Mission Possible: Motivating Students Toward High School Completion

Celebrated each spring, high school graduation yields many positive, long-term impacts on an individual’s life. These include better overall health, lower reliance on government resources, higher lifetime earnings, and eligibility for post-secondary educational opportunities (Levin et al., 2007; Rowley et al., 2011; McFarland et al., 2019; Uretsky, 2019). While the benefits of high school completion are clear, each year hundreds of students fail to meet diploma requirements. Autonomous motivation, both intrinsic motivation and integrated regulation, drives engagement in activities perceived as relevant to desired outcomes and is closely associated with positive academic performance, school persistence (Deci et al., 1991; Vallerand et al., 1997; Hayenga & Corpus, 2010; Schurmann & Quaiser-Pohl, 2022). Recognizing the positive effects of autonomous motivation on student achievement and persistence, Self-Determination Theory (SDT) describes the psychological, innate need for feelings of competency, relatedness, and autonomy that when met, build the autonomous motivation of students. Previous research has identified mastery approach goals (Daumiller & Zarrinabadi, 2021; Froiland & Oros, 2012; Froiland & Worrell, 2016; Froiland et al., 2014), scaffolding feedback (Guo & Zhou, 2021; Zinser et al., 1982), and supportive environments (Deci et al., 1991; Ryan & Deci, 2000) as factors capable of augmenting the autonomous motivation of students. While research has established the connection between these educator practices and students’ autonomous motivation, there was a gap in the existing literature around how building leaders or school administrators guide and support their staff to engage in these practices with students. Using Yin’s (2018) embedded case study design, this study answers Which practices do educators perceive as inspiring motivation in secondary students to persist toward high school completion? and how do educators engage in practices which foster the autonomous motivation of their secondary students?