Motivation in Political Education Lessons

Abstract

The development of political competence is an important task of political education in school. It requires volition and motivation to solve tasks that are presented in political education lessons or in daily life. The present study aims to contribute to conceptual knowledge of the specialised concept of European players - a sub-facet of political knowledge. For the intervention study lesson materials on the European Union were developed. The motivational orientation was assessed as a dependent variable in each case in order to increase the knowledge of the influencing parameters in school lessons. Membership in associations/ clubs, domain-specific self-concept, democratic classroom climate, interest in the subjects of the lessons were the influencing factors (predictors) for learning. A knowledge and motivation test was conducted. A total of 572 students were assessed on the first measurement occasion and 502 of these were identified on the second measurement occasion. When the pupils believe they can solve the tasks, they muster the necessary persistence and cognitive resources. A poor domain-specific self-concept and low level of interest in the subject result in the pupils' avoidance of tackling the tasks.