Date of Degree
2026
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations (LEPF)
Director
Tonks, Stephen
Co-Director
Summers, Kelly
Committee Members
Mandrell, Kelly
Keywords
Student Motivation, Student Compliance, Student Engagement, Teaching strategies, Student Perspectives, Middle School, Rural School, Student Centered Classrooms
Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation is to provide insight into middle school students’ perspectives on motivation and engagement to better inform instructional practices. Centering student voice, the study investigated how these learners distinguish genuine engagement from compliance, and how they perceive the connection between classroom instruction and other factors to their own motivation and engagement. The students’ perspectives provide an in-depth, student-centered framework that distinguishes between the external pressures leading to compliance and the authentic, actionable support for true motivation and engagement. The dissertation was completed in three parts. Part one (Chapter 2) is an in-depth literature review on motivation and engagement, looking at Ryan and Deci’s self-determination theory, Reeve’s research on agentic engagement, John Hattie’s research on high-impact teacher influences, and how motivation and engagement affect learning. Part two (Chapter 3) is a qualitative empirical study using interviews with middle school students to gain insight into their motivators and engagement strategies. Part three (Chapter 4) describes a professional development initiative for educators, focusing on distinguishing motivation from compliance, and integrating student insights to enhance instructional strategies. The objective of the research was to gather actionable, student-centered information to inform instructional practice. While this dissertation contributes to the student voice from a small rural school, more qualitative data is needed to better understand the experiences of students across varied geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic contexts. This qualitative research study examined student perspectives on effective learning, contrasting preferred “dos” with disliked “don’ts” to reveal what is driving their motivation and engagement. Students thrive with active, hands-on, and relevant tasks, valuing visuals, choice, and collaborative work alongside timely, specific teacher feedback. In contrast to that, boring, passive, or unclear assignments lead to disengagement and reduced learning. The findings strongly align with self-determination theory (SDT), stressing how meeting students’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness through supportive teacher practices create genuine motivation and deeper engagement. This study provided concrete, student-centered examples, bringing theory and practice together. While existing research defines motivational concepts, this study provides the direct “why” and “how” behind student motivation from the learners’ own perspectives. The interviews add a personal aspect, creating a “guide” from the student’s perspective, providing first-hand accounts, describing engagement as feeling “super active,” “absorbing everything,” and wanting to “shoot up my hand.” The research contributes to the field by moving past the existing theoretical principles to uncover the specific, actionable strategies and teacher qualities students themselves perceive as most impactful, directly informing instructional practices and professional development.
Creative Commons License
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Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Garrigan, Kirsten, "Understanding Student Motivation and Engagement: Students’ Perspectives" (2026). Dissertations of Practice. 133.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/133
