Reinventing Schools for Early Adolescents: Emphasizing Task Goals

Middle grade education has been a neglected area in school reform. In fact, many common practices at this level are contrary to current theory and research on early adolescents. Recent work in achievement theory suggests that a school's definition of learning influences student motivation. Thus, a school environment that stresses learning (task goals) is more conducive to cognitive engagement and motivation than an environment that emphasizes the demonstration of ability (ability goals). The article builds on this line of research and outlines implications for the reformation of schools. Initial results of a case study in a large middle grade school are presented to illustrate how stress on task or ability goals is likely to affect the school learning environment and, with it, student motivation and learning.