MOTIVATION AND CONTEMPORARY SOCIO-CONSTRUCTIVIST INSTRUCTIONAL PERSPECTIVES

The perspective generally referred to as socio-constructivism is promi nent in contemporary educational reform efforts. This article argues f or expanded study of the motivational issues presented by new curricul ar approaches that follow from this perspective. The conflicts between the models of motivation that are most influential in education and s ocio-constructivist perspectives is explored, and newer models of moti vation, including explicitly socio-constructivist ones, are described. A review of motivation's treatment in new curricular approaches furth er illustrates how socio-constructivist perspectives can expand and re vise our understanding of classroom motivation. This review also illus trates how the expanded study of motivation might help demonstrate the value of new approaches, and yield important insights that can help a dvance them. Finally, this review shows how ubiquitous intrinsically m otivating instructional principles may undermine the goals of new curr icular approaches, suggesting expanded consideration of motivational i ssues within curricular and professional development efforts associate d with those approaches.