Student Motivation & Engagement

Education news, analysis, and opinion about efforts to get students involved and active in learning and classroom activities
A nurse supervises a young student standing at the foot of a hospital bed chatting about the medical chart that she is holding.
E+/Getty + Education Week
College & Workforce Readiness Want to Motivate Students? Give Them a Meaningful Taste of the Working World
Work-based learning experiences can help students understand why the classes they are taking are relevant to their future success.
Alyson Klein, February 21, 2023
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7 min read
Happy African American teacher receives applause from her students while lecturing them in the classroom.
Drazen Zigic/iStock + Education Week
Teaching You Don't Need to Be the Hollywood Version of a Teacher. Here's What Motivates Students
Everyone has had a teacher who has that special something: they are entertaining and inspiring. Can those qualities be taught?
Arianna Prothero, February 21, 2023
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4 min read
Phil Yordy, left, works with freshman Derek Shallow, 15, right, during the Hawks Take Flight mentorship program after school at Oregon High School in Oregon, Ill., on Feb. 15, 2023. Yordy teaches world history, civics, and freshman seminar and volunteers as a program mentor.
Teacher Phil Yordy, left, works with freshman Derek Shallow, 15, right, during an after school mentoring program at Oregon High School in Oregon, Ill., in February. Yordy teaches world history, civics, and freshman seminar and volunteers as a program mentor.
Laura McDermott for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement How One School's Mentorship Program Paid Off Big in Academic Gains
A high school mentoring program led to a huge drop in the number of failing grades among freshmen.
Madeline Will, February 21, 2023
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4 min read
Kim King, an art teacher at Mansfield Elementary School in Mansfield, Conn., works with Ainsley Liebster, a pre-k student in her choice-based art class, on Feb. 13, 2023.
Kim King, an art teacher at Mansfield Elementary School in Storrs Mansfield, Conn., works with Ainsley Liebster, a pre-K student in her choice-based art class in February.
Christopher Capozziello for Education Week
Teaching 5 Ways to Inspire a Love for Learning in Students
Education researchers and classroom teachers weigh in on what works.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 21, 2023
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6 min read
A group of high school students and their teacher crowd around a laptop and read the screen together.
E+/Getty + Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement From Our Research Center Student and Teacher Motivation, in Charts
Survey data show significant differences in student and teacher motivation.
Arianna Prothero, February 21, 2023
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1 min read
Carrying crosses emblazoned with photos and names of the city’s victims of gun violence, high school senior D’Angelo McDade, front right, leads a march in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood during a nationwide student walkout to protest gun violence, on March 14, 2020.
Carrying crosses emblazoned with photos and names of the city’s victims of gun violence, high school senior D’Angelo McDade, front right, leads a march in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood during a nationwide student walkout to protest gun violence, on March 14, 2020.
Martha Irvine/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement What the Research Says Can School Violence Desensitize Students? An Explainer
As children witness more violence on social media and in places where they study, worship, and play, questions grow about effects on them.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 13, 2023
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4 min read
Smiling older white male teacher and back of white male student greeting with a hand shake in the school hallway.
E+/Getty
Teaching 4 Steps for Building Strong Relationships With Students and Colleagues
Psychologist and author Adam Saenz outlines what it takes to make connections with students and co-workers.
Arianna Prothero, February 7, 2023
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3 min read
Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval, the family and community engagement manager at the Phoenix Union High School District, in Phoenix, Ariz., meets with community liaisons at Carl Hayden High School.
Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval, the family and community engagement manager at the Phoenix Union High School District, in Phoenix, Ariz., meets with community liaisons at Carl Hayden High School.
Ash Ponders for Education Week
Budget & Finance Q&A Letting Students Decide Where Money Should Go: How One District Did It
Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval leads an effort to let Phoenix Union High students decide how significant chunks of money are spent.
Mark Lieberman, February 6, 2023
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4 min read
Cyndi Tercero, family and community engagement manager for the Phoenix Union High School Districts, pictured at a distribution event for students and families in need at Carl Hayden High School in west Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 13, 2023.
Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval, the family and community engagement manager for the Phoenix Union High School District, helps out at a food distribution event for students and families in need at Carl Hayden High School in west Phoenix, Ariz.
Ash Ponders for Education Week
Budget & Finance Leader To Learn From Giving Students a Say in School Spending? A District Leader's Bold Idea Pays Off
Cyndi Tercero-Sandoval's initiative empowers students by allowing them to vote on how portions of their school's budgets will be spent.
Mark Lieberman, February 6, 2023
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9 min read
Illustration of students holding speech bubbles.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Opinion Your School Leadership Needs More Student Voice
When one Virginia principal moved from middle school to high school, he knew he would need to find new ways of soliciting student feedback.
S. Kambar Khoshaba, January 31, 2023
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3 min read
Stephanie Miller-Henderson, 42, looks at 11-year-old Christopher Lockhart’s laptop while teaching a sixth grade class how their grades are calculated during a Success Bound lesson at John M. Smyth School on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022 in Chicago, Ill. Success Bound aims to teach middle school students skills they will need in high school and beyond.
School counselor Stephanie Miller-Henderson looks at 11-year-old Christopher Lockhart’s laptop while teaching a 6th grade lesson on calculating grades at John M. Smyth School on Dec. 12 in Chicago.
Taylor Glascock for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement 'Future Selves' and Helping Others: What Motivates Students to Engage in School
Getting middle schoolers invested in their academic futures is a perennial challenge for educators. But it’s more complex now.
Sarah Schwartz, December 28, 2022
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6 min read
Black girl wearing face mask and protective glasses using microscope in laboratory
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Science How to Build Girls' Interest and Confidence in STEM Learning
Too often, girls aren’t introduced to STEM career opportunities until high school, but that could be too late.
Lauraine Langreo, December 12, 2022
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2 min read
Image of a child building a structure with marshmallows and spaghetti noodles.
iStock/Getty
English Learners 4 Ways to Build Social-Emotional Skills for English Learners
Teaching students how to master a second language and develop SEL skills at the same time is challenging.
Alyson Klein, December 9, 2022
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3 min read
shutterstock 513761242
Shutterstock
Teaching Profession Opinion 11 Critical Issues Facing Educators in 2023
From health and safety to labor shortages, the coming year is rife with challenges for school leaders and teachers.
Peter DeWitt, December 4, 2022
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5 min read
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