicting academic
success. Participants who reported higher confidence and self-efficacy showed increased levels
of academic performance. Finally, participants with high self-efficacy possessed growth
mindsets. Not only were self-efficacious students more successful academically, they believed
that intelligence was not innate and was a product of effort. This study extended self-efficacy
beyond academic achievement and suggests that educators consider creating environments that
nurture the creation of challenging goals and the cultivation of a growth mindset.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 39
This study was limited by its cross-sectional methodology, which limits the ability to
make causal connects, and the self-reporting of scores, which introduces the potential for
response bias. However, the diverse study population contributes to the generalizability, making
it possible to replicate the findings in other diverse settings. It is also one of the more recent
studies that incorporates Dweck’s (2006) work on mindset into educational pedagogy.
Understanding recent advances in neuroscience and mindset theory may constitute the cutting
edge of educational research.
Keye and Pidgeon (2013). Keye and Pidgeon (2013) explored the relationship between
academic self-efficacy and resilience by surveying 141 undergraduate students over the age of 18
(39 males, 102 females). Students competed the 10-item Beliefs in Educational Success Test
(BEST) to measure their beliefs about academic success and the 25-item Conner Davidson-
Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to measure their resilience. Keye and Pidgeon looked to confirm
earlier assertions by social cognitive theorists Pajares (1996) and Lightsey (2006) that a belief in
one’s academic self-efficacy increases resilience. Resilience was framed as central to the
capacity to succeed in spite of challenges and obstacles.
What made Keye and Pidgeon’s (2013) research unique was their focus on the potential
for academic self-efficacy to predict resilience, not merely to increase it. The results of their
regression analysis showed that academic self-efficacy was a significant predictor of resilience
(Keye & Pidgeon, 2013). Higher levels of academic self-efficacy predicted higher levels of
resilience (Keye & Pidgeon, 2013). Resilience is related to persistence, and thus constitutes an
important factor for researchers to further explore and educators to consider when designing
learning environments and choosing instructional strategies.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 40
The Keye and Pidgeon (2013) research was limited by its attempt to isolate the variable
of academic self-efficacy when other factors, which were not controlled for, may have
influenced the final data. A second limitation acknowledged by the researchers was the
possibility that other variables were associated with resilience. Although this study was limited
by the gender imbalance, the central hypothesis that self-efficacy supports and predicts resilience
was found to be true (Keye and Pidgeon, 2013). The potential for the predictive value of self-
efficacy on resilience cannot be overstated.
In summary, research wholeheartedly supported the assertion by Bandura (1997) that
competence is one of the two necessary components of intrinsic motivation. As students produce
meaningful, successful academic work, their self-efficacy increases. As their self-efficacy
increases, so does their perceived competence. Perceived competence has been confirmed to
increase academic achievement, social adjustment, persistence, task engagement, and motivation.
Confident learners learn to take chances, explore optimal challenges, and expand their
perspectives (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). Autonomy with competence clearly produce positive
academic results.
Relatedness
Relatedness had the least robust body of research of the three basic psychological needs.
However, this lack of research does not indicate a lesser importance. Van Ryzin et al. (2009)
defined relatedness as a sense of belongingness, feeling supported, and a relationship of mutual
respect and reciprocity between people. Relatedness in the education setting has been described
as a developed relationship between a student and social networks, material, and school culture.
Relatedness has been shown to positively affect school performance, especially for African
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 41
American youth. Researchers agree that relatedness impacts student’s motivation, classroom
engagement, and participation with their learning.
Furrer and Skinner (2003). Furrer and Skinner (2003) explored relatedness through the
relationships between attachment to teachers and peers, motivation, and performance. In this
longitudinal study, 641 third through sixth grade students (equally divided between males and
females) were selected from a suburban-rural elementary school in a middle class (working
class) community. This study evaluated data from questionnaires about students’ assessments of
their relationships with teachers and peers as well as academic performance.
A student’s self-assessment of his or her relationships with teachers and students was
believed to be most genuine (reliable) in providing significant insight. Furrer and Skinner (2003)
found that relatedness played a significant role in classroom engagement, motivation, and
academic performance. Furthermore, students who displayed a connection to their school also
exhibited greater emotional and behavioral engagement. Finally, the students who reported a
significant relationship with peer groups showed more significant classroom engagement. All
findings were consistent with motivation and social cognitive theory and research.
This study had two limitations. First, the questionnaires were basic in their assessment of
relatedness. A more robust questionnaire could have provided richer data. Second, the sample
demographics were not racially diverse, consisting of 95% Caucasian students. Nevertheless, the
demonstration of the importance of relationships with teachers and peers cannot be
underestimated.
Goodenow and Grady (1993). In an effort to further knowledge about school
connectedness, Goodenow and Grady (1993) surveyed 301 ethnically diverse junior high school
students (158 males, 130 females, 13 not identified) in the Northeastern U.S. who attended an
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 42
urban school. Survey data assessed these students’ sense of school belonging, peer group
influence on motivation, and effort (persistence).
Goodenow and Grady (1993) found that school belonging significantly impacted
expectancy for academic success, value for work, and general motivation. The study also
discovered that school belonging was positively, although weakly, correlated to effort
(persistence). Students were more likely to be engaged in their learning if their sense of
connectedness was high and supported Maslow’s Theory of Motivation (Maslow, 1943).
Conversely, students with low connectedness were less motivated and engaged in learning. This
study also suggested that a connectedness to school could outweigh the influence from a
student’s peer group. However, the most significant finding was that many of these urban
students felt disconnected or disenfranchised from school (Goodenow & Grady, 1993). This
finding was particularly alarming because many marginalized students already feel a sense of
disenfranchisement from the educational process as a whole. Goodenow and Grady (1993)
advocated that schools and other learning environments must proactively create systems that
promote connectivity and relatedness, especially for already marginalized students. This research
was directly relevant to the current research study, suggesting that relatedness is especially
important for low-socioeconomic status African American students in urban schools.
Dawes and Larson (2011). Dawes and Larson (2011) conducted a study to directly
explore how relatedness and motivation can be fostered for marginalized students who did not
necessarily feel connected to or motivated to participate in their youth program. In the study, 100
youths (age range 14-20, mean age 16) from ten different youth programs participated in a
qualitative study for nine months. Using semi-structured interviews, these youths were
interviewed about motivation and engagement at three separate points of time (beginning,
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 43
midpoint, and end of the program). The major themes that emerged were the importance of
forming of a personal connection, the types of connections established, developing a sense of
competence, and pursuing purpose (Dawes & Larson, 2011).
The themes identified by Dawes and Larson are echoed in child development theories
addressing the importance of making connections with adults to foster motivation in youths.
Dawes and Larson (2011) confirmed that connectedness can act as a primary mechanism to
nurture motivation and engagement. While this study took place in the context of youth
programs not classrooms, the parallels for schools and instructional practice are obvious.
Dawes and Larson (2011) found a secondary mechanism for increasing motivation:
programmatic vision and goal-setting. In eight of the ten programs included in the study, students
attributed their increased motivation to the connection to the vision and activities of their
program. Dawes and Larson (2011) asserted that youths can develop motivation as they become
true participants in a program. It was not necessary to enroll already motivated students,
motivation could be cultivated through organizational culture. Again, the implications for
schools and classrooms is obvious. Simply put, positive culture and climate motivate urban
youth.
Byrd and Chavous (2011). For African American students, race and school racial
climate strongly influence feelings of connectedness. Byrd and Chavous (2011) examined the
relationships between racial identity, racial climate in school, and intrinsic motivation. Unlike
other studies, which focused on primarily Caucasian populations, Byrd and Chavous studied 359
African American students in eleventh grade attending a public school in Maryland. These
students participated in the longitudinal Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study
(MADICS). In this study, the researchers assessed the measures of support and recognition from
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 44
students and staff at the school, looking for variables that produced a sense of school belonging.
This data was then compared to data from racial identity and school racial climate scales.
For the African American students in this study, connectedness to the school was the
strongest predictor of intrinsic motivation (Byrd and Chavous, 2011). The students reported that
a school culture and climate that promoted inclusion and fairness positively influenced their
motivation for attending school. Teachers and staff were that main driving factors for a positive
racial climate. Peer support did not significantly factor into their motivation as it pertained to
school culture and climate. This makes sense because it is teachers and staff who create the
school climate, role modeling and providing guidance for students. In the context of school,
students mirror the behaviors (culture) they see in teachers and staff. Byrd and Chavous (2011)
recommended that schools, led by teachers and staff, promote an accepting school environment
complete with appreciation and respect.
Voight, Hanson, O’Mallay, and Adekanye (2015). In spite of the evidence-based
research establishing the need for African American students to feel connected to the school
environment, many schools continue to disenfranchise African American students. Voight et al.
(2015) explored the racial climate gap at 754 middle schools in California to identify racial
disparities in students’ feelings of connectedness. The research team reviewed school climate
surveys from 187,120 students and 17,646 teachers. The surveys were mandated for two school
years (2008-2009 and 2009-2010) by the California Safe and Drug-Free School and
Communities fund and the California Tobacco Prevention Program. The surveys assessed school
climate and school norms of respect for diversity; school and racial group performance data was
obtained through California’s Academic Performance Index (API).
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 45
Voight et al. (2015) identified a racial gap in connectedness and adult-student
relationships for African American students at schools with an integrated Black/White student
body. Furthermore, the researchers found an association between this racial climate gap and the
racial academic achievement. The racial climate disparity at integrated schools created a
significant racial achievement gap. Schools where the racial climate disparity was smaller
showed a narrower academic achievement gap. Although causality could not be established,
racial climate appeared to influence the academic achievement gap (Voight et al., 2015). These
results pointed to the fact that African American students were less likely to be connected to their
schools, compromising their intrinsic motivation to participate in schooling.
In summary, these studies confirm that student’s psychological well-being improves with
a sense of belonging and relatedness. Schools can enhance relatedness by creating safe learning
environments, building school cultures of mutual respect and appreciation of diversity, and
communicating care (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). When students attend schools with positive racial
climates where they feel connected to teachers and peers, they excel academically. This is
especially true for marginalized youth who arrive in school already feeling disconnected from
the education process.
It is incumbent upon educators to leverage the power of autonomy, competence, and
relatedness when shaping school culture and developing learning activities. Students need
autonomy in planning their own educational pathways. Competence and self-efficacy increase
academic achievement, social adjustment, persistence, task engagement, and motivation.
Relatedness and a positive racial climate matters, especially in schools that are predominantly
Black. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness are the keys to persistence and motivation.
Persistence and motivation, coupled with natural ability and learned skills, empower students for
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 46
lifelong success, closing the opportunity gap and reducing income inequality. The combination
of autonomy, competence, and relatedness intrinsically motivates students to achieve
academically with or without external motivation and regulation.
Internal and External Regulations
Motivational theorists began exploring the effects of internal and external causality on
human behavior in the mid-twentieth century (Ryan & Connell, 1989). Central to the distinction
between internal and external causality was personal experience and the primary attribution of
behavior. The fundamental distinction was found in the answer to the question, “Who am I doing
this for?” In its infancy, motivational science was binary and two simple answers to this question
existed: 1) I do this for self-fulfillment and 2) I do this for reasons outside of self-fulfillment.
More recent research posits that there is a motivation continuum, with internal or external
regulation predicting the quality, quantity, and/or satisfaction of behavior (Ryan & Connell,
1989). Like theory around psychological needs, theory around regulation speaks both to the how
and the why of learning. We learn because we self-regulate and we are regulated by others; this
shapes how we learn and provides motivation (the “why” of learning).
Cersoli, Nicklin, and Ford (2014)
In a comprehensive meta-analysis covering a 40-year period, Cersoli et al. (2014)
examined the relationships and performance outcomes of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The
research team acknowledged the bevy of studies suggesting that extrinsic motivation undermines
intrinsic motivation; however, they were most concerned with the impact of intrinsic motivation,
the relationship between incentives and intrinsic motivation, and the motivation most significant
in performance. In this study, 950 research articles, conference papers, and dissertations were
reviewed and coded. The team identified sample codes, including but not limited to factors like
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 47
intrinsic motivation (participation in an activity that is enjoyable or fulfilling), task enjoyment,
free-choice task persistence, quality performance, quantity performance, present extrinsic (due to
prize or credit), direct performance salient, and indirect performance salient. A comprehensive
data analysis yielded support for four hypotheses.
The first two hypotheses attempted to align intrinsic motivation with performance. Data
revealed a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance; that relationship
was stronger for quality tasks as opposed to quantity tasks (Cersoli et al., 2014). Thus, the more
intrinsically motivated a person was, the greater his or her performance, especially as measured
by quality. The implication for education is clear: students will predictably achieve most when
they are intrinsically motivated and engage in quality tasks. This argues against the volumes of
rote homework assigned in many public-school classrooms.
The second hypothesis attempted to describe intrinsic motivation and performance in
relation to incentive (indirect and direct). Cersoli et al. (2014) found that intrinsic motivation and
performance was greater with incentives that were indirectly relevant to performance (future
learning) and lower with incentives that were directly relevant to performance (grades, credits).
This suggested that orienting incentives in the classroom towards indirect goals may be
efficacious.
The final two hypotheses confirmed that 1) incentives (extrinsic rewards) were a more
reliable predictor of performance quantity and 2) intrinsic motivation was a more reliable
predictor of quality. The research also showed that the link between intrinsic motivation and
performance quality was largely unaffected by age, gender, or race. The implications for
classroom practices are clear. Extrinsic rewards may be effective in low quality, high quantity
work but intrinsic motivation is necessary to encourage students to produce quality work.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 48
Walker, Greene, and Mansell (2006)
Understanding the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate
to levels of student engagement is also critical. Walker et al. (2006) explored the relationships
between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy. and engagement. They
conducted a study with 191 college students in a large university in the southwestern U.S.
Students were administered four difference scales to assess their motivation orientation, self-
efficacy, identification with teachers, and cognitive engagement.
Walker et al. (2006) found a positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and deep
cognitive engagement; they found a parallel positive correlation between extrinsic motivation
and shallow cognitive engagement. The first finding supported the belief that intrinsically
motivated students were concerned with the quality of their work because they were engaged in
their learning.
Surprisingly, Walker et al. (2006) found a strong positive correlation between
identification with teachers and academic engagement. This suggests that when students
identified with their teachers, motivation that fell somewhere between true extrinsic and true
intrinsic motivation.
Walker et al. (2006) suggested that if teachers better understand their students’
association with them, they could leverage this and better prepare these students for academic
success. This speaks directly to educators’ concerns about how to establish and cultivate intrinsic
motivation that persists throughout the course of a student’s academic career, and ideally
transitions into their workplace career. Such an understanding would narrow both the
achievement gap and the opportunity gap.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 49
Corpus, McClinitic-Gilbert, and Hayenga (2009)
The concept of stabilizing and increasing intrinsic motivation over the course of an
academic career begins with an exploration of that stability over the course of an academic year.
Corpus, McClinitic-Gilbert, and Hayenga (2009) explored the relationship between motivational
orientations and academic achievement as it changed over time. They followed 1,051 third
through ninth grade students in a major western U.S. city over the course of an academic year.
The students were administered a motivation orientation scale and perceptions of school goal
scale. The research team also reviewed the students’ academic achievement data (report cards
and standardized tests) in the fall and the spring.
Corpus et al. (2009) confirmed prior research that intrinsic motivation significantly and
positively predicted academic achievement. They also confirmed that extrinsic motivation was
not a significant predictor and could even be a negative predictor of student success (Corpus et
al., 2009).
These findings aligned with previous research, but this longitudinal study added two
major discoveries to the body of literature on motivation and achievement. First, this study
uncovered a decrease in intrinsic motivation for elementary and middle school students over the
course of a year (Corpus et al., 2009). This was significant because intrinsic motivation
positively affects academic achievement. Something is terribly wrong with a classroom that
brings in students with high intrinsic motivation and puts them in academic danger by decreasing
those students’ intrinsic motivation over the course of the school year. Even more alarming is
that notion that over years this motivation deficit accumulates, eventually producing a significant
decline in motivational orientation as students enter courses with more rigorous academics or
matriculate into college.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 50
Second, this study found a slight decrease in extrinsic motivation across all variables (i.e.,
school mastery, teacher dependence, pleasing others) with the exception of a request for easy
academic activities (Corpus et al., 2009). In other words, consistent with the findings on intrinsic
motivation, extrinsic motivation also decreased as the school year wore on, albeit less
dramatically. These findings suggested that educators must intentionally investigate and facilitate
mechanisms that cultivate and sustain persistence as it relates to intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. Failure to do so puts student academic achievement at risk not just in a single
academic year but throughout the student’s academic lifetime. This has the potential to widen the
achievement gap and the opportunity gap.
Gottfried, Fleming, and Gottfried (2001)
A decrease in extrinsic motivation during adolescence is often perceived as an expected
phenomenon given the autonomy needs of teenagers. And, some educators feel that a parallel
decrease in academic intrinsic motivation may simply be associated with this stage of human
development.
Gottfried, Fleming, and Gottfried (2001) conducted a longitudinal study following 96
students (55% males, 45% females) over eight years in Southern California. They sought to
confirm the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation was a stable construct and became increasingly
more stable between childhood and late adolescence. They also sought to confirm the hypothesis
that academic motivation declined from childhood to late adolescence.
Participants were administered Gottfried’s (1986) Children’s Academic Intrinsic
Motivation Instrument (CAIMI) five times between the ages of 9 and 17 (ages 9, 10, 13, 16, &
17) The CAIMI assessed their enjoyment of learning; orientation toward mastery; curiosity;
persistence; task attribution; and attitudes toward learning challenging, difficult, and novel tasks.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 51
The research team purposely began collecting data at age 9 because academic intrinsic
motivation is fully developed by this age, providing the maximum time span for a longitudinal
study of pre-college students (Gottfried et al., 2001). Very few longitudinal studies last more
than a year, so the length of this study is significant.
The research findings supported both hypotheses. First, not only was intrinsic motivation
stable between childhood and late adolescence, it also became more stable as the student aged,
allowing for a predictive element (Gottfried et al., 2011). Second, there was in fact a decline in
academic motivation between the ages of 9 and 17 in the majority of the core curriculum
(Gottfried et al., 2011). Together, these findings suggest that the decline of intrinsic motivation
as it pertains to academics was neither developmental nor inevitable but the result of
environmental factors. This decline in academic intrinsic motivation may be related to many
school’s reliance on extrinsic incentives and rewards to boost academic achievement. It may also
be related to the controlled learning environment present in many schools that ignores the need
for autonomy, especially in adolescence. Gottfried et al. (2011) recommended early interventions
to maintain or increase intrinsic academic motivation and to curtail the pattern of declining
academic motivation in adolescence, which counteracts the natural pattern in overall stabilization
for intrinsic motivation.
Teachers and parents rely on external rewards to shape behavior through extrinsic
motivation. Teachers and parents may lack the knowledge to cultivate intrinsic motivation or
they may not perceive they have adequate time. Extrinsic rewards may be easy to implement,
requiring little time or knowledge. However, research shows that extrinsic motivation is not a
predictor of student success and may even inhibit it. This is a knowledge gap that must be filled.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 52
Research clearly demonstrates that intrinsic motivation supports academic persistence,
performance, deep engagement, and quality work. Intrinsic motivation significantly and
positively predicts academic achievement. It is stable in young children and becomes more stable
over time, if extrinsic rewards don’t get in the way. To increase intrinsic motivation, there must
be intentionality, strategy, skill, and investment of time. It is an undertaking that has tremendous
power and potential to reframe students’ mindsets, building a foundation for lifelong academic
and career success, closing both the achievement gap and the opportunity gap.
Self-Determination Theory
Human beings strive to achieve self-determination, yet we are subject to the influences of
both internal forces and external sources: family, school, community, and nation. We are highly
influenced by both intrinsic (personal) and extrinsic (social) motivation. Self-Determination
Theory (SDT) predicted that humans engage in an organismic dialectical relationship with
various social contexts (positive or negative) and have the capacity to leverage personal
resources and integrate those external influences to guide human development (Ryan and Deci,
2002). Further, the influences (intrinsic and external) can cultivate or thwart human development
(Deci & Ryan, 1985). Specifically, SDT posits that these motivations compel us to meet our
three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) constrained or
empowered by a motivation continuum.
For more than a century, researchers have attempted to explain human behavior,
including motivation, through frameworks and conceptual maps that define thoughts, feelings,
and actions. In the case of academic achievement, many of the general theories about human
behavior have been adapted to explain the variance in performance of elementary and secondary
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 53
school students. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is one such theory that attempts to not only
explain “how” learning occurs but also why” it occurs (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
SDT is a theory of human behavior that describes human capacities for growth and
wellness, the internalization and integration of functionally significant experiences, and
motivational orientations. SDT is systemic, creating connections between human behavior
(motivation) and interpretation of thoughts, events, and social cues. The component factors of
SDT are interdependent in nature and governed by multiple, sometimes simultaneous, interfaces.
Finally, SDT presupposes that humans are pro-active organisms with the potential for change,
allowing for a practical prescription for therapeutic interventions and change management.
Self-Determination Theory consists of six component theories that address the factors
that determine motivation, psychological integration, and well-being: Cognitive Evaluation
Theory, Organismic Integration Theory, Causality Orientations Theory, Basic Psychological
Needs Theory, Goal Contents Theory, and Relationships Motivation Theory (Ryan & Deci,
2002, 2017):
• Cognitive Evaluation Theory explores the establishment of intrinsic motivation and its
association with a healthy state of mind and performance.
• Organismic Integration Theory distinguishes between the varying forms of extrinsic
motivation and the navigation process along the motivation continuum.
• Causality Orientation Theory defines personality types based on their orientation to their
social environment.
• Basic Psychological Needs Theory discusses the relationship between motivation and
goal with well-being.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 54
• Goal Contents Theory focuses on aspirations and goal setting as they satisfy or frustrate
the basic psychological needs.
• Relationship Motivation Theory explores the individual’s ability to engage in
comprehensive relationships and its reciprocity or undermining of the internalizations of
those social exchanges.
While all six theories contribute generously to the overall knowledge base, Cognitive
Evaluation Theory and Organismic Integration Theory are the most relevant to the academic
motivation and persistence of primary and secondary school students. Specifically, these two
theories define intrinsic and identified/integrated extrinsic motivation that can be applied to an
educational setting to explain academic success (Reeve, 2002):
• Cognitive Evaluation Theory explores the establishment of intrinsic motivation and its
association with a healthy state of mind and performance.
• Organismic Integration Theory distinguishes between the varying forms of extrinsic
motivation and the navigation process along the motivation continuum.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory and Intrinsic Motivation
Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) explores the components and manifestations of
intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017). CET posits that intrinsic motivation is inherent and
can be manipulated by our relationships in social contexts. It is important to note that social
conditions do not cause intrinsic motivation; rather, our interpretation of social conditions can
cause us to adjust our intrinsic motivations. CET defines the proximal conditions that influence
intrinsic motivation by specifically describing the factors that cultivate, strengthen, and challenge
intrinsic motivation.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 55
Ryan and Deci (2017) hypothesized that humans have three basic needs: autonomy,
competence, and relatedness. The concept of autonomy refers to free-will, volition, or choice.
Competence refers to effectiveness and self-efficacy. Relatedness refers to the desire to be cared
for and feel that you are part of a group. The more fully a person feels fulfilled across these three
needs, the more he or she maximizes task enjoyment and performance. These needs form the
foundation of health and well-being. An individual’s perceptions of autonomy, competence, and
relatedness are affected by their perceptions of locus of control, interpretation of events, and their
social environment.
Locus of control. The fulfillment of autonomy and competence is influenced by the
individual’s “perceived “locus of causality.” This locus of causality is “perceived” in that
causality is determined or attributed by the individual. The concept of perceived locus of
causality differentiates between autonomous and controlled behavior (de Charms, 1968). With an
internal perceived locus of causality, the individual believes his or her actions (i.e., task
completion) were intrinsically motivated (i.e., enjoyment). Conversely, with an external
perceived locus of causality, the individual believes his or her actions were motivated by external
factors (i.e., grades) (Ryan & Connell, 1989).
Interpretation of events. A second influence on autonomy and competence is the
interpretation of events. An event, in and of itself, does not affect intrinsic motivation. It is the
individual’s interpretation and attribution of a locus of control that influences his or her
motivation (Hagger & Chatzisarantis, 2011). The impact of a significant event can be
controlling, informational, or amotivating. CET proposes that only external events that are
informational increase an individual’s sense of autonomy and/or competence, thus, fulfilling
basic needs. Conversely, external events that are controlling (externally pressured or defined) or
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 56
amotivating (events the diminish autonomy or competence) frustrate basic need satisfaction. For
example, constructive feedback about how to develop a character when writing a story in school
is informational; forcing a student to color inside the lines is controlling and can be amotivating.
Social environment. A third influence on internal motivation is the environment or
setting for interpersonal interactions. Environments can be interpreted as controlling, autonomy
supportive, or amotivating. Home, school, and work settings dominated by people in positions of
authority who create toxic stress for their subordinates create controlling or amotivating
environments (Stefanou, Perencevich, DiCintio, & Turner, 2004). Whereas, settings designed to
convey mutual respect for ideas, varying skill levels, and display consideration—even in the
presence of tolerable stress—promote autonomy.
In summary, it is critical to help African American students in secondary school to
develop a sense of internalized locus of control, to be able to assert control over events in their
lives, to process external control in an empowering way, and to create reinforcing social
environments. These are key life skills that they will carry forward into college and career,
narrowing the racial achievement gap and the opportunity gap.
Organismic Integration Theory and Extrinsic Motivation
Organismic Integration Theory (OIT) explores the components and manifestations of
extrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017). For many decades, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
were considered binary; however, OIT posits that effective and positive internalizations can
satisfy basic needs. OIT codifies the motivation behind engagement in behavior for non-intrinsic
(extrinsic) reasons. There are four types of extrinsic motivation in OIT that exist on a continuum
with varying degrees of autonomy, internalization, and integration. The extrinsic motivation
continuum (Figure A) describes the internalization of external pressures and influence, ranging
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 57
from a controlled regulation to a relatively autonomous regulation. OIT links the internal
justifications for behavior created or perceived by individuals to the non-enjoyable actions
prescribed by social networks and society.

Figure A. The self-determination continuum, with regulation, traits, and locus of control.
Fully externalized regulation. The least autonomous regulation is “external regulation,”
where individuals succumb to public pressure, compliance, external rewards, avoidance of
punishment, and other external contingencies. This motivation produces self-controlled behavior
resulting from an external locus of causality. External motivation can produce socially desired
actions such as consistent school attendance, appropriate behavior, and attention to grades;
however, once the external regulation (i.e., input from parents, teachers, and principals) is
removed, individuals often struggle with maintenance and quality of previously established
behaviors (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991). External regulation is furthest from
intrinsic motivation on the regulation continuum.
Introjected regulation. “Introjected regulation” is characterized by internal (self-
induced) pressures and coercion. Individuals who behave out of fear of “guilt” or “shame” are

External
Regulation
Identified
Regulation
Integrated
Regulation
Introjected
Regulation
Intrinsic
Regulation
Intrinsic
Motivation
ΩΩ
Extrinsic
Motivation
Perceived
Locus of
Control
External
Somewhat
External
Somewhat
Internal
Internal Internal
Traits External rewards
and
punishments, i.e.
succumbing to
pressure
Internal rewards
and punishments,
i.e. “guilt” or
“shame”
Acceptance and
endorsements of
the value
Congruence,
awareness and
modification of
values
Interest,
enjoyment, and
satisfaction
Non-Self-Determined Behavior Self-Determined Behavior
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 58
responding to introjected regulation and display self-controlling behavior (De Bilde,
Vansteenkiste, & Lens, 2011). For example, a student may study for an exam out of fear of being
shamed by low grades. Introjection is not fully extrinsic because it encompasses the
consideration of and affection for other people. Shame and guilt cannot exist outside of
connectedness to others. And, similar to fully external regulation, if the risk of being shamed by
others is decreased, undesirable behaviors may manifest. For example, if a student can read
SparkNotes instead of an assigned book, they may be able to write an essay and receive a passing
grade; however, they are not learning.
Additionally, introjected individuals may have issues with projecting others’ feelings
onto themselves and relying on the judgments of others to determine self-worth. For example, a
student may do his or her best, yet feel ashamed or embarrassed for not achieving the same
grades as a sibling or another student in school. It is not yet a place on the OIT spectrum where
basic needs can be met.
Identified regulation. “Identified regulation” is the point on the OIT spectrum where
extrinsic motivations begin to satisfy basic needs. Identified regulation introduces an internal
perceived locus of causality. The major characteristic of identified regulation is the acceptance
and endorsement of the value of the imposed regulations (Guay, Chanal, Ratelle, Marsh, Larose,
& Boivin, 2010). Although the behavior may not be rewarding in and of itself, it is of personal
importance to the individual. For example, an older sibling may help a younger sibling with
homework. It is not in and of itself rewarding, but the older child values family and the task has
personal meaning. The older child receives a sense of competence for having the skills to meet
the younger child’s needs; he or she may also gain a sense of relatedness through admiration
from the younger child and gratitude or praise from the parent.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 59
Integrated regulation. “Integrated regulation” is the most autonomous and completely
internalized form of extrinsic motivation. It results in the strongest form of self-regulation,
involving a deeply internalized perceived locus of causality. Individuals with integrated
regulation are described as bringing value, congruence, and/or awareness of that integration
(Gagne & Deci, 2005). This may involve accepting a modification of a previously held value and
can manifest in a new, authentic viewpoint. Internally regulated behaviors can satisfy basic
needs.
In summary, extrinsically motivated behaviors can satisfy the three basic psychological
needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), increase quality and productivity, and improve
psychological health. When extrinsically motivated behaviors become more autonomous or
internalized, persistence and performance advance. Creating a bridge between external and
internal motivation is of critical importance for African American students. Internalized
motivation and persistence are skills that students will carry from secondary school into college,
and eventually the workplace. This bridge will narrow the achievement gap, the opportunity gap,
and create a generation of young professionals who are able to achieve productive adulthood and
economic self-sustainability.
Social Networks and Academic Achievement
There are many external factors that can influence motivation and a growing body of
literature explores the impact of social support and social networks. Within institutions of
education, social support and social networks are expressed through school climate.
Research on social networks increasingly explores differences across demographic
categories like race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. This body of literature is important for
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 60
the current research study, which looks not just at motivation and persistence, but specifically
motivation and persistence for African American students in urban school systems.
Young, Johnson, Hawthorne, and Pugh (2011). Young et al. (2011) conducted a study
to determine the extent to which family socioeconomic status, generational experience with
college, and perceived social support influenced 93 undergraduate students at a northwest Texas
university. Perceived social support was operationalized as networks students believed provided
resources, counseling, and aid to inspire students’ academic security. The diverse sample
population (31 African American, 31 European American, 31 Latino) was administered two
scales. Vallarand, Pelletier, Blais, Briere, Senecal, and Vallieres (1992) Academic Motivation
Scale was used to ascertain levels of academic motivation. Zimet, Fahlem, Zimet, and Farley’s
(1998) Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to examine
perceived social support from social groups.
Young et al. (2011) found that the role of perceived social support varied across the three
cultures. They found that for the African American students only, perceived social support was
correlated to academic motivation (both intrinsic and extrinsic). Surprisingly, family socio-
economic status and generational experience in college were only contributing or secondary
factors.
Conversely, the European American and Latino groups perceived social support was not
correlated with academic motivation. These findings further the understanding of motivation
across racial definitions and can refine Ryan and Deci’s (2017) regulation continuum. The
implications for the current research study are obvious.
Affuso, Bacchini, and Concetta-Miranda (2017). While the previous study explored
the collective impact of more global social support, Affuso, Bacchini, and Concetta-Miranda
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 61
(2017) focused on isolating the relationship between parent monitoring and academic
achievement. They sampled 501 adolescents and their parents. Parents were given a Parental
Monitoring Scale and self-reported their education level. Students completed the Ravens
Advanced Progressive Matrices to assess their intelligence, the Academic Motivation Scale to
assess their self-determined motivation, and the Academic Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale to
assess their beliefs around their ability to learn. The Academic Motivation Scale was the same
scale used by Young et al. (2011). At the end of the term, teachers completed evaluations of
student performance. The data indicated that parental monitoring had an indirect effect on
student academic achievement.
Affuso et al. (2017) believed that parental contribution was mediated by parents’
influence on their students’ self-determined (intrinsic) motivation and academic self-efficacy.
The results indicated strong correlations between parental monitoring and self-determined
(intrinsic) motivation and self-efficacy, but not in the way one might suspect. Although parents
thought they had a direct effect on student achievement, Affuso et al. (2017) found parental
efforts were better served changing their child’s mindset and cultivating self-efficacious
behaviors rather than focusing on academic performance (grades and test scores). This study is
groundbreaking because as students transition into adolescence, autonomy becomes more highly
valued (Hill & Taylor, 2004).
If parents want to help their child succeed in school, they must learn to account for their
child’s increasing autonomy needs. Focusing on higher order support (changing mindset and
strengthening academic self-efficacy) becomes critical. Unfortunately, these are also more
challenging supports to provide. This study supports the finding of Young et al. (2011) that
parental engagement is important. It is unfortunate that Affuso et al. (2017) did not control for
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 62
race or ethnicity in this study. Still, it identifies an important theme for the current research
study, validating the importance of exploring parental engagement.
Bokhorst, Sumter, and Westenberg (2009). All social networks can positively affect
the lives of students. However, peer groups can have a particularly potent effect on students;
thus, numerous studies explore the effect peer groups have on the academic development of
students. Bokhorst, Sumter, and Westenberg (2009) focused their study on students’ perceptions
of their parents and their peer group support on their education. The research team sampled 655
students (304 males, 351 females) between the ages of nine and eighteen across two primary
schools, two secondary schools, and two post-secondary schools. The Social Support Scale for
Children and Adolescents (Harter, 1985) assessed students’ perceptions of parental, friend,
teacher, and classmate support. The research team was interested in comparing the strength of
each of the groups against each other to determine the most significant support system.
Not surprisingly, Bokhorst et al. (2009) found the importance of each group varied
according to age. Students aged 9 to 15 equally valued support from parents and friends; they
equally perceived support from teachers and classmates. However, students aged 16 to 18
believed that their friends’ support was more important than support from their parents. This
aligns with evidence-based research on the increasing autonomy needs of adolescents.
Surprisingly, these older students also believed that their classmates were equally as important as
their parents; teachers were perceived as the least supportive. This research shows that as
students move through adolescence, they rely less heavily on support from adults (parents and
teachers) and more heavily on support from friends and peers.
A limitation in this study was that it did not describe the specific support provided by
classmates and peers. Nor did it explore variation in support systems across racial and ethnic
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 63
divisions. Nevertheless, this research provided important factors relevant to the current research
project.
Kindermann (2007). Students typically develop peer networks in school, although they
can form in youth programs, churches, or neighborhoods. Kindermann (2007) addressed the
issue of how peers support each other in school, something Bokhorst et al. (2009) failed to do.
Kindermann was specifically interested in describing the effect of peer relationships in school on
academic engagement.
Kindermann followed 340 sixth graders (52% males, 48% females) in a small town for an
entire school year. The participants were evaluated on their academic engagement, academic
achievement, and peer groups. Kindermann’s (2007) findings confirmed existing research that a
student’s social network is significantly influential. Kindermann (2007) found that students
belonging to peer groups that were academically engaged remained at the same engagement
level or increased their engagement level as the year progressed. The engaged peers provided
sources of support, assisting with completing projects and other academic related activities.
However, students belonging to academically disengaged peer networks were discouraged from
participating in learning.
Again, this research was limited in that it did not address racial differences in peer group
engagement. While the results are significant, the generalizability to an urban setting may be
limited. The same is true for generalizability to an older population. However, Kindermann
raised an important theme that informed the current research study.
School Climate and Culture
Peer groups are not the only influence on the behaviors, actions, and motivations of
students. Research shows that school climate and culture are also important. School climate and
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 64
culture lead to the creation of systems and strategies that encourage, or discourage, motivation,
persistence, and academic success. This in turn narrows, or widens, the achievement gap and the
opportunity gap.
Stolp and Smith (1995) distinguish culture from climate. Climate is the shared
perceptions of the individuals in a group or organization; many scales and indices used in
academic research measure school climate. Culture includes how people feel about the
organization and the beliefs, values, and assumptions that provide the identity and set the
standards of behavior for the group or organization. Culture can include special foods, rituals,
symbols, specialized language or code talk, and architecture. In the context of a school, rituals
often include saying the Pledge of Allegiance or singing the school fight song; symbols appear in
the form of mascots and school jerseys; code talk may include school mottos or affirmations;
and, donut Friday may be a ritual of identification and food sharing. Culture is more difficult, if
not impossible, to measure in quantitatively. This informed the current research study, which
used a qualitative methods approach to explore motivation and persistence.
Berkowitz, Moore, Astor, and Benbenishty (2016). Berkowitz, Moore, Astor, and
Benbenishty (2016) conducted a meta-analysis exploring how a positive school culture mitigates
the effects of academic risk factors associated with low-socioeconomic (SES) communities.
Researchers synthesized 78 articles, demonstrating that a positive school culture can influence
high achievement while decreasing risk factors associated with low-SES communities.
Berkowitz et al. (2016) showed that even a low-SES school community can create a productive,
welcoming, academically engaging culture that increases student success. This confirmed that
school and classroom culture matter, encouraging school communities to be cognizant and
proactive in the creation of welcoming learning environments.
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The study was limited by the small number of relevant articles and the great variation
within the studies. These variations included inconsistent definitions of terms (i.e., school
culture), methodologies (i.e., 53% used a correlational design), and units of analysis (54%
measured climate and achievement at the student level only). These variations made it
impossible to assess a causal relationship between positive school culture and academic
achievement. Nonetheless, school leaders can accept the larger notion that a positive school
culture can positively affect individual and schoolwide academic performance.
Borman and Overman (2004). A positive school climate not only affects academic
performance, it may also have an effect on resilience, especially from low-SES students and
students of color. In a review of national data provided by the Prospects Study, Borman and
Overman (2004) explored low-SES and minority student academic engagement and resiliency.
The Prospects Study (Puma, Karweit, Price, Ricciuti, Thompson, & Vaden-Kiernan, 1997) was a
national longitudinal study of the impact of Title 1 on academic achievement of low-SES
students. It studied nearly 40,000 students in 365 schools from 1991 to 1994, measuring student
characteristics, childhood experiences, family environment, school and classroom characteristics,
and instructional processes.
Borman and Overman (2004) synthesized information on 925 students from the Prospects
Study to explore engagement in academic activities, internal locus of control, efficaciousness in
math, outlook toward school, and self-esteem. In the context of math engagement and
performance, they assessed the characteristics of resiliency (self-esteem, self-efficacy,
engagement in school, and a positive disposition). Resiliency has been a significant emerging
topic in current research (Duckworth, 2016; Dweck, 2006).
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Borman and Overman (2004) uncovered three important findings pertaining to resilience
in school children. First, greater levels of academic engagement, efficaciousness in math, self-
esteem, and a positive mindset were indicators for resilience low-SES students of color. Second,
resilience in low-SES students of color was not affected by attending school with other low-SES
students of color. Finally, school climate influenced the academic resilience of students.
Borman and Overman (2004) challenged school leaders to foster a positive school
climate. They argued for school leaders to hold high expectations for academic resilience and to
create protective factors for low-SES students regardless of their school’s demographic
composition. Although Borman and Overman (2004) defined resilience as “performing above
expectations,” the definition of resilience and the tools utilized to measure it have varied
significantly by researcher. Therefore, this study is limited by research that used a similar
definition and measure of resilience (academic achievement).
Academic Resilience and Protective Factors
Many would argue that schools have a moral obligation to hold high expectations for
students and to create the protective factors suggested by the research to promote academic
resilience. To promote academic resilience, leaders must focus on building and strengthening
protective factors through interventions for marginalized students.
Morales (2010) conducted a qualitative study of 50 freshman and sophomore
undergraduate students from homes with limited financial resources and little or no history of
pursuing post-secondary education. Morales (2010) sought to identify effective protective factors
in those students who were identified as being resilient. During the student interviews, a number
of themes emerged around two clusters.
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The first cluster grouped factors regarding potential success and positive adult
associations. The most significant factors for students were their desires to improve their socio-
economic status (94%), to enjoy positive relationships with school personnel (90%), and a strong
future orientation (86%) (Morales, 2010).
The second cluster grouped factors regarding characteristics students believed
contributed to their success. Morales (2010) reported that students held four such beliefs:
persistence (94%), high self-esteem (90%), holding an internal locus of control (92%), and a
strong work ethic (90%).
This study was limited by the small sample; however, educators can glean important
practices from this research. While many of the individual factors have been studied
independently, leaders can explore establishing connections between the varying factors when
creating school-based programs and creating a positive climate (Morales, 2010). For example,
social emotional learning has become popular, partly due to the combination of the various
factors identified in the second cluster of factors (Duckworth & Yeager, 2015; Morales, 2010).
Creating discourses around potential social class advancement and attention to the perceived
detrimental effect of academic success in the African American community can be explored
(Morales, 2010; Ogbu & Simmons, 1998). Finally, schools and community organizations can
establish mentoring programs and promote activities that encourage positive adult-student
relationships for African American students (Morales, 2010).
Theoretical Implications of Self-Determination Theory
There are several important implications for educational practice that arise from Ryan
and Deci’s (2017) Self-Determination Theory (SDT). First, there are clear prescriptions for how
to define intrinsic and identified/integrated motivation. These prescriptions can create pathways
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and processes for motivating students to become motivated. Second, it should be the goal of a
school to develop academically engaged (motivated) students in a motivating environment.
Third, there is a focus on depth of thought and the production of quality work.
First, SDT defines three basic psychological needs that must be met; they are powerful
motivators for most people. SDT explores how external factors can contribute to intrinsic
motivations. The theory also discusses some of the challenges in satisfying those needs. This
theory has provided evidence of increased student engagement when basic psychological needs
are satisfied (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Therefore, educational practitioners can view SDT as a
“recipe” for academic success and psychological well-being.
Second, SDT is founded on the presupposition that a learner has the potential for change
and growth. This implication forces the learner to accept that he or she has the potential to learn.
It also forces educators to accept that all students can learn. For years, teachers have complained
about how education is negatively impacted by the lack of a proper home environment, the
challenges of educating non-English speakers, and presence of low-SES students who they
believe are ill-equipped to learn. These complaints may be impediments with a basis in reality,
but SDT clearly shows that if educators provide a proper environment, academic success can be
achieved.
Finally, SDT assumes that quality work is superior to quantity of work. It shows that
educators can develop students who are capable of producing this quality work. In an era of
increased accountability, schools and school districts look to the standardized-test leaderboard.
Schools are labeled “failing factories” if their assessment data doesn’t meet certain criteria. The
notion of a mile long and an inch deep is appropriate for looking only at test scores. Teaching to
the test is shallow learning; it may improve a school’s reputation, but it does little for deep
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 69
student learning. And, it is this deeper student learning that will narrow the achievement gap and
the opportunity gap.
Theoretical Limitations of Social Cognitive Theory
There are limited critiques of social cognitive theory as a whole. However, there are
critiques and concerns focused narrowly on specific tenets of social cognitive theory. One such
tenet is self-efficacy.
The Shadow Side of Self-Efficacy
Numerous researchers agree that self-efficacy can be a predictor of academic
achievement. The concern some researchers have raised is around the long-term effect of self-
efficacy and self-esteem on SDT’s satisfaction of needs (Croker & Park, 2004). Self-efficacy can
ultimately be judged by actual performance. A student in pursuit of a self-efficacious belief may
be disheartened and demotivated upon realizing his or her flaws. Perceived failures, rather than
perceived opportunities to learn and define oneself, may have detrimental effects on the
continuing development of self-efficacy and perceptions of competence (Croker & Park, 2004).
In other words, self-efficacy can be a powerful mechanism for meeting basic psychological
needs, but it can also undermine the pursuit of those same needs.
In addition to academic challenges (failures) threatening self-efficacy and self-esteem,
the pursuit of self-efficacy itself may hamper interpersonal relationships. Relatedness is a basic
psychological need that involves mutual caring and supportive relationships (Niemiec & Ryan,
2009). There is a cost to relatedness when self-efficacy becomes a primary mission. A belief in
one’s own resourcefulness can run counter to the pursuit of relationships. As an individual
becomes more self-efficacious, they may devalue interpersonal relationships, believing that they
don’t need other people (Croker & Park, 2004).
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These concerns can be mitigated by the conscious educator. Teachers can simultaneously
create atmospheres that nurture self-efficacy while encouraging interrelatedness and
interdependence.
The Shadow Side of External Motivation
A second concern surrounds the debate over the effects of rewards and incentives on the
development of intrinsic motivation and creativity. SDT argues that rewards and incentives have
detrimental effects on intrinsic motivation and, thus, self-determination (Ryan & Deci, 2017).
However, Eisenberger and Shanock (2003) believed that there was not enough evidence to
support that link; they also found that rewards could have a positive effect on creativity. This is
significant because the incentive/intrinsic motivation relationship has been a central tenet to
autonomy. Ryan and Deci (2017) argued that incentives created a controlling environment that
inhibited autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Therefore, SDT is limited by the non-universal
acceptance that rewards compromise autonomy-supportive environments.
Another concern around autonomy-supportive environments has been the lack of general
support and practice. Vansteenkiste and Sheldon (2006) noted the applications of creating an
autonomy-supportive environment have not been applied to the fields of psychology and
counseling. The inference is that the practitioners most concerned with changing behavior are not
fully utilizing behavioral frameworks. This narrow application only limits the empirical evidence
that supports SDT’s assertions. Future empirical research can study the effects autonomy-
supportive and controlled environments have on persistence, motivation, and self-determination.
Cultural Differences and Self-Determination Theory
The most significant critique of SDT is the assumption of Western mindsets, values, and
ideals in the design of SDT itself. Ryan and Deci (2017) themselves acknowledge other
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researchers have questioned whether the definition of autonomy is applicable to other cultures.
Heine, Lehman, Markus, and Kitayama (1999) discussed the connectedness of relationships in
Japanese culture, which would define autonomy very differently. Phinney, Ong, and Madden
(2000) explored African American culture as a combination of American individualistic ideals
and the collective values of cultures of color, where a combination of conflicting values produces
a sophisticated and nuanced definition of autonomy.
There is limited research that defends SDT’s concept of autonomy as being culturally
relevant beyond the authors of SDT themselves (Chirkov, Ryan, Kim, & Kaplan, 2003; Ryan &
Deci, 2017). These researchers argue that autonomy is a function of well-being and the relational
aspect of autonomy makes this concept to be relevant across all cultures (Chrikov et al., 2003;
Ryan & Deci, 2017).
On the macro-level, SDT has defeated these isolated battles by winning the war. The
theory provides a solid framework for understanding intrinsic motivation and the
identification/integration of external influences. It provides a prescription for identifying key
tenets and outlining the successful fulfillment of the basic human needs. Researchers throughout
the world have confirmed the importance of SDT and its overall cultural relevancy (Chen,
Vansteenkiste, Beyers, Boone, Deci, Duriez, & Verstuyf, 2015; Cersoli et al., 2014; Cokley,
Bernard, Cunningham, & Motoike, 2001; de Miguel, Lizaso, Hermasilla, Alcover, Goudas, &
Arranz-Freijo, 2017; Moreno-Murcia, Huescar, & Cervello, 2012; Prat-Sala & Redford, 2010;
Saeed & Zyangier, 2012; Stover, de la Iglesia, Boubta, & Fernandez-Liporace, 2012; Wang &
Holcombe, 2010). Therefore, and in spite of these critiques, this theory has been deemed
appropriate for the current research study.

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Summary
A theoretical framework allows educators to make sense of and articulate the causes of a
phenomenon. In the current research study, Ryan and Deci’s (2017) Self-Determination Theory
(SDT) provided a lens to explore and understand why so many low-socioeconomic students of
color succeed academically. SDT, a social cognitive theory, argues that intrinsic motivation can
be cultivated by satisfying three basic needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) and
integrating or identifying with external influences.
Self-Determination Theory takes an organismic approach, where unity and integration of
people leads to individual growth or developmental. SDT posits six mini-theories, two of which
inform the current research student. Cognitive Evaluation Theory states that intrinsic motivation
is rooted in the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and
relatedness); multiple empirical studies have confirmed that the satisfaction of these needs (either
in isolation or combination) can improve academic achievement and contribute positively to a
student’s academic persistence.
Organismic Integration Theory posits distinct categories along the extrinsic motivation
continuum. Two of the four categories allow for either identification with or integration of
external motivations (i.e., parental advocacy and support, peer networks, and school climate).
Multiple studies have confirmed the positive effects of specific external motivators on academic
achievement and the contribution to a student’s academic persistence.
Multiple studies have confirmed that African American students benefit from intrinsic
motivation, identified and integrated external encouragements, and protective factors. Some of
these protective factors include the desire to improve their social class, valuing work ethic, and
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 73
having positive adult-student relationships. Research shows that these protective factors
contribute to a student’s engagement, persistence, and academic achievement.
Closing the achievement gap and the opportunity gap will produce a new generation of
young adults who are able to compete in an increasingly challenging global marketplace and
become economically self-sufficient, reducing income inequality and creating pathways out of
generational cycles of poverty. The keys are interdependent: strengthening resilience that
empowers persistence and nurturing motivation that engages students in working towards their
own academic success.

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CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Research has confirmed that African American students achieve academically when they
have high levels of intrinsic motivation. Self-Determination Theory (SDT) provides a proven
framework for understanding intrinsic motivation and the identification/integration of external
influences. It has provided an important lens for educators to better understand student
persistence, motivation, and achievement. However, research focusing on specific sub-
populations, such as African American students in urban schools, through this filter has been
limited.
This study worked to identify the factors and practices that protect and foster academic
motivation and persistence for high achieving, low-socioeconomic status (SES) twelfth grade
African American students in urban high schools.
This chapter describes the sampling techniques and study population. It lays out the
qualitative methodology used to gather and analyze data for each of the research questions. It
concludes with a discussion about the ethical considerations involved in human-subjects
research.
Research Questions
The current research study focused on three research questions about how African
American students in urban high schools succeed academically. Appendix A shows the
Theoretical Alignment Matrix.
• RQ1: What discourses do high-achieving, low-SES African American students use to
describe their intrinsic motivation for academic persistence?
• RQ2: What school related practices do high-achieving, low-SES African American
students employ to maximize academic success?
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• RQ3: How might low-SES African American students engage extrinsic motivation with
learning?
Methodology
The nature of the current research study necessitated a qualitative methodology.
However, this study also sought to explore the impact of school culture and climate on student
achievement. Culture is more difficult, if not impossible, to measure. This informed the current
research study.
Qualitative Methodology Approach
This study was framed by the tenets of a constructivist/interpretive epistemological
worldview. Lincoln and Guba (1985) organized social psychologists’ thoughts around multiple
perspectives, producing a synthesis of constructed realities. This worldview caused the
researcher to make sense of the participants’ realities as they described and understood a
phenomenon (Creswell, 2014; Merriam and Tisdale, 2016). Constructivism/interpretivism
aligned with the qualitative research method.
This study was rooted in qualitative principles. This study explored how students
perceived and identified protective factors that supported their motivation and persistence,
affecting their overall academic achievement. Merriam and Tisdale (2016) noted that “the overall
purposes of qualitative research are to achieve an understanding of how people make sense out
of their lives, delineate the process of meaning-making, and describe how people interpret what
they are experiencing” (p. 15).
There are many elements to a qualitative study that informed the decision to use a
qualitative methodology in this study. First, there was explicit attention and value placed on how
students defined their world. Maxwell (2013) believed that one intellectual goal of qualitative
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study was to understand how a participant defined reality. Maxwell (2013) further stated that this
could be accomplished by accepting, valuing, and understanding that the participant’s cognition,
intention, and affect influenced perspective. Aside from valuing the participant’s reality, it was
important to limit the researcher’s preconceived beliefs. Creswell (2014) warned researchers to
focus on learning the meaning to avoid bringing the researchers’ interpretation into the study. It
was vital not to allow the literature review or other preconceived ideas influence data collection
and analysis.
Second, a qualitative study has an emergent design. Researchers begin with an initial
research question or questions based on personal experience and prior studies. Creswell (2014)
stated that the process, including the reshaping of the research questions, changes when a
qualitative study begins. This flexibility respects the data collection process and allows the
researchers to alter plans as necessary to gain the most valuable and comprehensive data. Given
that the literature on intrinsic motivation for African American high school students in urban
schools was sparse, a flexible methodology made sense.
Third, a qualitative design provided space for reflexivity. This approach allowed the
researcher to remain cognizant of how personal backgrounds and biases might affect data
analysis. Creswell (2014) understood that the researcher’s background might direct data
collection and suggested that researcher must stay present to these potential influences.
Fourth, a qualitative study provides a holistic account of the problem or issue. Creswell
(2014) defined “holistic account” as the ability of the researcher to provide a comprehensive
examination in the study by including multiple perspectives, identifying multiple factors, and
illuminating the larger picture. An exploration into the many facets contributing to thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors contributed to the overall depth of the current research study.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 77
Finally, one practical goal of qualitative research is to advance the knowledge of existing
practices or programs to provide a rationale for the creation of a new practice or program.
Qualitative research differs from quantitative research because quantitative research attempts to
establish causal relationships between variables and outcomes while qualitative research can
explore the pragmatic goal of improving the practice or policy (Maxwell, 2013).
Sampling and Population
Sampling allows for greater generalization and/or more robust answers to research
questions (Maxwell, 2013; Miles and Huberman, 1994). While all research contributes to a body
of knowledge, the researcher in the current study aspired to conduct a study that would be
generalizable beyond the scope of the study population.
Purposeful Sampling
Creswell (2104) noted that “the idea behind qualitative research is to purposefully select
participants or sites that will best help the researcher understand the problem and the research
question” (p. 189). Merriam and Tisdale (2016) defined a “purposeful sample” as one that is
designed to attract participants who embody the specific characteristics that will further develop
the study. Purposeful sampling was appropriate to meet the unique needs of the current research
study. This unique multi-site purposeful sample advanced knowledge about persistence and
motivation while allowing for generalizability within the population.
Study Population
The achievement gap in urban school districts across the United States shows significant
inequities across racial lines (Howard, 2010; Lee, 2002). An urban school district located in the
Western United States was selected for this study because it suffered from a sizable racial
academic achievement gap. It was given the pseudonym the “Mineral Springs School District,”
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to protect confidentiality and anonymity. In this district, recent testing data showed that just 25%
of African American students were identified as proficient in Language Arts and 16% were
proficient in math. In comparison, 64% of White students were identified as proficient in
Language Arts and 55% in math. The racial achievement gap in Language Arts and Math was
enormous at 39%.
High achieving, low-SES African American students were invited to participate in this
research study. High achievement was operationalized as achieving proficiency in Language Arts
and math on state assessments. Low socio-economic status was operationally defined as
qualifying for free or reduced school lunch, using guidelines set by the United States Department
of Agriculture and 2017 Federal income poverty guidelines. For this study, any student living in
a four-person household that earned $31,980 or less qualified for free meals and any student
living in a four-person household that earned between $38,981 and $45,510 qualified for
reduced-price meals (FNS, 2017).
Some African American students who attend schools where they are the minority begin
to conform to the majority’s ideals (Ogbu & Simmons, 1998). This study attempted to limit the
influence of other racial and ethnic groups. Thus, in conceptualizing this study, three conditions
were required for a school to participate in this study. First, at least 20% of the school’s
population had to be African American. The large percentage ensured the students engaged
regularly with their racial subgroup, tempering the influence of the dominant (White) or other
racial groups.
Second, a significant number of African American students had to be considered high
achieving (10% or more). Students with high academic motivation seek out others who are also
high achieving and academically motivated (Altermatt & Pomerantz, 2005; Kindermann, 2007).
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 79
This condition allowed for discourses about positive academic interactions with the population
being studied.
Third, a significant number of students had to qualify for free or reduced lunch (50% or
more). Researchers have documented the inadequate resources, high teacher turnover, and
limited social networks available in schools located in high poverty areas (Milne & Plourde,
2006; Stanton Salazar, 1997). As this was a part of the research design, it was important that
students in the study live in high poverty areas. Therefore, two schools were identified as
meeting the criteria and served as qualitative data collection sites. They were given the
pseudonyms “Flat Water High School” and “River High School:”
• Flat Water High School is located in the one of the poorer sections of Mineral Springs.
The school is a full magnet school without any residential boundary. The students
represented nine zip codes. Some students rode the bus (school bus or public
transportation) for as long as 90 minutes each way to attend Flatwater High School. The
school’s demographics were representative of the neighborhood. The school’s
demographics were 55% Latino, 41% African American, and 4% Asian.
• River High School is a residential school with one magnet center. The residential school
demographics were: 20% African American, 65% Latino, 4% White, and 9% Asian.
However, the magnet center demographics were: 24% African American, 50% Latino,
6% White, and 18% Asian.
Data was collected through interviews. The Flat Water administrative team identified
approximately 13 possible participants who fit the study criteria. Twelve of the thirteen possible
participants agreed to take part in the study. The River administrative team identified eight
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possible participants. All eight possible participants agreed to take part in the study. Consent was
obtained from the students and their parents or guardians.
Confidentiality and Internal Review Board Approval
Before conducting the research, Internal Review Board approval was sought from
University of Southern California and the school district. Prospective participants were informed
that the university and their district had approved the research project. Participation in the
research was both voluntary and anonymous. Participants were assured that no personally
identifiable information would be associated with the survey responses in any reports of the data.
Instrumentation
This study explored how students perceived and identified protective factors that
supported their motivation and persistence, affecting their overall academic achievement. A
qualitative study was selected for its depth and comprehensive nature.
Qualitative Instrumentation
Qualitative research allowed the researcher to gain a deep understanding of the
phenomenon under exploration. There were two methods for primary data collection in this
study: interviews and observations.
Interviews. In order to assess the practices that encourage motivation and persistence in
high achieving, low-SES students, it was imperative to select a data collection method that would
provide comprehensive data. Therefore, the primary data collection method was interviews with
students. The qualitative interview provided extensive data about the participant’s life
experiences, perspectives, interpretations, and ontology developing a holistic perspective on the
research phenomena (Patton, 2002; Weiss, 1994). Merriam and Tisdale (2016) posited that a
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 81
constructivist interview afforded “discourse analysis, narrative analysis, and conversation
analysis” (p. 112).
Creswell (2014) suggested developing an interview protocol for asking questions and
recording answers. The interview protocol for this research study began with an introduction of
the researcher and discussion of the purpose of the study. Next, the participants were introduced
to the research questions. Additionally, there was an explanation of the anticipated use of the
data. The introduction ended with the official request for consent and permission to record the
interview.
Consistency with the line of questioning was imperative; however, it was also important
to allow for some linguistic liberties from the participants. Therefore, the semi-structured
interview format was chosen. Semi-structured interviews are a mix of structured and less
structured questions that allows for free expression (Creswell &, 2014).
Merriam and Tisdale (2016) described six types of questions to stimulate responses
(experience, opinion, feeling, knowledge, sensory, and background) and four types of questions
for eliciting information (hypothetical, devil’s advocate, ideal position, and interpretive). The
interview questions in this research study (see Appendix B) represented a mixture of these types
of questions. All questions were connected to the SDT framework.
Each individual interview lasted between 35 and 55 minutes. Weiss (1994) believed that
people preferred to be interviewed in their home or office as opposed to meeting at the
interviewer’s office. Therefore, interviews took place in a secure room at each school site.
Observations. Observation provides data that supplements the data collected through
interviews. Observations are an effective method for understanding routine behaviors and
visualizing norms, providing knowledge about the context in natural occurrences, and accessing
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a fresh perspective, especially when participants are hesitant to speak (Merriam & Tisdale,
2016).
As an observer, the researcher focused on elements presented within the theoretical
framework. The framework suggested that the concepts of autonomy, competence, and
relatedness influenced motivation. During the observation, the researcher looked for data to
support or refute that theory. Observations were logged using a protocol (see Appendix C).
Meriam and Tisdale (2016) stated that “participation in the group is definitely secondary
to the role of information gatherer” (p.145). During observations, the researcher was an observer
and participant. The researcher did not want to interfere with the flow of the session but felt it
would be important that the students understood the motivation.
Merriam and Tisdale (2016) presented an observation checklist that was developed by
several researchers suggesting that observers attend to the physical setting, behaviors of the
participants, activities and interactions, conversations, subtle factors, and observer behavior. To
assist with the observation, an observation checklist was utilized. Additionally, a running
commentary occurred that interacted with the observation checklist. The framework was
reviewed before every observation and the checklist was adjusted as necessary.
Validity. Validity is the extent to which research actually measures what it intends to
measure. To ensure that this study was valid, multiple tactics were employed to prevent threats to
validity. During the data collecting and analyzing stage, there was an attempt to reduce
researcher bias. Maxwell (2013) believed that researcher bias could lead researchers to select and
highlight specific data that fit preconceived ideas, hunches, and theories. Therefore, there was an
identification of potential biases before designing the research methods (i.e., interview protocol).
That bias and protocol were shared with a peer for critical feedback.
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A second threat to validity is reactivity. Reactivity describes the possible influence a
researcher may have on the participant or interpretation of an observation (Maxwell, 2013). One
tactic to prevent reactivity was to objectively examine the interview protocol for potential
leading questions. Again, peer feedback was critical to the identification of potential leading
questions. Another tactic to minimize reactivity was the use of respondent validation (sometimes
called member checking). Maxwell (2013) believed that was the “single most important way of
ruling out the possibility of misinterpreting the meaning of what participants say and do” (p.
126).
Reliability. Reliability is the overall consistency of what is measured in a research study.
Merriam and Tisdale (2016) introduced the concept of reliability as it relates to qualitative
research and suggested that the qualitative paradigm includes credibility, transferability,
dependability, and confirmability. Ultimately, the research findings should make sense and have
meaning.
To increase credibility (conceivability) and dependability, this study employed the
strategy of triangulation. Triangulation is the use of multiple data sources to corroborate findings
(Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdale, 2016). In this study, observations were used to increase the
reliability of findings gathered in the interviews.
To increase transferability, Merriam and Tisdale (2016) suggested providing
comprehensive descriptions that would allow readers to extrapolate transferable information.
Finally, to increase confirmability (accuracy of interpretations of findings), Merriam and Tisdale
(2016) recommended spending considerable time with data collection and analysis, developing a
detailed method and process for arriving at conclusions.

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Data Analysis
The purpose of data analysis is to understand and make sense of the data collected in
order to answer the research question(s) (Merriam & Tisdale, 2016). To arrive at meaningful
conclusions that build an existing body of literature, a structured process is necessary to derive
logical and reliability assertions and propositions.
Grounded Coding: Practices, Motivation, and Persistence
Category construction was relevant for all three research questions. It was selected as a
viable method for the qualitative portion of this study. Category construction consists of
reviewing interview transcripts, observation notes, and documents to determine prevalent and
emerging themes. Coding was a method utilized to help identify themes by assigning
designations to pieces of data and qualitatively tabulating that data (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam &
Tisdale, 2016). There was a progression of code stages that concludes with the assertion and
proposition level. An assertion was the statement of synthesis and a proposition was a
conditional statement that was supported by the collected data (Miles, Huberman, & Santana,
2014).
The first level of coding involved the development of open codes. Open codes can be a
priori (predetermined) or they can emerge through the data collection process. This study utilized
a priori codes derived from the review of literature and personal experience coupled with
emergent codes derived from initial examination of the data. An example of an a priori code for
this study was “peer influence;” an example of an emerging code was “winning.” There were
fourteen (14) initial a priori codes and twenty-eight (28) emergent codes that totaled forty-two
(42) first level open codes.
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The second level of coding involves the grouping of open codes into axial or pattern
codes. These new codes can be grouped by categories or themes, causes or explanations,
relationships, and theoretical constructions (Miles et al., 2014). In this study, “motivation” and
“relatedness” were examples of the pattern codes that evolved. There were twenty-four (24)
axial/pattern codes. These axial codes were grouped together to create more sophisticated
patterns and themes. Once patterns and themes were comprehensive and encompassing,
assertions or propositions were proposed.
Interview data was analyzed to develop themes and categories, causes and explanations,
relationships, and theoretical constructs to identify patterns in the data analysis phase (Miles et
al. 2014).
Like interviews, information gathered from observations were scrutinized during data
analysis to identify patterns and similarities. That information was to triangulate data obtained
from the interviews to explore promising findings (Merriam & Tisdale, 2016).
Ethics
The observations were conducted at Flat Water High School and River High School. The
lead researcher was a director in the district being studied. Therefore, three ethical considerations
arose. First, the school site administrators may have felt obligated to allow the researcher to
conduct the study at the school for fear of retaliation. To reduce this stress, the researcher
ensured that the participating schools understood that the observations were purely voluntary and
that no form of retribution would occur. Furthermore, the central office was made aware of the
visit and was charged with ensuring future objectivity around the school site.
Second, the school site administrative team may have selected the most functional setting
and/or may have warned teachers and students about performing well during the classroom visits
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 86
to give the impression (true or not) that the school was highly successful. To reduce this threat, it
was explained that this was not and could not be a judgment on their ability to achieve student
academic success.
Finally, group behavior might have changed if the participants knew the observer’s
position in central office. Therefore, the instructions were to simply tell the students that the
observer was a doctoral student gathering data on high schoolers. During the visits, the observer
“dressed down” and carried a backpack to further cover his real identity.
Summary
This study worked to identify the factors and practices that protect and foster academic
motivation and persistence for high achieving, low-socioeconomic status (SES) twelfth grade
African American students in an urban school district located in the Western United States.
A qualitative approach was selected for its depth and comprehensive nature. Instrumentation
includes conducting interview and observations. Grounded coding was the primary tool for data
analysis.

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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
This research study sought to understand the relationships between educational practices,
motivation, and persistence in enhancing the development of a comprehensive academic program
for African American students. This research was guided by three research questions:
• RQ1: What discourses do high-achieving, low-SES African American students use to
describe their academic motivation?
• RQ2: What practices do high-achieving, low-SES African American students employ to
maximize academic success?
• RQ3: How might low-SES African American students engage extrinsic motivation with
learning?
Chapter Four describes the research findings and practices that low socio-economic status
(SES) African American 12th graders use to define the impetus for their academic motivation
and persistence. Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory (SDT) provides a theoretical frame
for understanding and codifying their practices (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002: Ryan & Deci, 2000,
2017). However, the results were not limited to interpretation through the lens of SDT. Data not
aligned with SDT provided additional insights into motivation. Specifically, data spoke to the
factors that cultivate intrinsic motivation, protective factors employed at schools, and external
influences on academic motivation and persistence.
Participants
Twenty students were interviewed in the current research study (see Table 1, below). All
students were high achieving African American 12th graders. All students were classified as
low-SES as defined by the 2017 Federal income poverty guidelines. Twelve participants
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attended Flatwater High School and 8 attended River High School. Students attended a wide
range of middle schools, including high poverty, charter/magnet, and Christian/Catholic schools.
All but two of the 20 students interviewed (90%) were female. Only a small percentage
(22%) of African American boys in the district fit the study criteria of high achieving, low-SES
African American 12
th
graders. Furthermore, this population was spread across multiple schools.
The two schools fitting the study criteria (at least 20% of total school population is African
American, at least 10% of the African American students were high achieving, and at least 50%
of total students qualify for free or reduced lunch) yielded just nine potential male participants.
Table 1
Participant List
Student Alias Gender High School Middle School Description
Jasmin F Flat Water Neighboring district, high poverty
Michelle F Flat Water Neighboring district, high poverty
Bernadette F Flat Water Diverse magnet
Layla F Flat Water Racially isolated charter
Taylor F Flat Water Neighboring district, high poverty
Brian M Flat Water Racially isolated magnet
Adrian M Flat Water Neighboring district, high poverty
Natasha F Flat Water Neighboring district, high poverty
Kesha F Flat Water District neighborhood
Ayana F Flat Water District neighborhood
Naomi F Flat Water Racially isolated charter
Destiny F Flat Water Catholic, middle income
Kortney F River Neighboring district, affluent
Kennedy F River Diverse, affluent magnet
Jordyn F River Christian, middle income
Kyra F River Racially isolated magnet
Crystal F River Racially isolated magnet
Victoria F River Racially isolated charter
Shayna F River Diverse magnet
Alicia F River District neighborhood

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Positionality and Reflectivity
Bias is always a threat to validity in qualitative research, as addressed in Chapter 3. In
spite of a researcher’s best efforts, inherent bias can be introduced as a result of positionality (the
social and political context in which an individual lives) and reflectivity (how an individual
makes meaning in the world). The researcher who conducted this research project is an African
American male. The researcher grew up as a low SES child who attended public schools.
Therefore, the researcher had to manage inherent bias that resulted from these positionalities.
The interview protocol was developed and adhered to as one strategy to manage inherent bias.
Follow up questions asked by the researcher were limited to deepening understanding of the
research questions.
The researcher perceived that the participants were comfortable disclosing their true
thoughts and authentic opinions. This may have been attributable to the participants believing
that the researcher could understand them and their situation. The participants were also aware
that the data provided would benefit the next generation of African American students and
expressed interest in supporting the development of those who followed in their footsteps.
However, there is no evidence that this desire to be of service influenced the responses of
students.
Categories
A significant number of codes emerged during data analysis. In identifying the categories
for this study, at least six participants contributed direct quotes to the emerged themes. For the
purposes of brevity and to eliminate redundancy, only five to eight quotes per category will
appear in Chapter 4.
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RQ1: What Discourses Do High Achieving, Low-SES African American Students Use to
Describe Their Intrinsic Motivation for Academic Persistence?
The first research question explored how students talked about their motivation. This
question focused on internal locus of control, autonomy, authenticity, competence, self-
awareness, competition, and relatedness.
Internal Locus of Control
Essential to intrinsic motivation (fulfillment of autonomy and competence) is having an
internal locus of control. With an internal locus of control, students feel that they are in charge of
their situation. Furthermore, external circumstances are limited in influencing individual’s
definition of their place in their environment. In some cases, students took ownership of their
current situation even if it appeared counterintuitive. Taylor explained how she owned a class
that she might not have wanted:
Unless I really have to choose my class. But once I’m put in a class, I feel like I was
meant to be in that class. I was in that class for a reason. So, I’m gonna do as good as I
can because I’m supposed to.
Taylor didn’t complain about course enrollment, instead she capitalized on her situation.
She took ownership of her situation. More than taking ownership of their situation, there were
students who held themselves accountable for their performance in class. When Michelle was not
successful in a class, she didn’t blame her teacher or generalize a single failure into a perception
of herself as a failure. She acknowledged how a lack of relatedness could affect her performance;
and, she accepted that she would not be good in all subjects. Yet, this did not affect her overall
sense of self and self-confidence. She described her approach:
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Maybe the teacher wasn’t right for me or the subject wasn’t right for me. Doesn’t mean
that I’m not smart. All that means is that the teacher or subject wasn’t right for me. So, I
take that and move on.
For Taylor and Michelle, it was a matter of perspective. They did not allow external
influences to dictate their commitment to education. These two students were not swayed by
placement. Alicia added to this perspective when she asserted, “I feel like I’m in control.”
However, a common phrase throughout this study was “don’t box me in.” Students were
acknowledged that they navigated a controlling environment with limited expectations. The
continued by recounting how their environment and perception of other students inspired them to
prove that they control their own destiny. Jasmin described her mindset:
I’ve always been analytical and thinking for myself. I think that’s one of the things that I
value about myself. . . Ever since middle school, I’ve wanted to become a scientist and it
was really hard because being a Black girl from [neighborhood] wanting to be a scientist,
like really?
For Jasmin, she transformed her doubts into provocation; more importantly, she transferred her
energy for engagement in school. Other participants, like Ayana, shared the same mindset:
I know an African American girl can do it. I know people be like, oh she’s ratchet, she’s
ghetto. I lot of us here have the mindset that we know what’s good, what’s right, and
what’s real. It motivates me. Like having people think I’m supposed to be like this or
having people look down on you. I know I control me now and my future and that I can
be better. I can beat them at the things in life.
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Again, pulling inspiration from environmental expectations was a common statement.
Eighteen of the 20 participants (90%) reported living in poor communities. In many poor
communities, expectations are low. Kesha explained:
People expect me to fail. It’s like, literally, you can’t just imagine that Black people can
be more qualified than someone else [non-Black student] in the suburban area. I know
that I can be better than them. So, I work hard because I want to show you how smart I
am, and you don’t tell me how I am or what I can be.
Adrian agrees with Kesha’s independence when he said, “ I know that I am in a bad situation, but
I also know that I can get out.”
None of the participants expressed feeling controlled by external circumstances or
navigating a controlled environment. Instead, they emphasized not succumbing to oppression
and introduced a focus on seizing control of their environment. Maintaining an internal locus of
control was a fundamental imperative to their success.
Autonomy and Being Genuine
The first of three basic psychological needs is autonomy or the need to be autonomous.
As stated in Chapter Two, this is the need most associated with high school students (Hill &
Taylor, 2004). For the participants, one way they defined autonomy was as being genuine.
Being genuine is operationally defined as being true to the inner self and being true to
who you are. Students choose to express themselves in a manner commensurate with their
values, interests, and spirit. The participants discussed the importance of being an individual
within their collective culture, aligning their behavior to their accepted and appreciated character
traits. A self-actualized student has the capacity to develop and hold their sense of authentic self.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 93
Participants realized and continually expressed that character trait and their individualism.
Kennedy enlightened the researcher with her perspective:
I am strong minded, have always been. I feel like I am my own person. Even though
there’s so much going on around me, I don’t feel the need to change the person that I am.
I don’t let the pressure get to me.
Kennedy discussed being strong minded and not allowing external influences to change her
character. Layla was equally strong minded and proud of it. She confided, “No one thinks like
me and I like that.” It was important not only to define the person but also to appreciate a
student’s individualism as a whole. Natasha conveyed this sentiment:
We should celebrate everybody in their own. And by doing that we empower everybody
to be the best of their abilities and see what experiences they could have. . . We should
think differently.
While these three participants were adamant about being yourself and appreciation of self
and others, others described the supports that lead to their achieved actualization. Bernadette
confided that her mom allowed her to express her true self:
I don’t know what it was when I was a kid. I was just interested in finding out more about
things. I think it’s cool and I like a lot of new knowledge especially with stuff I wanna
know about. My mom thought I was crazy, but she just let me keep wanting to learn
crazy things. I’m still the same way.
Students expressed anxiety in their being themselves but appreciated conditions that
allowed for genuineness. Victoria shared:
My family members say that I act White or I speak White. At school it’s different. Cause,
yeah, there are some kids who make fun of me, but I can’t help how I am. Here it’s okay
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 94
to be this way. So, I really feel that I can be myself and I want to be this way. I don’t
want to talk all ghetto and stuff like that.
Crystal discussed the importance of passing this ideology on to the next generation and wanted
to be intentional in doing so. She stated:
I want my child to ask questions. I used to get scared because I thought the adults looked
at me like I am dumb. I have a lot of questions, so I matured and started asking. That
made me feel better because I accepted that I was different that way.
It was important that the students felt they could be true to themselves. The students felt
it was important to reside (home, school, and environment) in an autonomy-supportive
environment that supported their individual character development and growth. The researcher
observed students’ strong personalities during club times, where they appeared to be unafraid to
state their opinions, confirming their commitment to independent thought.
Competence
The second of the three basic psychological needs is the desire to have competence or
perceive oneself to have competence. Perceived competence is closely associated with self-
efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that you have the capacity to be successful (Bandura, 1997).
Three themes emerged in relation to competence: perceived competence, self-awareness, and
competition.
Perceived competence. All 20 participants admitted to having doubts about their
abilities. However, all but one of the participants were also confident about their academic
abilities and/or were resourceful in gaining necessary knowledge. This apparent discrepancy
reflects healthy self-doubt, which is important for resilience; over-confidence can be detrimental
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 95
to learning processes where challenges and failure are inherent. This perceived competence was
cultivated at an early age through cumulative successes. Alicia explained:
I think I’m smart. I do fine on my tests. I was always told that I was smart. Like when my
mom signed me up for school, I wanted to be in the smart class…My mom used to tell
me stories from when I was little about, like, I knew you were smart when this happened
and when you did this.
Victoria provided further evidence of success in elementary schools when she shared:
Me and my cousin were the best students. We used to talk about how we were number
one and number two in the class. Being number one or number two gave me confidence.
So middle school was easy for me because of that confidence. Knowing I can do well.
Perceive competence developed through academic achievement can also motivate
individuals to take on academic challenges. Participants discussed their belief in themselves to
conquer potential academic obstacles. Kortney clarified:
I feel like I can learn anything and do well in any class. Even in elementary and middle
school, that if I actually pushed myself harder, like try to study top to bottom over some
time, I could get it.
For some of the students, success came later in their educational careers. Belief in one’s
competence was predicated on experiences and exchanges with classmates. Shayna highlighted
this sentiment when she disclosed:
I didn’t always feel like I was intelligent. But I would see students doing this and that in
school. I am like, if they can, I know I can. I knew them in middle school and I did better
than them.
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Aside from sharing stories about when they were young, many students expressed the
importance of success leading to motivation. Taylor described herself:
I’m generally high achieving. But, when I do something good, it really motivates me and
helps me move forward in life. I wanna always do good things. I just feel good because I
accomplished something. I knew that I could do it, but it still feels good. I feel like if I
had straight Fs I would feel defeated. It’s rewarding to me just feeling like I
accomplished something just for me.
The participants recounted their successes leading to perceived competence. That
perceived competence produced academic motivation. The participants were aware enough to
understand their abilities and had the capacity to translate that into motivation.
Self-awareness. A second theme related to competence is self-awareness. In addition to
believing in their ability to be academically successful, students were aware of and accepted the
challenges they faced. The participants were able to communicate their character, academic
aptitude, deficiencies, and understanding of time and place. Furthermore, the participants
discussed the importance of being self-aware. Brian illustrated this:
I was really passive in school. So, I’ll try my best, but I never really thought of anything
critical. I never really thought what I’m doing is to help me become a doctor. It was just
that simple. I didn’t know what I could get out of what I was doing [in elementary
school]. Now, it’s different. . . I know some of my issues that I need to work through. I’m
definitely self-aware now.
Again, students held a firm grasp on blinds spots and an understanding what is necessary
to be successful. Ayana admitted:
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I know what I can do and what I have trouble doing. So, I work hard on the things that
I’m not good at. . . I know by the time my generation becomes adults, you will need at
least a bachelors. So, it’s a survival thing.
For some students, teachers contributed to the development of self-awareness. Kennedy
remembered:
My teacher used to make us figure out our strengths and weaknesses. When I had to, I
could easily identify what I was good at and what I wasn’t good at. I still do that today.
Think about what I’m good at and what I’m not good at.
There were multiple examples of students understanding their place in their space and how their
self-awareness could mitigate challenges. Taylor explained:
I know how hard it is to get out of this neighborhood. And I know how hard it is to be a
Black woman and be successful. I don’t let others see how emotional I am. ‘Cause I am. I
work hard to make my teachers think I am strong.
Finally, Layla summed up the importance of being aware when she added:
A driving force is I know that it’s [motivation] going to stick with you forever and ever.
It’s not temporary, a kind of understanding of what you want and what you don’t want is
going to be much easier with you figuring out stuff.
Students possessed a mature self-awareness. They were aware of the strengths,
weaknesses, and understanding of what was needed to succeed. Students utilized this knowledge
to influence their choices, engaging in their environment and leveraging resources to balance
limitations. Aside from an awareness of strengths and weaknesses, students had a keen
awareness of their personality traits that drove motivation.
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Competition. The third theme was the most common personality trait discussed during
the study. Students had an internal desire to win. Competitiveness can be either with other people
or within yourself. Students described being competitive with others in a variety of ways. One
arena was within the classroom setting. Adrian admitted:
I think I’m a competitive person, especially with other people. . . we are always
competitive. Everybody in the class is competitive, really. And, usually, it’s not even for
a grade. It’s just for fun. But, you still want to win. I feel like being competitive with stuff
makes you want to win. I think I did that better than you, I don’t like the feeling of not
being good, especially because I’m used to being good at something.
A second area of competition was the establishment of a rivalry. Students created a rival
as a means of motivation. Natasha disclosed:
One thing that keeps me going is competition. Cause sometimes I know this kid is better
than me. But I want to get as good or better grades than that kid. I know I’m competitive
because in the first grade they had this thing, who’s the Student of the Year? I came in
second and I was not happy about it. So, to that kid [Student of the Year], I was like, I got
you next time.
Students competed with classmates in general and/or a specific student as a source of
motivation. Brian admitted, “When the teacher makes us play [an internet educational game]…I
like beating my classmates.” Jasmin held a similar sentiment. She announced, “I am empowered
to complete against any one of the students. I think I can beat them.” Rivals were not limited to
peers. Students were also motivated by their most natural rivals, their siblings. Kesha stated:
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My sister be like, “What did you get in Chemistry?” I told her I got a B. She said that
she’s taking Chemistry now [in college] and it’s harder and she got an A. So, she told me
to step up my game. I’m like alright, I got you. I’m not letting you do better than me.
Students expressed positive competitions with their siblings. The competition was created
to motivate each other to do their best. Michelle provided a second anecdote about sibling
rivalry, acknowledging:
My natural competition is with my sister. Like everything, we compete with each other.
Ever since we were kids. My mom would tell us that we both wanted to be smarter or
wanted to run faster than the other.
Being competitive was prevalent for 80% (16 of 20) of the participants. Students were
not only competitive but understood the importance of this trait as it related to success. Crystal
stated, “You need to want to win and finish in first place.” Alicia added, “Competition is really
important for you to get things done and achieve your goals.” Finally, this competitive spirit was
observed during a classroom debate.
Students took advantage of this trait by participating in and/or creating competitive
events. They were motivated to beat peers, themselves, or their siblings. This competitive streak
provided a source of internal motivation that fueled a commitment to success.
Relatedness
The third basic psychological need, relatedness, is not necessary to produce intrinsic
motivation; instead, it can increase a student’s motivation. Relatedness, or connectedness, means
feeling that you belong or are supported by established connections with peers and adults.
Peer relatedness. Students engaged in relationships with similar-aged people. Peer
connectedness lead to rewarding relationships. Relationships were a positive vehicle to increase
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 100
quality of life. Naomi stated, “Friends are supposed to help each other, so I want to make sure I
have smart friends.” Students relied on friends to motivate each other and to act as a mirror.
Taylor discussed peer connectedness in relation to motivation when she shared:
I have a small group of friends and we always motivate each other, you know, help each
other with assignments and stuff like that. The people you surround yourself with is a
reflection of you.
Natasha echoed Taylor’s statement when she empirically stated, “I feel connected to the
students. We have respect for each other.”
Students, understanding the importance of positive peer connections, displayed
intentionality with friend selection. Shayna explained:
I think you should choose friends that keep you motivated, not friends that bring you
down. My friends get me and are encouraging. They want the best for me and want to
push me. That motivates me.
Crystal added, “I chose to surround myself with positive students.” Students discussed how
friends can provide motivation and how they selected positive peers.
Students could also articulate the importance of friends and what they brought to the
friendship. Kennedy described it this way:
I gain something from each of my friends. They are not exactly the best people in school
but there’s something they are bringing into our relationship. I feel it’s worthy enough to
continuing our friendship.
Positive connection with peers can contribute to internal motivation. Students were
intentional about who they selected as friends and the product of each relationship. Not only
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 101
were peer relationships instrumental to increasing academic achievement, adult relationships also
positively influenced achievement.
Adult relatedness. Students expressed gratitude when connecting to adults, especially
African American adults. They held successful African Americans as role models. Jordyn
explained the importance of having an African American mentor:
It’s really important for a student to feel represented not only in their mentors but to also
feel like they have people who look like you and who believe in you. It’s a lot more
effective than someone who maybe is White.
Jordyn believed that African American adults had more faith in Black students than
White adults. One reason is because Black students feel that Black adults can understand them
more than White adults. Kyra explained this:
We don’t expect White teachers to understand what goes on in our households or to
understand the personal problems that we go through or the daily things that happen to
us. It’s like you don’t have to deal with these issues.
Jasmin combined “mentor” and “able to understand,” while adding a level of comfort with Black
adults when she stated:
I feel like we should have teachers that look like us. It’s more comfortable cause they
know you and understand you. When you can see yourself in that same position. When
you see someone that looks like you, you get it.
Jordyn also recognized the importance of have a role model when she stated:
In Ms. X, I see everything that I want myself to be. I want to be academic. I want to be
resilient because Ms. X has gone through a lot of challenges in her life and she’s able to
overcome that and she has so many connections and she has all these opportunities.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 102
Shayna summed up Jasmin’s and Jordyn’s statement when she stated simply, “I feel we should
have teachers that look like you. It’s more comfortable cause I feel like they know you and
understand you.”
Students saw adults as role models and positive mirrors. Successful African American
adults proved to young Black students that the students themselves could be successful. African
American adults also provided support by understanding the students in a manner that non-Black
adults couldn’t. Black students were comfortable engaging with African American adults. From
the student interviews, it was clear that the product of Black-on-Black relations positively
influenced intrinsic motivation.
RQ2: What School Related Practices Do High-Achieving, Low-SES African
American Students Employ to Maximize Academic Success?
The second research question examines the practices students used to maximize their
success. This robust question revealed 9 themes across the three psychological needs that
students used to create success: autonomy (task choice, pathway choice, and emotional
engagement), competence (teacher belief, tracking), and relatedness (care, connections,
sensitivities to the black perspective, school culture).
Autonomy
Students defined autonomy as being able to develop into a person who is genuine to their
true self and proactively makes major educational choices. Both conditions influenced student
motivation. Three themes emerged in relation to autonomy: task choice, pathway choice, and
emotional engagement.
Task choice. Task choice is defined as given the opportunity to select learning, projects,
and presentations. Teachers can incorporate task choice when developing lessons. Students
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expressed interest in selecting activities and wanting to perform well. Kesha described a specific
teacher who provided options and her feelings about choice:
She makes activities, she gives us time to work. There are some teachers that just throw
as assignment and a due date, but it’s not a reasonable amount of time to do the
assignment. We can choose the activity, like a short essay or poster. I like that. You learn
more when you do stuff like that. You choose to do it and you wanna do well.
Students discussed having an interest in selecting activities because they felt that they
would exert more effort. They believed that effort would lead to success. Other students felt that
task choice allowed for greater creativity. Jordyn recounted:
Sometimes you’re doing it for a grade and other times you’re doing it because you enjoy
it. If I were doing an assignment that really mattered to me, something that I was
interested in, I would much rather have the freedom because it allows for more creativity.
The freedom to choose an activity inspired students to be imaginative. Students
articulated a connection between task choice and a global “feeling of school.” While the students
discussed isolated cases, Bernadette talked from a more macro perspective. She suggested that if
she were a teacher she would “try to find out what they are interested in. . . expose them to
different areas of interest. . . let them select their assignments.” She added that this “would make
me want to go to school to do a lot of things.”
Students reported that they would have a greater desire to attend school if they were able
to select more tasks. Unfortunately, not all teachers allowed for task selection. However, some
teachers allowed students to “add their flair” while operating within their task guidelines.
Kennedy explained:
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I can work within guidelines, but I can take the extra mile and my teachers let me. I add
my own touch. I like creating things. I make my own guidelines; at the same time, I
follow the teacher’s guidelines.
Again, when given the opportunity to enhance an assignment with a personalized touch,
students were more excited to produce original work. One issue with the school system is the
lack of task choice. This lack of task choice is systemic and has detrimental effects on current
and future student performance. Layla illuminated this drawback:
Now, I’m conditioned in the educational system where I’m always instructed to do this.
So, thinking about doing something else that I like, it’s so fluid that it makes me
uncomfortable because I’m always taught to do whatever the teacher says. So, if I were to
break that in the early stages, I think that would be very good.
Students discussed how activity selection can lead to increased interest, a commitment to
performing well, creativity, and wanting to come to school. Task choice satisfied the need to be
autonomous; students had a similar reaction to pathway choice.
Pathway choice. In high schools across the country, students have the opportunity to
select an academic pathway within the framework of graduation requirements. Students
understood the importance of pathway selection on motivation and net learning. Kyra clarified:
I want opportunities to do those [pathways]. Like, if a kid says, “I want to be a firefighter
or police officer or engineer.” And, there are no classes. I want to give those students the
opportunity. Get more educated in things that you want to do. When I take classes that I
have to, I don’t feel motivated to learn. I mean, I’ll still try to get an A but I’m not really
gonna learn anything.
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Giving students the opportunity to design their course load can motivate them to learn.
Brian stated, “I want to choose the classes I take. I’d probably get better scores and want to come
to school more.” While Brian advocated for the positive aspects of pathway selections, students
also understood the opposite. Naomi warned:
When schools make students take a whole bunch of classes they are not really interested
in, it’s a disadvantage for those kids. It’s like they already know what they want, so let
them take classes they like or they think they need.
Alicia echoed Naomi’s statement, arguing:
I think [schools] should look at the way people will see themselves and like their self-
esteem. If you don’t think that you’re going to be a good artist, why would you try
drawing? But sometimes schools put you in those classes.
Students also believed that schools should reconsider educating every child the same
way. Instead, it would motivate students to success academically if schools understood
individual student interests and tailored pathways specifically for that student. Jordyn proposed
this idea:
I think the number one thing is to tap into what students are interested in, because there
are a lot of students with a bunch of potential that is untapped. . . because their education
is not individualized, because they feel that they have to follow a formula. Some kids
who are into the arts, they’re not able to pursue those fields because in a lot of public
schools the arts department are ignored.
Students articulated the desire to select activities and academic pathways. They also
believed that a product of this autonomy was accelerated attention in school. Interest and
attention increase motivation; engagement is a separate behavior that also creates motivation.
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Emotional engagement. Students understood the importance of being emotionally
engaged in an activity or project. Students who were emotionally engaged in an activity were
motivated to produce quality work. Destiny recounted a time when she selected a topic to study
of particular interest:
When I chose this project, I was like, “Yeah!” When I had a chance to choose a cause. I
cared so much about that cause. So, I wanted to find out everything about it. I researched
it and interviewed a lot more people than I was told. And, I interviewed a lot of teachers.
I was excited to learn about my cause because I cared about it.
Students agreed that being emotional engaged in a project produced a higher quality
product. Taylor shared a similar anecdote:
We have something called a mega project. We can choose or identify a problem in the
community that we want to solve. And, it makes it cool that we pick something that we
care about. So, my group, we focus on homelessness within the community. Cause there
are so many people on the streets and it’s wrong. So, that pushed me to get more involved
and know more about it. Because I was so into it, I start to really know more about it and
started protesting and stuff. But, before you protest you actually have to know about it.
Students remember from an early age the importance of task interest. Bernadette remembered:
I don’t know what it was when I was a kid. I was just interested in finding out more about
things. I think it’s cool and I got excited to learn new knowledge especially the stuff you
wanna know. I look forward to actually studying some things that I want to study.
While students discussed the importance of emotionally engaging in schoolwork assigned
by their teachers, other students looked forward to their postsecondary education. More
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specifically, students anticipated success being in a space that provides emotional engagement.
Jordyn enthused:
The stuff [learnings] I’m passionate about. I like philosophy, I like political science, I like
history. Those are the things that I’m excited to be in, those environments where I can be
in those classes. I know that if I’m in those environments, it will accelerate my learning
and I’m gonna turn do well.
Layla agreed:
I do more than what’s expected in that class because I genuinely like the subject. I used
resources and I know it’s going to be on the test but I’m so into learning. I’m doing it just
for my knowledge.
Task choice, path choice, and emotional engagement had a positive influence on
motivation and quality of work. Students believed that if one (or more) of these conditions were
met, they would succeed. All three conditions (individually or combined) fulfilled the need to be
autonomous.
Competence
Schools are perfectly positioned to develop a student’s academic confidence. Students are
influenced by teachers and organizational structures. Two themes emerged as contributing to
perceived competence: teacher belief and tracking.
Teacher belief. Teachers work with students on a daily basis, allowing for intimate and
consistent access to their student’s thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Students believed that how
their teacher viewed their performance impacted their perceived competence. Crystal
remembered:
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I got on the honor roll and I didn’t even know what the honor roll was. My teacher would
tell me and my mom that I was smart, just a bit lazy. So, I believed that I was smart and
started to really act like it.
Teachers impacted students in unique ways. Students remember the teachers who
believed in them. Ayana recalled:
My elementary teacher believed in me. She would tell my mom to put me in different
activities. She knew that I was smart and wanted me to succeed.
Shayna echoed Ayana’s memories when she shared:
My middle school math teacher prepared me for high school math. She made me take
Algebra 1. I didn’t think I could do it. But I did so when I got to high school, I was able
to take Geometry, then Statistics then Pre-Calculus.
Not only do students hold that a teacher’s belief in their abilities matters, but teachers can
inspire positive self-image. Students appreciated adults who believed in their capacity and who
didn’t settle for underachievement. Naomi asserted:
I really like her [teacher] because she’s welcoming and she’s nice to us and she believes
in us a lot. If we downplay our intelligence, she’ll just really shut us down. She was like,
no, that’s not true. You guys are really smart, and you need to believe in yourself like I
do. I don’t like the way you guys talk about yourself.
Teachers belief in a student’s abilities can inspire perceived competence and motivate for
attainment of higher standards. Students can reap the benefits of teacher’s beliefs. Kyra detailed:
There’s a status that comes with getting good grades. So, like the faculty or staff are
aware of who gets good grades and what other teachers think about you. They respect
you in a sense. They believe that if you get good grades and the other teachers think
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about you, then you can be good at this and that. We get picked for a lot of opportunities
because they believe that we will be good.
Students believed in the importance of being in a space of high individual expectations
with adults who believed in their intelligence. That sentiment extended out of students’
individual classrooms and permeated the school environment.
Tracking. Schools create programs and curricular pathways to meet the academic needs
of their students. Some schools create specific tracks for high-achieving students. Natasha
explained one such program at her school:
In the summer before I got to high school, I took this test. If you qualify, you participate
in a [special academic pathway]. In that [pathway] it’s fast and you take a bunch of AP
courses. If you are not in that program, you do not take all those AP courses. So, if you
are in it, you think that you are smart.
Students understood the importance of tracking, but only if you were placed in the high
achievement track. Bernadette offered appreciation for being placed in an advanced track. She
confided:
I like being in the [school high achievement tracking program]. If I wasn’t, I probably
wouldn’t take all those AP classes. Now, I have a better chance of getting into college.
Kennedy, however, discussed the negative consequences of tracking, arguing against it:
Put them at the same level because I think a problem that happened as I was growing up,
it’s like, in school you could tell who was in the gifted group or who was in the other
group. I feel like that puts a damper on them. They are wanting to learn. If you put them
on the same level, okay, I’m just as smart as this person. And, even though they might
not be yet, if they start to believe it, they can eventually get there.
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Students recognized that some of their peers were placed in a lower level and expressed a
desire for the placement of all students into a higher track. Students knew which students the
school believed were destined for greatness. Kyra stated, “I knew who all the smart kids were
‘cause they were in all my classes.” There exists this divide within schools which appeared to
construct an academic ceiling. Ayana believed that if middle achievers were afforded the same
intervention opportunities as the struggling students, they would excel in a higher track. Ayana
explained:
Create more study halls and tutoring sessions. Many schools only have study halls for the
athletes and the kids failing. But there are a lot of students who are not a part of a team or
failing. They could still benefit, get an A if they were a B student. Just that could help
them want to do better.
Perceived competence can develop from teacher beliefs and tracking. Students
understood the importance others’ belief in them as a source of their academic success; they
urged teachers and schools to believe that all students could be successful.
Relatedness
Relatedness, in the context of schools, refers to the relationship between school personnel
and students. School employees interact with students on a daily basis, providing ample
opportunities for engagement. The researcher observed multiple positive exchanges between
students and school personnel. Four relatedness themes emerged: care, connections, sensitivities
to Black perspective, and school culture.
Care. Students will try harder in a class if they know the teacher cares about them.
Teachers show students that they care when they engage in genuine conversations. Students feel
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that adults take a general interest in them when they speak honestly and respectfully. Victoria
shared how caring made a difference for her:
I was in Mr. X’s class and I was sucking. But he showed me that he actually cared. So, I
wanted to try harder. I know he cared because of how he talked to me and that he took an
interest in how I was. Not all in my business but wanted me to be good.
As teachers take on the role as counselors, they prove to students that they do care about
their overall well-being. Bernadette explained:
Ms. X has had such an influence on me because when I’m upset, she will talk to me and
basically counsel me. I don’t feel comfortable going to outside sources. So, it helps bring
me back to a positive mindset. Other teachers, they have really helped me through harsh
experiences.
A teacher’s role as a counselor is powerful. Teachers intentionally target students who need
guidance and support. In this fashion, they prove to students that someone in their life cares.
Natasha described it this way:
We have Mr. X. . . He tries all the time with students like that [underachievers]. We have
a couple of Black men who try to chat with them. They bring them on field trips to see
places. When we have presentations, they make sure these kids who need it. And see it.
But, not everybody does that. So, they care about them [select underachievers]. Not every
school has that. Maybe schools should also give students a reason to care because
sometimes friends or the environment doesn’t give you a reason to care.
Students understood the importance of care yet are disappointed that “care” could be
isolated to a few adult-student relations. Ayana shared her wishes:
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I want all teachers to care for their kids. Actually care, because many teachers don’t.
Some of the teachers actually dedicated care because they knew that we signed up for the
[accelerated] program. So, they actually care about teaching. There are so many teachers
that don’t. I know in other programs I don’t think the teachers care as much. How do they
not understand how important that is?
Alicia understands the damaging effect of teachers who don’t care. She compared the students’
reactions to teachers who didn’t care at her middle school to the caring teachers at her high
school. She stated, “It’s like teachers in the other school didn’t care and so, the kids don’t.
The caring teacher motivated students to want to do well. Teachers showed they care by
engaging in genuine, respectful conversations and in the acting as counselors. Students who
believed that their teacher cared wanted to come to school and perform well. Caring was not the
only adult-student relationship that increased academic motivation.
Connections. Slightly different than caring, connections describe general understandings
with students. Students believed that connections at school were important to motivation.
Students appreciated the intentionality of adults to understand their perspectives and lives. Ayana
described the importance of establishing connections when she said:
Everyone needs to have a connection. As long as you build a relationship with African
American students, it will help them. A lot of African Americans are dealing with a lot of
things and the results of their schoolwork and how they behave could be because of what
they experienced. It’s just like, get to know the person, not pressure them or be all on
their case all the time. So, schools fail with the connection part.
Students felt that schools failed at establishing connections with students. Kyra provided
another example when she revealed:
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They don’t really talk about their personal life. And when they do talk about their
personal life, it’s something that I can’t relate to. It’s like I don’t really connect to them in
that sort of way. And I’m not sure if they want to connect with me.
Students believed that any adult could make a connection and that connections were not
limited to Black educators. Brian clarified:
My teacher, naturally she’s White. She would tell us stories about like about her daughter
or something like that. You know, really communicating with her students, stuff like that.
Sometimes it’s annoying, but at the same time it’s like she’s really trying to talk to her
students. So, there’s a personal level and a connection there and that matters. Her telling
stories means she’s trying to connect.
While students expressed the desire for connections, other students linked the relationship
between connections and academic development. Layla explained:
I think it has to start with the teachers because you could be an amazing teacher and have
an amazing agenda. But, if you don’t understand the student and what background that
student is coming from, it’s just like they are not going to hear you. It’s not going to seep
inside. Especially in the inner-city communities. So, more personalized in that sense and
just really connecting with the students.
Again, students understood the importance of establishing connections. Kesha shared
what she would do if she were a principal:
[I] would train my teachers to understand the students. Students aren’t gonna want to do
their work, but you still have to push them. Help your teachers learn different skills to
help different students ‘cause they learn different. To figure out how to talk to them so
they understand.
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The establishment of a connection was important to students. However, they believed that
if a connection wasn’t established, schools could still be effective if there was an appreciation of
the students’ perspectives.
Sensitivities to the Black perspective. There are times that race poses a legitimate
challenge to establishing a true connection. However, teachers have the capacity to learn and
understand the difference between White experiences and Black experiences. Students believed
it was important for teachers to understand the Black experience. Brian expounded:
Related to the teacher, like things African Americans can face, compared to a White
teacher. I feel that’s important that they understand there’s a difference. But, really most
important is that you are a good teacher ‘cause you understand what Black students go
through and can motivate them. It doesn’t really matter if you are African American or
White as long as you understand.
Students recognized that non-Black teachers could relate with Black students if they
understood their perspectives. Students also believed effective teachers were intentional in
learning the Black perspective. Jordyn verbalized it this way:
I like teachers who actually are looking for input and they put value on your responses
and what the students were willing to learn. . . She asks the students what kind of
perspective they were looking for and she actually taught us history through the African
American perspective, which hasn’t been done before on campus. I think by having
students learn the way they are most interested in or in that perspective that they choose
to take, it’s more effective in terms of retaining information.
Bernadette provided a similar feeling:
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A lot of times it has mattered to me [having a black teacher]. I can say that I have enjoyed
teachers from any background, but they have to understand me…since this area has a lot
of people that look like me.
Students were clear about their fondness for teachers who tried to understand their
perspectives. They were also clear about their aggravation with teachers who thought they
understand their perspective and, thus, took unwelcomed liberties. Alicia described her feelings:
I feel like the non-African American teachers here, they kind of talk about things that
they haven’t been through or have experience and turn it in terms of people like us. I feel
they speak on things that haven’t happened to them. So, I feel like it shouldn’t be spoken
of. We read a book about slavery and the teacher used the “n” word. Some of the non-
Black teachers think it’s okay cause they say they are using it in context. Like, it’s in
context so I don’t see a problem with it. But, at the end of the day, you are still saying it.
Kennedy added:
It did seem like the white teachers treated the Black students different. They would say,
“Why are you loud?” like they don’t know who we are and don’t care to understand us.
Students appreciated the attempts by adults to understand their perspectives. Furthermore,
students also appreciate the respect they showed in trying to understand the African American
experience. This individual understanding and respect can be a product of and indicative of the
school’s norms, climate, and culture.
School culture. Culture refers to the shared beliefs of an organization. School culture
explains the distinguishable values and assumptions that ultimately shape the school climate.
School culture is developed and maintain by the adult leaders on a campus. Students understood
school culture and it affected their decisions to participate and their level of participation in
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school activities. Specifically, students admired school cultures that promoted positive student-
adult relationships. Ayana shared:
I might not have had that teacher, but that doesn’t matter here. If I ever need something
and like I feel like I had that close relationship with the teacher, I can go talk to them. I
think it’s important to have a relationship with the people at the school. The people here
are really wonderful.
These valued relationships did not go unappreciated, as students understood that positive
relationships are not consistent across all campuses. Michelle explained:
I know for us here they do cause it’s like the staff understand that we can make a
difference. It’s not the same for some of my friends that I’ve talked to. They go to other
schools and they’re like, oh, those teachers don’t understand or want the best for us.
Positive relationships can be cultivated by the shared belief that all kids can learn. Shayna
explained the importance of a shared school belief when she shared:
I feel it motivates you [to be in a school you like] to learn. If you are in an environment
you don’t like or one that you think doesn’t expect you to do well, I’m not going to say
it’s impossible, but it doesn’t make you want to focus. I don’t want to be here.
Students discussed the importance of relationship building and expectations. They also
examined the importance of schools providing activities for their student body. Naomi spoke
specifically about how she benefited from a school culture that promoted responsibility. She
disclosed:
I want to be a student ambassador. They only way to do that is to get good grades.
Student ambassadors get to get out of class and go on cool trips. At this school it’s kinda
cool to be a student ambassador.
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While Naomi spoke specifically about school culture and her motivation, Adrian spoke in
more general terms. He identified:
Other activities get kids to come to school. Like sports and clubs. The school encourages
you to be on a team or in a club. When you are in a club you enjoy school more. It’s like
it’s a part of what the school is.
Aside from developing a positive, relatable school culture, schools are charged with
providing necessary knowledge to students. Schools with a positive, caring culture motivate and
support students to learn.
RQ3: How Might Low-SES African American Students
Engage Extrinsic Motivation With Learning?
The third research question explored how students demonstrate the relationship between
extrinsic motivation and student engagement in learning. The participants provided plentiful data
resulting in six emergent themes: parents, peers, school culture, environment, class jumping, and
the transition to internal regulation.
Parents
The most continuous relationship students have is with their parents; copious research
shows that the parental relationship is the most important relationship in the life of a child, birth
to 18. Their presence, positive or negative, is significant to the development of every aspect of a
child’s being. Parents are positioned to support a student’s advancement or negate their success.
Students in this study believed that parental support was important and expressed the desire for
their parents’ approval. Kesha confided:
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One of the most rewarding things about being in school is praise. I’m able to show my
mom how the teachers think of me. I want my mom to be proud of me and my sister. . .
She’s been through a lot. She got through a lot. She pushes through, you know.
Parental approval also affects a student’s well-being. Parents can provide inspiration to
their child in other ways. Ayana explained:
Seeing my mom struggle with the bills motivates me to get a good paying job, to be able
to help her when I get older because she paved the way, put me in school and did all that
stuff for me to succeed. She’s my biggest inspiration. I want to be successful so she can
relax.
Students wanted their parents’ support. They were inspired by them. But, these were not
the only positive effects; students believed that parents could also be a source of motivation.
Natasha asserted, “My mom went back to school. She had me when she was young. I was at her
high school graduation. She’s still going to school and stuff like that. That motivated me. She’s
going to school and working.” Taylor addressed motivation, adding:
My motivation is my mom. . . she was a single parent most all my life and she just went
back to school. . . It’s really hard for her to get a job but I have to provide for her.
Naomi succinctly stated, “My mom struggled my entire life. I want to give her nice
things.” Students discussed wanting to please their parents; they described how their parents
provided inspiration and motivation. Students also understood the sacrifices their parents made
to position their children for a better life. Kortney revealed:
My parents don’t have degrees, so I will be the first-generation college student. I feel like
they did all this for me, putting me in that [White, upper class] middle school to be better.
I’m like, “You did this for me, so I’m gonna do this for you.”
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Parents helped create the student. Parents can position their child in environments for
success while inspiring and motivating. However, they are but one source of influence on
external motivation. Especially in adolescence, peers have a substantial impact.
Peers
Peers influence people positively and negatively. For many high school students, the
influence of peer interactions exceeds that of parent interaction. Therefore, it can be important to
establish friends who have positive characteristics. Students in this study understood and were
conscious about making friends with positive, constructive individuals. Kesha said:
My friends around me were doing their work, too. That wasn’t the case in middle school
‘cause I went to the regular middle school and the kids didn’t really care. So, I see all of
them around me, so I adapted to that mind set. . . My friends didn’t tell me to do my
work, I just was with a group that did.
Alicia provided another example of positive peer relationships. She confided:
I have really good friends. They call me to make sure that I’m doing my homework and
that I’m finishing this project. They know that I can get lazy, so they don’t let me.
Positive peer networks can provide implicit academic benefits to its members. Students
also expressed that friends provided explicit encouragement. Ayana described it this way:
I was going to go into the military straight after high school. But, because my friends
knew me and I had those relationships, they are trying to tell me, no, you are too smart
for this goal. Go to school first; then, if you still want to, you can go in and be an officer.
Peer networks not only include first order friends. Networks refer to all the same-age
individuals that students come into contact with consistently. Peer acquaintances can influence
academic behavior. Kennedy shared how she reacted to peer judgment:
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I like to see the look on people’s faces when I do a little bit extra. My fellow students are
like, “Oh, how did you do that?” That gives me happiness. So, I try to do that a lot, give a
little bit extra.
While many students experienced benefits from peer interactions, students also
recognized the potential harm first order friends can bring. Michelle recalled:
Literally, one of my friends…started hanging around my friends ‘cause a lot of his
friends were bad influences. And, I was like, you can’t bring your friends over here to
mess with my friends…sometimes it’s about the people around you.
Peer networks play an important role in motivation. Students reacted to implicit and
explicit peer pressure. Students also valued positive judgment from close friends and
acquaintances. While the students discussed school peers, these peer interactions took place
within and were impacted by school culture.
School Culture
Students yielded to pressures from parents, peers, and school expectations. Students
expressed the important influence of norms on their motivation. Naomi discussed a shift in her
motivation when she arrived at a school with higher expectations; she remembered the transition:
When I got here, I actually had to do the work and we were actually learning. It was sad
‘cause in middle school it wasn’t like that. It was a shock to me to work. And, the
teachers were actually in front of the class and they were teaching us.
Naomi was not the only student that recounted a conscious shift in behavior as a result of
moving into a new school culture of success. That culture of success included the expectations to
submit quality work and to behave like a scholar. Layla added:
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It was actually kind of a surprise if you actually decided to turn in your homework [in
middle school]. It was definitely like, when there’s someone that spoke eloquently and
actually had pages of paper that were grammatically correct, it was actually praised while
here it’s kind of expected.
Students felt the pressure of performing. School administrators, teachers, and staff, not
the students, created the culture of success. Michelle discussed how all the teachers at her school
played a role in establishing a culture, stating:
Most of my friends are in honors classes, and some kids are in regular classes; they just
wouldn’t care. At this school all the teachers push them. That’s not how it is at other
schools I’ve been to. . . There are specific standards around here. So, that made me
expect this is how it’s going to be, this is what I’m going to do.
Teachers played an integral role in the establishment and maintenance of the school
culture. Teachers set high expectations and pushed their pupils. Students were appreciative of
schools that respected them and their culture. At both schools, students expressed a belief in the
African American prowess. Jasmin described the importance of belief in potential when she said:
If we can’t see ourselves and we can’t see that potential in ourselves, if nobody shows us
that it’s there, then we don’t believe it. All the staff see potential in us, and they talk to us
that way. We all, most of us, know we can be great ‘cause the school reinforces that.
Unfortunately, not all schools hold this belief or reward Black students the same way as
non-Black students. Kennedy recalled a situation which she could only attribute to racism:
I was at my middle school. I had straight As. So, I thought I was going to be the
valedictorian, but they did not give me that. And, I don’t know why. I don’t know if it
was a race thing or just they made up an excuse that it was because I wasn’t there in the
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6th grade. But I still got all As in the 6th grade and it was a school in the district. But they
gave it to a White student. Is that like a racist kind of a thing that just happened?
School culture matters. Students discussed the adjustments they had to make when they
arrived into a culture of high expectations with teachers who pushed them and staff who believed
in their potential. Students also expressed disappointment with schools that didn’t value the
efforts or see the potential in African American students. It has been established close
relationships (parents, teachers, peers) and school culture can contribute to motivation. However,
the source of external regulation can extend beyond parents, peers, and school.
Environment
Low-SES students in urban areas grow up in depressed communities riddled with
poverty, violence, substance abuse, child/domestic abuse, homelessness, and low expectations.
Students learn to disassociate themselves from the negative factors surround them. They make a
choice to rise above. Specifically, students expressed a desire to leave their community due to
the everyday violence around them. This was their motivation. Natasha confided:
Students that come from around this area, well I grew up out here. So, I’ve grown up with
these kids and I know a lot of them. I know kids who have died because of gangs. So, that
just sucks that we’re in this environment. Makes me wanna get out.
Violence was an impetus for neighborhood departure. Students also discussed the
ramifications of living in a depressed area when they talked about the influences the environment
had on its residents. Bernadette explained:
I’ve only lived in this area my whole life. It’s the environment where you live. There are
a lot of stressors and people can only see themselves here. They don’t know anything
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else. . . I’m not going to specify some people in my family who don’t care for high school
or they haven’t made it through because of the influences the area had on them.
Students further addressed the detrimental effects their environments had on their
aspirations. First, Victoria believed, “They [students in the neighborhood] don’t have aspirations.
They just don’t believe they could get out.” Naomi double downed on the lack of aspirations
when she screamed, “They don’t have aspirations to leave their situation or just do better.”
Current environments were only part of students’ concerns. There was a fear of
navigating a new environment that might not be welcoming to poor Black students. Michelle
articulated this:
I was one of the few Black students on campus when I did the summer program at [the
university], I was faced with people who were wary of me. . . they treated me as either
invisible or hyper-visible. So, I know what I have to deal with next year. Only the Black
students have to deal with that.
Overcoming the expectation of current and future environments drove students. They
were fully aware of their place in this environment and expressed the desire to achieve success in
spite of it. In addition, students expressed a yearning to achieve an elevated status in the larger
world.
Class Jumping
Coming from a low-SES presents a different set of challenges for students compared to
those coming from middle and high socioeconomic status. The participants in this study
discussed the outcomes of living in depressed communities and how it factors as a source of
motivation. Students expressed the wish to “class jump” and felt education was the main
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equalizer. Class jumping refers to a generational elevation in socioeconomic status. Crystal
explained the connection between education and class jumping:
I want to be a good student so that I will not struggle as much as my mom did. We never
had like a lot of money because we lived in an apartment. The same apartment. She could
not uplift her career so that she could make more money. . . I never want to live like that.
Cause we were homeless for a little. . .so I never want that to be my life. I saw how much
my mom was struggling to take care of us and how much it pained her every day. School
will help me get out of this kind of a situation.
Students were explicit in considering the role education plays for a “better life”. With an
education, students believed they could control and be able to afford a chosen lifestyle. Destiny
added:
I wanna do well in school because I know later in life it’ll be beneficial. Right now, I’m
not able to have the things that I want. So, I’m working hard and knowing that my hard
work will eventually pay off. Then, I can live the life I want.
Class jumping cannot be underestimated. All but one student identified it as a significant
external regulator and made the connection between education and being financial stable.
Bernadette revealed:
Right now, I want to go to college, in general, because I want a degree and I want to
pursue research and I want to do things that will help me get that comfort in life that I
need because I don’t want to struggle.
While being financially stable was important, class jumping also involved a social status
change. Alicia verbalized a belief that adults with degrees achieve a greater social status:
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A lot of kids in school want to make money. Also, people will see you as not just a
person with a high school diploma. They will see you as someone more important
because you went to school for these many years. You obtained this degree; you’re
making this money. People will look up to you.
The participants felt fortunate that they were able to make a positive connection between
education and class jumping. Not everyone living in poverty can make that connection and
utilize it as a source of motivation. Victoria explained:
They don’t see out there that they can have a better life with a lot of money. They can’t
see that. So, maybe they just think they’re stuck in their situation, so they don’t have any
motivation.
The participants expressed a significant desire to make more money, be financially stable,
and afford a better life. The expected outcomes of a college degree served as a source of
motivation. All but two participants expected to be the first in their family to attend college.
Without a family member as a role model for college, the participants knew they had to make the
connection themselves. They recalled the moment of realization, when internal regulation began
to reign.
The Transition to Internal Regulation
During their early years, students were motivated by external factors: the desire to make
their parents happy, adhering to the expectations of others, participating in a positive school
culture, and engaging with positive peer support. Identified and integrated external regulation
can lead to internal regulation. Students were able to recollect the shift from external to internal
motivation. Alicia articulated it this way:
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I should be successful just for myself. So, that I can be happy, because I feel like if I’m
not successful, I would just feel defeated. It used to always be I wanted to prove to my
family that I can do it. I know now that I can be the best that I can. I prove to myself that
I can do well.
Internal motivation provided a source for academic persistence. Students wanted to prove
to themselves that they could be successful. Kennedy was conscious about her source of
motivation, pointing out:
I remember doing it for my mom and grandad. My grandad used to give me money when
I brought home an A. But, I’m more doing it for myself because I want a future. Doing it
for my family is not enough. I’m doing it because it is what I wanted to choose.
This internal locus of control and internal motivation are important for future success.
Students can identify the exact moment when they made this connection. Layla remembered:
The thing is, there was a certain point in my life when I stopped getting good grades for
my parents, but for myself. I like the validation that I’m actually well informed on a
subject. Even when I took classes that were not a requirement for college. From that
point, I’ve always wanted to get the best grades possible for me.
This source of motivation created powerful outcomes. Naomi provided a specific
example of a purely extrinsic reward versus internal satisfaction. She disclosed:
When I get my test back and if it has an “A” I get really proud. In elementary school, I
remember getting stickers and awards. It feels better to make yourself proud.
The students understood that there was a connection between internal regulation and the
development of a strategic plan for academic success. Brian discussed how setting goals and
expectations were essential for continued success:
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I feel like now, as I got into high school, I kind of have self-motivation. My self-
motivation overpowers my parent’s motivation now because they already trained me
through middle school. When I was younger, my parents would make sure that I did my
homework. You know, I did it to make them happy. So, what motivates me now is I set
goals. It’s about me and my expectations.
Students articulated the impact of internal regulations. They recalled “when it clicked”
and how internal regulation affect their motivation. The new source of motivation, internal rather
than external, also helped them to develop strategies and plans for continued success in college
and in life.
Other Emergent Themes
Data deemed significant provided by the participants did not always align with the SDT
theoretical framework. There are two themes that emerged that are not identified by the
framework. The two themes are mental health and information.
Mental Health
The participants discussed the importance of providing mental health in schools with a
large percentage of students living under the poverty line. They felt more attention should be
focused on counselors/therapists. Kennedy was specific when expressing the need for mental
health practitioners for poor black student, advocating:
A lot of the black kids lived in the projects. So, I feel like they were going through things
at home. . . people I knew were going through things at home. So, that reflects on how
they behave at school.
While Kennedy was specific to students living in public housing, other participants spoke more
generally about the need for counselors within a school community. Jasmin noted:
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Mental health is really important. And the way that people talk about mental health isn’t
the best for a lot of people. . . I feel like if there is a safe space to have students talk about
their problems and really get to why they have the grades they have.
Mental health practitioners provide a safe, caring space for students. They are positioned
to support the myriad needs students bring to school with them that can get in the way of
learning. Adrian discussed a specific need, asserting:
A lot of students act up in class because they want to be the class clown, or they want to
stand out. I feel like that because they may not get attention at home or there is something
going on at home. They need to work through some of these things.
Some of the participants went so far as to state the desire to hire a counselor if they were in
charge. These students not only cared about their struggling peers, they wanted to create a
broader caring climate in their schools. Alicia boldly stated:
If I was the principal, I would create a mental health program because I feel mental health
can affect student’s performance, especially in school. So, maybe once a week I would
make it mandatory for certain students. Also, one-to-ones to talk about problems at home
and try to think of things that can help them get through it and say that it’s not the end of
things. It’s just they can bond with the other students, so they won’t feel alone.
A common sentiment for the students was not only having a counselor available but also
the belief that the hiring of a counselor would be of great value emotionally, academically, and
fiscally. It would constitute an important way of showing that school personnel cared. Naomi
believed that such a position would be worth the cost when she asserted:
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I would definitely have a school psychologist on campus ‘cause I feel like ours, we take
advantage over that. She is the busiest person on campus because everyone goes to see
her, and the students choose to see her.
The need for mental health practitioners, as a part of adults showing care for students,
was crucial for the students. They understood the student desire, relevancy, and importance of
these positions. The counselor was seen as a valuable non-academic caring person who could
positively influence a student’s motivation to learn.
Information
A primary function of high school is to impart knowledge to students so they can fulfill
their academic potential. Teachers teach and students learn. Students appreciated this
relationship but also pleaded that schools provide information about the purpose of education to
promote academic motivation. Brian clarified:
The biggest thing, as far as motivating kids, is showing then the importance of education.
Showing them, giving them a reason to work hard and showing them the reason why
they’re here in the first place. We’re trying to get an education, go to college, and become
successful. Many different routes to being successful. We still gotta learn. You still gotta
be educated.
Understanding the importance of education can positively influence motivation. Although
education in the U.S. is compulsory and free, students felt that education was a privilege. Crystal
put it this way:
Inform students what being in school means because there’s a lot of students who don’t
understand the privilege that they have being able to go to school for free, with all the
options, all the resources that are given to you. They don’t take advantage of them.
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The importance of education cannot be understated or disputed. Schools are positioned
appropriately to provide information about college and helping navigate the process. Kyra
discussed the importance of a genuine college counselor:
The college counselor pulls me in and gives me all this information about college. Then
Ms. X. reads what she gives me and adds other facts and things about college. She
doesn’t have to, but she does.
More than discussing the importance, adults can discuss the consequences of failing to
obtain a degree. Adrian added:
Show them what’s going to happen if they keep acting up, if they keep failing. So, take
them on a field trip, show them something like how life could be. You’re smart and you
can go to college. But you’re going to end up like working at the grocery store or fast
food your whole life, when you had the potential to own a business or be a CEO of a
company. So, I feel like you shouldn’t just punish them immediately, you should show
them what’s going to happen if you keep acting that way.
Michelle summed up the power of schools, noting:
There are so many things that a school can teach us. Like how to do our taxes. Not just
academic. I want to know how to do all that life stuff.
Schools develop practices that can contribute to increasing the academic motivation of
low-SES African American students. Promising practices such as providing choice, contributing
to perceived competence, creating a positive school culture, and establishing genuine
connections can be shared with similar schools. The data suggests that schools could benefit
from the inclusion of these practices. Specific recommendations will be discussed in Chapter
Five.
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Summary
The findings from this research study suggest that Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is
appropriate and applicable (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002: Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). SDT discusses
the importance and impact of having an internal locus of control. The student participant
expressed their feelings of control. Even when situations appeared to be out of their control, they
were able to frame their world in a way that allowed them to be in control. Some participants
described being handed a bad situation. They couldn’t control that situation, but they could
control their response to that situation. Therefore, they were in control of their destiny.
SDT outlines three basic psychological needs that people strive to satisfy. Autonomy is
the first basic psychological need. The students discussed the need and desire to have autonomy
through being genuine and exerting choice. The participants admitted to delivering a higher
quality product when given the opportunity for choice in task and/or culminating project. They
also expressed excitement about the ability to add personal and unique touches to projects. Some
participants cited more emotional investment in their projects because they had the opportunity
to choose their project.
The second basic psychological need is perceived competence. From a young age, the
student in this study believed they were smart. They also believed that they were not all
knowing; this healthy balance allowed them to overcome challenges, setbacks, and failures. This
perceived competence was achieved through parental support, their teachers’ beliefs about their
potential, a positive school culture, and their own record of academic success. This belief
allowed the students to take risks, make mistakes, and strive for greatness. Self-efficacy played a
major role in academic excellence.
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Relatedness, as the third basic psychological need, is interchangeable with
connectedness. Students expressed the importance of fostering positive relationships with peers
and school personnel. They also discussed the desire for educators to appreciate and respect
African American culture. An appreciation for and respect of this culture lead to an
understanding of student experience. It is this understanding the created empathy, which in turn
manifested as caring. The students animatedly described the powerful relationships they
developed with people who cared about them and their situation.
Self-Determination Theory introduces a motivation continuum from perfectly extrinsic to
perfectly intrinsic. Within that continuum, SDT describes two external motivations that influence
intrinsic motivation. SDT frames the emotions attached to the external motivations but
purposefully does not define the instances from motivation. However, the student participants
did.
First, parental support proved to be a major influencer. The participants recollected
intimate moments when their parents motivated and inspired them to do well academically. Their
parents approved and appreciated who they were and cared for them deeply. This love would be
rewarded. The students expressed a desire to financially take care of their parents. School was
the vehicle for a lucrative career that would allow for personal and parental comfort.
Second, peer networks were important to academic and social success. Friends provided
motivation by encouraging best academic practices. The participants discussed their friend’s
beliefs in their ability. Positive peer networks provided appropriate peer models. Teachers
understood that students were concerned with peer judgments. The participants named
academically successful and/or driven peers as a major motivational force.
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School culture was the third external regulator. Educational leaders created positive
school culture, and this did not go unnoticed by students. The participants at Flat Water High
School overwhelming believed that a culture of high academic expectations influenced their
desire to get good grades. The participants at River High School saw the difference in
expectations at the neighborhood school and the magnet center. They also feared that the culture
of lower expectations at the neighborhood school had a causal effect on the academic
performance of the neighborhood students. All the participants agreed that school culture,
positive or negative, was a critical factor in student success.
Finally, environment was listed as the fourth major external influencer. All participants
were considered low-SES and all but one student resided in a high poverty, high crime area. The
students believed that environment can negatively or positive influence academic performance.
They recalled moments when friends fell victim to these environments. Conversely, they
discussed how these same negative conditions actually motivated them to do well. School was
the great equalizer that would allow them to jump economic and social class.
The student participants described the elements of intrinsic motivation; they defined the
specific influences of external regulation that promoted intrinsic motivation. What was most
extraordinary was that the students could discuss the transition from external to internal. They
could recall the specific moment when their academic motivation turned from purely external to
being internalized, where they wanted success for themselves. Many of the students experienced
this shift in middle school. After the shift, the students’ primary source of motivation came from
within.

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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The race to close the racial achievement gap feels more like a marathon than a sprint.
School districts have identified remedies, but new hurdles continue to be erected. For most
school districts and the nation in aggregate, we are not even close to the finish line. A question
that hangs in the balance: “How long will this race go on?” This question is especially distressing
for districts that have worked in good faith to close the gaps, exhausting resources and individual
energy.
There is extensive research on the causes and pathways for narrowing and eventually
closing the achievement gap (Hampton, 2016; Jeynes, 2015; Musu-Gillete et al., 2016).
Educators have identified the impact of a lack of appropriate, culturally relevant pedagogy and
teaching practices (Gay, 2000). In response, school districts have created task forces to develop
teacher capacity; they have purchased supplemental materials (Ladson-Billings, 2009). Research
have found success with higher rates of parent participation (Potter & Morris, 2017), schools that
provide access to rigorous academics (Grissom & Redding, 2016), and school cultures that pro-
actively engage students in high expectation for all have (Tenebaum & Ruck, 2007). Finally,
school districts are learning that an investment in pre-school programs can help mitigate gaps in
kindergarten readiness and cognitive stimulation in high poverty areas (Quinn, 2015).
Unfortunately, the results of these well-intended, often well-funded attempts have been minimal.
A racial and socioeconomic academic achievement gap continues to exist nationwide (Huang,
2015).
The purpose of this study was to examine the practices and protective factors that led to
consistent or increased academic motivation and persistence of high-achieving, low-
socioeconomic status (SES) African American high schoolers in an urban setting. This
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qualitative study revealed recommendations and suggestions to urban schools and districts that
are struggling to narrow racial and/or SES achievement gaps.
Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory was the framework by which to define
internal and external regulations (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002: Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). By
exploring and comparing the satisfaction or frustration student participants faced in meeting their
three basic psychological needs for intrinsic motivation, this study produced well-defined
indicators that described the fulfillment of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Finally, this
study explored the impact of external influences that contributed to student motivation and
persistence (either externalized or internalized).
The setting for this research study were two inner-city high schools. Student participants
provided extensive data, answering all three research questions in response to queries in
interviews. Students described and defined elements and contributors to intrinsic motivation.
Also, data revealed school-related practices the influenced their academic success. And, finally,
students discussed specific external regulations that began to satisfy their basic needs (identified
and integrated regulations).
Connection to Framework
Self-Determination Theory provided an appropriate framework for diagnosing the inputs
to internal and external motivation. Although SDT provided valuable insight, there were two
themes that emerged outside of the framework: the need for mental health care and schools
providing information. Intrinsic motivation occurs when the three basic psychological needs are
satisfied. Students’ satisfaction of autonomy was gained through ownership of their situation.
Competence was satisfied by being self-efficacious. The participants satisfied the need of
relatedness by establishing positive relationships. SDT also defines elements of extrinsic
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motivation that can lead to intrinsic motivation (integrated and identified). The students—in their
discourse about the influence of peers, adults, culture, and the environment—described their
progression from external to internal regulation and motivation.
The findings also suggest that not one factor alone provides motivation. Instead,
motivation can be viewed more holistically, where students create systems of motivation based
upon their personal environment. While individuals can identify one specific moment that
inspired them, the reality is that there are factors both complementary and conflicting that
continue to influence academic motivation. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of factors is
appropriate for understanding why some low-SES African Americans are academically
successful and why some succumb to negative pressures.
The advancement of both internal and extrinsic (integrated and identified) motivation can
generate significant short-term and long-term successes. Koestner and Losier noted:
Intrinsic motivation promotes a focus on short-term, process goals and yields energizing
emotions such as interests and excitement, whereas identification [and integration] keeps
one oriented toward the long-term significance of one’s current pursuits. (Deci & Ryan,
2002, p.115)
This study has identified specific attributes in the discourse used by low-SES, high-
achieving African American students to articulate their intrinsic motivation for satisfying their
desire to be successful on a task or project in school. The students also described how external
regulations contributed to and influenced their current trajectory, leading to long-term success.
This study showed how these students, in spite of tremendous challenges, navigated between
internal and external regulation. It shows the importance of having an awareness of both. With
this knowledge, we can create better educational practices for all low-SES students, regardless of
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race or ethnicity, that narrow the achievement gap. And, we can better inform research to
pinpoint the pivots that allow students to generate internal motivation.
Implications for Educational Practice
This study has both confirmed what researchers have asserted about motivation while
simultaneously adding to the current knowledge base. It is important that schools understand and
accept that poor Black students can be and are academically successful. The difference between
this study and many others is the reliance on student perspectives to provide answers. Especially
following the 2018 shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, America has
entered an era where student voices count. They are powerful, as evidenced Juliana v. United
States, a Federal lawsuit brought against the U.S. government over climate change. It is time, and
timely, to listen to the voices of Black students to find solutions to closing the racial achievement
gap.
Recently, “grit” and “social emotional learning” have been bantered about as possible
“secret sauces” for academic improvement. While there is value in grit and social emotional
learning, this banter fails to get at the heart of motivation. It fails to be inclusive of the powerful,
insightful voices of Black youth themselves. This study has identified specific and intentional
practices school systems can incorporate in K-12 educational systems that cultivate motivation
based on how students perceive the environments in which they learn and the factors that they
report motivate them.
Schools and school district have much to learn about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as
well as the relationship between the two. More importantly, there has been limited research on
motivation from the perspective of students themselves. This research study presents a blueprint
for cultivating intrinsic motivation and external regulations that become integrated. The onus is
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on school districts to design professional development programs using this research on
motivation and building the capacity of its educators. Self-Determination Theory is a possible
framework for discussions about motivation in education.
The current research revealed many promising and proven practices for cultivating
motivation and persistence. These practices fell into seven core areas: facilitating autonomy, self-
awareness and self-efficacy, competition, professional development, parent engagement,
community engagement, and support systems.
Facilitating Autonomy
First, schools have the ability to satisfy the basic need for autonomy by creating
processes and protocols for student choice. Participants in the study discussed the need to feel
genuine and included in the school’s culture. They needed to see African American culture
represented and respected. Administrators and school leaders must be intentional in affirming
different personalities, characteristics, and lifestyles. Such affirmations will then contribute to the
sense of belongingness, connection, and relatedness. This framework differs from anti-bullying
campaigns, which essentially convey a message of “don’t bully.” What this researcher is
proposing is that schools become proactive and deliberate in creating a school culture that is
accepting and appreciative of diverse thought.
Second, schools can nurture autonomy by supporting students to strengthen their internal
locus of control by helping them understand, learn about, and accept their ability to internally
self-regulate. Schools can foster this mentality by allowing choice of tasks, tracks, and/or
pathways. In the classroom, teachers can create lessons that allow for task choice, allowing
students to take ownership of the work they select and creating educational engagement. State
standards do not prescribe curriculum or pedagogy, giving schools the flexibility to offer themed
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core classes. Schools can address students’ desires by creating courses that satisfy district
requirements for English, Math, and Science using state standards while including student
interests. For example, high schools could offer African American Literature as an English
requirement or the Physics of Sport as a science requirement. Math classes could incorporate the
contributions of Black mathematicians like Benjamin Banneker or Dorothy Vaughn.
Third, choice in academic track or pathway can be powerful because students self-select
their academic career path. Much like undergraduates select a major and courses aligned to that
major, high schools can consider how colleges program students. High school can pilot an “ pre-
undergraduate degree” where upper-class students meet with a counselor or dean to create a
”major.” This gives the student some ownership over their course selection and level of rigor. It
lays a foundation to hold the student accountable for their selection, their choice. The student
participants in this study wholeheartedly expressed ownership of their current academic
situation.
Self-Awareness and Self-Efficacy
Schools should contribute to student motivation by helping students understand the
significance of external influences. Motivated students have integrated external regulation into
their internal motivation. Students often transition from external to internal regulation during the
middle school years. Middle school administrators, counselors, and teachers should bring this to
their students’ awareness and help them make this transition by designing activities to highlight
this transition.
Educators can intentionally teach self-awareness. Knowing your strengths, your
challenges, and owning your circumstances can help a student gain control of their situation.
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Self-awareness allows students to center in reality, better understand the space they inhibit, and
find pathways to success regardless of the environment.
Furthermore, schools are positioned to develop a student’s sense of self-efficacy. All
students should feel they are good at something at an early age. Pre-kindergarten and
kindergarten teachers should understand the importance of making every child feel smart. There
are many strategies to contribute to a student’s perceived competence.
Judgement and praise. This study may serve as a warning to educators to be careful
when comparing students. Students understand who the smart kids are because of this
comparison and attention. By focusing on the smart kids and only praising their work, educators
unintentionally create marginalized groups of lower-achieving students. Students who believe
they are smart will behave differently than students who believe they lack intelligence.
Additionally, teachers must be conscious about what is actually being praised. The
importance of establishing growth mindsets in students is finally reaching schools. When
teachers only praise students for high grades, they are praising outcomes not efforts.
Furthermore, they are disenfranchising underachievers and average students. It becomes difficult
for an underachiever or average child to feel smart when, at an early age, their abilities and
efforts were not recognized or are overshadowed by the accomplishments of their peers. All
students, regardless of their intelligence, can exert extreme effort. Students, regardless of their
intelligence, also need to learn how to maximize their efforts effectively. Sometimes “trying
harder” means trying something different. This nuanced yet simple idea holds tremendous
potential for students and teachers alike.
Placement and incremental success. Classroom management is a lead player in
developing competence. Many classroom management structures are deficit-based instead of
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asset-based. Asset based classroom management rewards students who engage in proper or
desired behaviors. Rewards for positive academic behavior at an early age can encourage future
desired academic behaviors. The students in this study repeatedly described how success built
upon success, creating a sense of competence. Again, focusing on the positives and the successes
will go further in helping low-SES students achieve success.
To protect perceived competence, counselors must be intentional with placing successful
or potentially successful African American students in more rigorous courses. Schools can assign
more students to an Advanced Placement or honors course. This allows students to have access
of Advanced Placement expectations. In addition to the placement, schools can ensure success
by providing support to struggling students in these advanced courses.
Additionally, to increase perceived competence, teachers must highlight incremental or
short-term successes. “Chunking” in pedagogy refers to the deliberate breaking of lessons and
projects into comprehensible and attainable parts. More sophisticated “chunking” calls for
success in one “installment” before advancing to the next installment. “Chunking” can reside
within the zone of proximal learning, allowing for challenging yet achievable learning.
Resilience. School counselors can be instrumental in developing confidence in students.
Students can feel incompetence primarily due to their life circumstances. Academic competence
can be derailed by environmental conditions. Aside from providing a safe space for students to
express themselves and assisting them in navigating life stresses, counselors can develop social
emotional curricula that focus on building resilience and perceived competence.
Competition
The data in this study clearly show that the cultivation and appreciation of student’s
competitive nature, as a reaction to perceived competence, contributes to academic success.
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Today’s culture promotes the “participation medal.” This trend rewards anyone who participates
in an event. While this system was created to promote self-esteem, the unexpected side effect is
that it can compromise motivation. Students aren’t oblivious to differences in competence;
awarding everyone a trophy or gold star can make lower ability students feel like imposters,
accepting awards they don’t feel they earned.
Schools can establish positive peer norms and reward positive peer group action.
Currently, children learn how to be a friend through experience or, if they are lucky, through
participation in social emotional learning around building friendships. With the exception of
team competitions, groups are rarely rewarded in aggregate. Schools can seize on the effect of
healthy peer pressure by encouraging positive group behaviors.
Furthermore, kids know before a contest that both teams and all players will be rewarded
equally. Therefore, they may not try to do their best. Schools should create friendly rivalries and
competitive opportunities for students, both academically and nonacademically. In healthy
rivalries, students push each other to bring out the best on both sides. Instead of students
competing with each other, classrooms can compete with each other, building camaraderie,
fostering role modeling, and creating a positive school culture.
Professional Development
An educator’s understanding of their students is critical for student achievement.
Understanding can lead to appreciation, empathy, and care. Educators spend many hours during
the school year engaged in professional development. This the perfect arena to develop
administrator, teacher, and staff capacity for supporting low-SES African American students.
District administrators and principals could create learning experiences that are anchored in what
it means to be a poor, Black student.
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This study confirmed that non-Black teachers can be as effective as Black teachers.
While race matters in certain instances, this is not necessarily true with instruction. However,
school personnel who do not identify as African American or people of color must consider their
positionality. Recently, there have been substantial discussions around “white privilege” and
“implicit bias.” These are often very difficult, challenging conversations. Administrators,
teachers, and staff could benefit from a safe place to acknowledge this privilege and bias, and
how it translates into the classroom even with the best of intentions. They need to have strategies
and tools to help students unpack bias in educational materials and in their lived experiences.
They need to understand how this impacts their students, parents, and the community.
Students themselves can play an important role with this experience by participating in or
leading tough conversations. Typically, educators learn from materials written and taught by an
expert removed from teachers’ actual lived classroom experiences and student’s real-life
environments. Teachers teach and students live/play in circumstances unfamiliar to many
educational consultants and trainers. Teachers and students can describe their lives, their
thoughts, and perspectives in ways difficult to recreate in a book, journal article, or training
manual. While successful poor Black students may be ideal to participate in professional
development, school personnel can also learn from students who underachieve.
Parent Engagement
Parental pressure can also positively or negatively influence motivation. Schools could
benefit from proactively establishing positive relationships with parents. Many schools request
the support of parents during fundraisers or when mandated to engage as stakeholders for
compliance purposes. However, generations of adults who attended local schools may have had a
negative school experience. These schools failed them, contributing to their low socioeconomic
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 144
status. In these cases, schools could open dialogue about their feelings about and experiences
with school. Encouraging open and candid dialogues about a “lack of trust” in the system can
create an entry point from which to build trust and engagement. However, schools must validate
their concerns and experiences before requesting a profound commitment to education.
Just as peers can influence peers, parents can influence other parents. Schools could
facilitate conversations between parents who do not believe in the school or education and those
who are supportive. Schools could bring in the parents of poor Black kids who are now
successful young adults. The quality of life for both the parents and students increases when a
child is academically successful. Some parents may need to see how this has played out for other
families.
Community Engagement
Educational leaders can also gain knowledge about the community and its resources
through practices like participating in roundtable discussions with community leaders and
parents. The purpose of a roundtable is to deepen the understanding of school personnel about
the students they teach. For example, faith-based leaders can provide context for the spiritual and
ethical foundations of students; they can explain free services available to students and their
families. Local nonprofit staff can help educators understand the complexities of an urban low-
SES community, focusing on topics like employment challenges, pregnancy prevention, and
homelessness. Community members can also assist with the design and content of professional
development trainings for educators in their communities.
As a counterpoint, administrators should reserve time for teachers and students to
experience the community itself. Field trips in the community and/or learning opportunities in
school with community leaders can bring an additional level of experiential learning. For
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 145
example, a field trip to a community garden may expose students to the importance of healthy
eating and the potential in growing your own food. A trip to a free tutoring center may introduce
teachers and students to the center in a safe, group setting, laying the groundwork for teachers
and students to ask for help on their own.
This type of community engagement, while labor intensive at first, brings multiple long-
term benefits to schools and students. Business leaders may engage with the school, offering
financial assistance, in-kind donations, and/or internships. Community groups may participate
more enthusiastically in school fundraisers, volunteer in the schools, or become mentors to
students or troubled families. Schools and students benefit when the relationships with the
community are strong.
Support Systems
Schools should be intentional about creating systems unique to their student population.
First, schools can develop mentoring programs, pairing identified students with trained mentors.
Schools should equip personnel with strategies and activities to build productive relationships
with their mentees. Mentors and adult role models can contribute to motivation when integrated
appropriately. Many students lack the awareness that a better life is possible. A “better life” may
be generalized as a car and a house. Mentors can share “how they made it,” show students that a
better life is possible, and help students define what success might mean for them. Students can
connect with their stories when they can see an adult has walked a similar path, generating
honest discussions about the specific strategies needed to become successful. Mentors can help
students break down challenges and process disappointments. It is important that students can
see themselves and see a legitimate path.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 146
Second, schools can capitalize on the African American teenager’s sense of community
and desire to support the younger generation by creating student role models. Schools can
facilitate relationships between high school students and elementary school students. High school
students can prepare for this role model relationship by successfully completing a series of
trainings designed by both elementary and secondary educators. These teenagers are likely to
understand the primary student’s perspective due to shared familiarity with their environment,
being African American in a public school, and the effects of poverty. The teenagers can impart
knowledge using vernacular that is closely aligned to an elementary student’s speech patterns
while providing a paradigm of hope.
Third, teachers can be assigned a cohort of students beginning in the entry grades. This
teacher can take responsibility for ensuring the students attend classes, complete assignments,
and stay on track for graduation. At large comprehensive high schools, breaking large teacher-
student ratios into smaller cohorts can prove beneficial. Many high schools have adopted this
model; however, they fail in a lack of comprehensiveness. Teachers are not held accountable for
their cohort’s behaviors. Healthy cohort competition can increase teacher motivation for
participation. Administrators can identify metrics, such as attendance and homework completion
rates, and publicize the rankings.
Finally, school systems must look at how they allocate academic support resources.
Counselors have the ability to support students in different ways than teachers or administrators.
They can provide a framework for positive adult-student relationships. Comprehensive support
systems will allow for connectivity between students and staff. These systems could fulfill the
basic need of relatedness and contribute to academic and life success.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 147
Recommendations for Future Research
This study explored, uncovered, and confirmed variables that influence motivation for
low-SES urban African American youth. Future research can further clarify our grasp of the
central research questions and provide more nuanced understandings. It should expand the
number of student participants and utilize multiple settings to make this study more generalizable
to a broader population. Ideally, it will also find more gender balance, so that the voices of high-
achieving, low-SES males are represented.
There are two meanings to “multiple settings.” First, an increase in the number of high
schools within the school district could provide stronger data that rationalizes and justifies
district initiatives. However, a study involving schools within only one district can be
generalizable only for that district. Second, future researchers could recreate this study’s
methodology across multiple school districts. Selecting a significant number of participants in
high school in diverse school districts will increases this study’s generalizability. A study of this
magnitude could benefit an entire geographic region or students sharing similar demographics
(i.e. all low-SES students, all students of color, all urban students).
Future research could also consider these students as they transition into adulthood. A
longitudinal study would provide additional insights. This study could attempt to correlate
specific regulation to success in college. What worked in high school may not be a driving factor
in college. Research with college students would likely introduce additional themes. As adults,
these students may be able to add depth as they discuss the changing influences over time on
their personal motivation. How did their ability to master motivation and persistence in school
set them up for success in the workplace and in life? What influences persist throughout the
lifespan? What influences are rooted in time and place?
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 148
In addition to creating a longitudinal study, future research could include data from
parents and guardians of the student participants. Parents would provide additional perspectives
that can be used to triangulate data. A quantitative study that only included parents of successful
students could be enlightening as well. This study could look into the characteristics and
cultivation of those characteristics that promote academic excellence. As a quantitative study,
perhaps survey research, there is the potential to include very large numbers of parents.
The current research project was a simple yet eye-opening qualitative study. Future
research could consider a mixed methods study. The quantitative portion of a mixed methods
study could be comprehensive and allow for possible causal explanations. This type of research
could correlate variables with outputs. The qualitative portion would allow for more depth
understandings to contextualize the findings.
Finally, mental health emerged unexpectedly as a theme. Future research could explore
the role mental health practitioners play in academic motivation and persistence. To what extent
do inner city youth have access to mental health care? Are there successful evidence-based
practices, models, or curricula for low-SES urban youth? Does having a full-time mental health
practitioner in school increase academic persistence with poor Black students? In addition, future
research must explore the effects of PTSD on students in poor communities of color. Post 9/11,
PTSD is associated with American military veterans; however, PTSD is common in the general
civilian population. In the inner city, children are exposed to tremendous violence and trauma,
which causes PTSD; frequently, these children have no access to mental health care. We know
almost nothing about if and how students are diagnosed with PTSD; we know almost nothing
about the ways communities and schools are helping to alleviate the harms associated with PTSD
in children in the inner city.
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 149
Conclusion
This study provides insights into how low-SES African American students in two urban
high schools defined autonomy, perceived competence, relatedness, and external motivation. The
student participants expanded the definition of autonomy to include self-acceptance and “being
themselves,” or being “genuine.” Typically, educators believe that autonomy as limited to
making educational choices. However, students were able to satisfy the need for autonomy by
being themselves as well as making educational choices for themselves in tasks, classes, and
pathways.
Schools can create conditions, establish cultures, and institute systems that support
students in developing intrinsic academic motivation. Education, with intentionality, can design
and facilitate professional development opportunities that explore the components of intrinsic
motivation. Specifically, leaders can show teachers how to incorporate choice in their classroom.
Students will also benefit from capacity building. Teachers need to be aware of the impact of
their words on student’s perceived competence, which can enhance or stunt self-efficacy. Mental
health practitioners can encourage and provide strategies to teachers to connect and establish
more genuine relationships with their students. And, finally, educators would benefit from
understanding and respecting the external regulators that are instrumental to increasing students’
internal motivation.
The importance of internal motivation in education is paramount. Positive teachers feel
responsible for the current and future success of their students. They spend countless hours
developing lessons, providing support, and assessing learning. Primary and secondary teachers
have a limited amount of time to educate students. By helping students to develop internal
motivations, teachers can prepare students for college and beyond. By having students develop
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 150
an internal locus of control and increasing internal self-regulation, teachers are setting them up
for success. As students become adults, they enter the world knowing that they themselves are
wholly responsible for their own academic and workplaces successes and failures. That is the
promise and the potential of education that goes beyond teaching to the test and prepares
students for a lifetime of holistic success.

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 151
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CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 169
Appendix A: Theoretical Alignment Matrix

Research Question Theoretical Framework Data Instrument Questions

RQ1: What discourses do high-
achieving, low-SES African
American students use to
describe their intrinsic
motivation for academic
persistence?

Self-Determination Theory
(Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002:
Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017)

Interview Questions: 3, 4, 9, 11
- 17

RQ2: What school related
practices do high-achieving,
low-SES African American
students employ to maximize
academic success?

Self-Determination Theory
(Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002:
Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017)

Interview Questions: 2, 5, 6, 9,
10, 13, 15 - 17

RQ3: How might low-SES
African American students
engage extrinsic motivation with
learning?

Self-Determination Theory
(Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002:
Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017)

Interview Questions: 5, 8, 9, 11,
12, 13, 15 - 17
Demographic Questions Interview Questions: 1, 2, 7

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 170
Appendix B: Interview Protocol
My name is Keith Abrahams and I am interested in your perspective as it relates to the
interview questions. This purpose of this interview is to gather information to be used for my
dissertation. The topic of my dissertation is the persistence, motivation, and practices of high
achieving low-SES African American students in urban schools. The following are my research
questions:
RQ1: What discourses do high-achieving, low-SES African American students use to
describe their intrinsic motivation for academic motivation?
RQ2: What school related practices do high-achieving, low-SES African American
students employ to maximize academic success?
RQ3: How might low-SES African American students engage extrinsic motivation with
learning?
I believe there is no one right answer or magic pill. But instead I hope to gather anecdotal
data pertaining to successful students that will assist school systems. Conversely, there is no
wrong answer. Whatever answers you provide will be the correct answers, as will the other
interviewees.
The information provided will help me narrow down my research questions and study. I will
be the only person that can identify you. Your name and school will appear as an alias. I will
review how I interpreted your data and again gain your consent before publishing any
information provided by you. To provide the most accurate description of your statements, I wish
to record our interview. You, of course, have the right to refuse to answer any questions. I simple
“pass” is all I need. Please don’t provide me with an explanation unless you feel that it should be
of interest for this study. Finally, this interview should not last longer than 90 minutes. If you
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 171
need to cut it short, just say so. Again, no further explanation is needed. I appreciate and respect
your time and your commitment to this project.
Do I have permission to begin asking you questions while be recorded? Thank you. Let’s
begin.
Research
Question #
Interview Question Concept
1 Describe the ethnic and SES composition
of your school?
Demographics
2 Describe the ethnic composition of your
staff?
Demographics
3 Please talk about some of your academic
and professional accomplishments.
Autonomy, Competence
4 In what ways did your personal
characteristics lead to success?
Intrinsic Motivation
5 In your opinion do schools do enough to
prepare this group for the challenges they
will face in college?
External Influences
6 Suppose you were the head counselor
charged with developing support systems
for marginalized students. What programs
would you develop?
Autonomy, Competence,
Relatedness, External
Influences
7 Describe your neighborhood Demographics
8 Some would say that students fail because
their parents or communities did not
support the “appropriately”. What would
you tell them?
Autonomy, Competence,
Relatedness, External
Influences
9 Suppose you were a high achieving
student that did not care about school or
grades. How can the school help you get
excited about education?
Autonomy, Competence,
Relatedness, External
Influences
10 Ideally, how could your middle school set
you up for success?
Autonomy, Competence,
External Influences
11 If you had a child what characteristics
would you want your child to possess?
Autonomy, Competence
12 How do you think a parent could cultivate
those characteristics?
Autonomy, Relatedness,
External Influences
13 What is the most rewarding thing about
being successful in school?
Intrinsic Motivation,
External Influences
14 What are your post-high school plans Perceived Competence
15 Who or what event has been the most
inspirational?
Relatedness, External
Influences
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 172
16 What are some of the challenges you will
face with continuing on this path? How
will you succeed?
Autonomy, Relatedness,
Competence
17 What else would you like to tell me about
your academic career that we have not
discussed?
Autonomy, Competence,
Relatedness, Intrinsic
Motivation, External
Influences

CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 173
Appendix C: Observation Protocol

Date: ______________
Time: ______________
Length of Activity: _______ minutes
Site: _____________________________________
Setting: __________________________________
Participants: ______________________________________________________

Diagram of Setting
LAYOUT
CULTIVATING MOTIVATION AND PERSISTENCE 174
KEY

Author Event Reflective Notes

Abstract (if available)

Abstract America still faces an immense education divide defined by socio-economic status, race, and ethnicity. The educational achievement gap has created a widening opportunity gap for low-socioeconomic status and minority students. Understanding the relationships between educational practices, motivation, and persistence can inform development of a comprehensive academic program for these students. Limited research focuses on African American students in urban schools using the lens of Ryan and Deci’s Self-Determination Theory, the theoretical framework for this study. Autonomy, competence, and relatedness were prescribed as factors critical to intrinsic motivation, persistence, and academic resilience. The study explored interactions between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, distinguishing relationships between motivation, protective factors, school climate, and culture. This study used a qualitative methods methodology to identify the factors and practices that protect and foster academic motivation and persistence for high achieving, low-socioeconomic status (SES) twelfth grade African American students in urban high schools. The study used purposeful sampling to identify twenty-one candidates that for the participant criteria. Twenty (20) of the possible twenty-one (21) candidates agreed to participate in this study. Closing the achievement gap and the opportunity gap will produce a new generation of young adults who are able to compete in an increasingly challenging global marketplace and become economically self-sufficient, reducing income inequality and creating pathways out of generational cycles of poverty. The keys are interdependent: strengthening resilience that empowers persistence and nurturing motivation that engages students in working towards their own academic success.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Abrahams, Keith Hylton, III (author)

Core Title Cultivating motivation and persistence for urban, high achieving, low-SES African American students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 12/02/2019

Defense Date 10/08/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic persistence,achievement gap,African American,Climate,culture,High School,low socioeconomic status,Motivation,OAI-PMH Harvest,opportunity gap,protective factors,resilience,Students,Urban

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Tobey, Patricia (committee chair), Combs, Wayne (committee member), Escalante, Michael (committee member)

Creator Email abrahams.keith@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-239696

Unique identifier UC11675023

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Legacy Identifier etd-AbrahamsKe-7959.pdf

Dmrecord 239696

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Abrahams, Keith Hylton, III

Type texts

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