See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/337716404

Peer acceptance in school: A prerequisite for motivation toward learning

Conference Paper · June 2022

CITATIONS READS
0 626

2 authors, including:

Jonathan Smith
Université de Sherbrooke
61 PUBLICATIONS 240 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Jonathan Smith on 06 April 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Peer acceptance in school: A prerequisite for motivation toward learning

Jonathan Smith1, Roch Chouinard2

1
Department of Preschool and Primary Education, University of Sherbrooke, Canada
2
Department of Educational Psychology and Andragogy, University of Montreal, Canada

Keywords: Peer acceptance, Motivational outcomes, Secondary school students

Relationships that students develop in school exert a major influence on their motivation
to learn (Simpkins et al., 2015; Wentzel, 2017). Indeed, whether at elementary or secondary
level, students who benefit from warm and supportive relationships with their peers tend
to better evaluate their chances of success and the value of learning. Relying on an
expectancy-value approach of motivation (Pintrich & Schrauben, 1992), the aim of the
present study was therefore to compare the motivational resources of students who
experiment different levels of peer acceptance in school.

Students (N=325) in the seventh grade (i.e., first year of secondary education) from various
high schools distributed over Quebec (Canada) were surveyed by questionnaire at the
beginning and the end of the school year 2012-2013. A multivariate analysis of variance
with repeated measures was carried out in order to compare their motivational resources
(sense of competence, interest, utility value, learning, and performance goals) based on a
median-dichotomized variable indicating a stronger or weaker perception of acceptance
within the peer group.

The results of these analyses are consistent with the trend described in the literature.
Students who feel better accepted show favorable motivational outcomes and, more
specifically, they have better perceptions of their competence and interest for learning.
Also, they are more incline to pursue learning goals. An interesting result indicates that
performance goals decrease amongst students who feel less accepted while this orientation
remains stable amongst students who feel more accepted. This suggests that it is only once
students start to feel accepted by a group that they dare to showcase their abilities or to
seek the validation of them. However, this link remains unclear and deserves more attention
because it could allow us to better understand how students come to favor this particular
type of goal.

References

Pintrich, P. R. et Schrauben, B. (1992). Students’ motivational beliefs and their cognitive

engagement in classroom academic tasks. In D. H. Shunk & J. L. Meece (Eds.),
Student perceptions in the classroom (pp. 149-183). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Simpkins, S. D., Fredricks, J. A., & Eccles, J. S. (2015). Families, schools, and developing
achievement-related motivations and engagement. In J. E. Grusec & P. C. Hastings
(Eds.), Handbook of socialization: Theory and research (2nd ed., pp. 614-636). New
York, NY: The Guilford Press.
 Wentzel, K. R. (2017). Peer relationships, motivation, and academic performance at
school. In A. J. Elliot, C. S. Dweck, & D. S. Yeager (Eds.), Handbook of competence
and motivation: Theory and application (2nd ed., pp. 586-603). New York, NY: The
Guilford Press.

View publication stats