Title: Biographies of motivation for lifelong learning

Graeme Martin, School of Education, University of Birmingham, UK

Paper presented at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Glamorgan, 14-17 September 2005

Abstract: Research in motivation for learning (or achievement motivation) has

flourished in the past 30 years. Social-cognitive theories dominate the field and have

provided many insights but have been criticised for relying on a traditional

methodological base, lacking of contextualisation and embeddedness in individual

experience. In the current ‘learning age’ sustaining motivation for (often

formal/academic) learning across the life span is increasingly expected but

understanding persistence for such learning across life is not well understood.

Much of the work in motivation for learning is quantitative, employing

questionnaires, brief interviews or experimental manipulations. Longitudinal,

qualitative research is sparse though a necessary counterpoint that can provide

contextualised and alternative accounts of motivation through time and across culture.

In turn insights from such accounts could better inform practical policy. This paper

presents a case study applying the lifespan theory of control to an individuals’

learning biography.

Key Words: Biography; Lifelong Learning; Life Span Theory of Control; Motivation

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Introduction

‘Hardly any other research field in the domain of educational psychology has

received so much attention in the past few years than motivation and its role in

academic learning’ (Krapp, 2003).

Motivation, development and lifelong learning

Motivation is a fundamental process1 shaping mind and behaviour, sustaining human

action and culture, and is therefore essential to understanding the processes of

persistence in learning2. Motivation is known to be expressed differently at different

life ‘stages’ and to evolve over time (for a review see Smith, Rogers and Tomlinson,

2003). Life span theories of motivation exist (see Dweck and Heckhausen, 1998)

mostly supported by experimental or psychometric studies that submerge the life of

the individual in hopefully generalisable conclusions of group data (Elliot and

Bempechat, 2002; Smith et al, 2003). Yet life-span theory in development ‘deals with

the study of individual development (ontogenesis) from conception into old age. A

core assumption…is that development is not completed at adulthood… [and] that

ontogenesis extends across the entire life course and that lifelong adaptive processes

1 Motivation remains a hypothetical construct ‘only indirectly inferred from observed behaviours’ (Schultz, p.425, 1998). There is a plethora of definitions which space does not allow a discussion of but it is fair to say that motivation is a complex force emanating from beliefs and desires (cognition and emotions) that move people to act (Smith and Rogers, 2003).2 Equally the term learning is extraordinarily difficult to define in any comprehensive way, traditionally psychologists consider it a relatively permanent change in cognition/behaviour resulting from experience or the process of acquiring knowledge and skills. Aside from the oxymoron in the first definition, there needs substantial unpacking of terms like change, behaviour, experience etc. The second definition is out of step with the new metaphor of learning as participation rather than acquisition (Sfard, 1998) though learning of course leads to acquired skills and knowledge. In this paper the concern is with formal education, schooling/college and the pursuit of qualifications but for a multitude of reasons not just to get and keep a job (see the Rikowski quote below)

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are involved (Baltes, Lindenberger and Studinger, 1998, p. 1029, emphasis added).

Furthermore, the objectives of lifespan theory are to account for the organisation of

the overall structure and sequence of development; to show interconnections and to

determine the opportunities and constraints (environmental and biological) which

shape individual lives. Finally, it is hoped that such knowledge can help free people to

live their lives as effectively as possible (ibid, p.1030). In the ‘age’ of lifelong

learning then, developmental theories of motivation for learning across life are

needed. This paper argues for an individualised, biographical approach to further

theory development, whilst accepting that the individual in always in interaction with

their particular ecology.

Motivation and learning are inextricably linked, motivation is a developmental

process for adaptation and adaptation comes about through learning. Of course

motivation and learning may not result in successful adaptation but rather a

maladapted existence, for instance in the example of destructive addictions or the

pursuit of unobtainable goals. In the discourses on lifelong learning3 this could mean

that our failure to benefit from the opportunities of education may leave us vulnerable

to an impoverished life experience. Indeed research into student ‘drop out’ in the UK

shows that the consequences of not completing education at different levels is quite

negative (Bynner, 2000). Whilst on the other hand the benefits of continuing learning

can be quite substantial (Schuller et al, 2004).

Motivational theories have proliferated in psychology and a whole field is dedicated

to Achievement Motivation (AM), which asks why a person engages and persists in 3 This is a contested concept not least for the arguments about what learning is for; worker efficiency or emacipation Glenn Rikowski states:"...in sacrificing lifelong learning to upgrading labour power for economic competitiveness other notions of learning are implicitly downgraded. The idea of 'learning for its own sake', or learning for social and personal development, or for the critical appraisal of society, or for the sheer enjoyment of it appear to lose their magic in the shadow of New Labour's lifelong learning policy." (p.155)

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tasks or activities that lead to success or alternatively failure. Quite often this is

reduced to behaviours/performance in the workplace or classroom settings but AM

really covers achievement in all domains of life.

Achieving something of value is a hard won experience; it often requires great

investment in individual time and effort and draws on the resources of others.

Teachers and students need to understand and use their motivational resources to

succeed. Better understanding of motivation holds the promise of better pedagogical

practices and therefore learner success. During the past few decades there has been

much progress in theoretical development and many new concepts and taxonomies of

motivation have emerged (Gollwitzer and Brandstädter, 1996) at the same time the

field is large and fragmented with little integration of learning (cognition), motivation

and emotion; exceptions being the work of Monique Boekaerts, integrating emotion

and motivation and Mark Bickhard, integrating cognition and motivation (Smith et al,

2003). However, neither of these are lifespan theories and as noted the research is

largely experimental or psychometric in nature with very little casework or

culturally/historically situated studies (Bempechat and Elliot, 2002). Nonetheless, it is

well known that learners of all ages are influenced by their beliefs, emotions, values

and personal goals when it comes to learning and behaviour in classrooms (Ford,

1992), taken together these beliefs, goals, values and affect give meaning to the

individuals’ life and sense of self.

To date there are no qualitative studies of the origins of motivation for lifelong

learning that have taken extensive life story material to account for patterns of

motivation and the events that sustain or interrupt such motivation. As a result no

coherent lifespan theory of motivation for lifelong learning exists (however, the TRLP

‘Learning Lives’ project is moving towards such an account, see Biesta and Tedder,

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2006). What needs to be done is to integrate a lifespan theory of motivation with a

comprehensive theory of learning/lifelong learning, something that is beyond the

scope of this paper.

Focusing on the individual.

Historically, of course individuals were the focus of much psychological theorising,

which helped develop psychology and the study of motivated behaviour. Whole

paradigms developed from case studies e.g., Freud’s Anna O (Psychoanalysis),

Watson’s little Albert (Behaviourism), Piaget’s Lorens (Cognitive Developmental

Theory). However, by the 1960’s the individual life had become regarded as too

complex to furnish useful data and biographical approaches were abandoned.

Recently, the tide has turned and biographical approaches are again being used in an

increasing number of research programmes (Biesta, 2004).

A developed exception to this quantitative/empiricist approach to motivation is the

work of Magai and Haviland-Jones (2002) in their book ‘The Hidden Genius of

Emotion’ in which they take a biographical approach to the study of the lives of three

eminent psychotherapists. Whilst not centred on motivation, they do see motivation as

a part of emotion (the energy flow) and argue that the individual should be the locus

of research and that the complexity in individual lives is something we need to come

to terms with. They use complexity theory (or non-linear dynamics) to better

comprehend the lives and work of three individuals.

The environments, cultures and the histories that people live through will affect their

motivation to learn. As Coffield has stated motivation is ‘a complex social

construction… best examined at the intersections between history, geography and

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biography’ (Coffield, 2000a, pp9-10). Others such as Paul Baltes have also argued

that development is best understood through historical embedded ness and multiple

perspectives (Baltes, 1997).

How individuals actively affect life outcomes is the focus of many theories of

motivation (e.g., Baltes, 1997, Heckhausen, 2003, Krapp, 2003). Those who find

themselves in imposed environments where they feel they have little control or little

to gain will come to understand and operate in the world differently from those who

perceive the environment or their own minds to have some malleability and

controllability. So in terms of school or the workplace, having a sense of efficacy or

mastery over helplessness will influence the opportunity to grow and learn (Bandura,

1997, Dweck, 1999). Motivation to learn is rooted in the beliefs and meaning systems

people have developed and continue to develop over time. Not enough is known about

the origins of an individuals’ meaning system, the varying susceptibility to

stress/transformation and how this operates to sustain or interrupt learning over a

lifetime. In the next part I want to briefly underline the value of knowing more about

the individual.

To understand why someone does something requires knowledge of their motives and

motivation and consequently their life. ‘Much intra-individual plasticity (within-

person modifiability) is found in psychological development. Depending on the life

conditions and experiences by a given individual, his or her developmental course can

take many forms’ (Baltes, 1997, p.5) examining the developmental course of

individuals can clearly contribute to enhancement of theory through appropriate

conceptual generalisation. For example the emotion regret may be a powerful driver

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of action if one believes that the desired revenge upon the past can be achieved or

alternatively it could be a source of anxiety that prevents the individual from acting.

Many adults I have taught who returned to learning wished to undo their feelings of

regret over not completing their education.

The enterprise of psychoanalysis is concerned with explaining personality and

psychopathology by tracing forensically from the individuals narrative back to the

mundane and not so mundane events of their past. There remains merit in using

dynamic theories to explain motivation for learning and it makes sense to adopt

similar approaches to understanding someone’s pattern of motivation, past, current

and future by examining his or her life.

Why would someone paint this, what does it mean?

Figure 1 The Broken Column

(http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/kahlo/brokencolumn.shtm)

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The painting in Figure 1 is called, The Broken Column by the Mexican painter Frida

Khalo, it is currently on display at the Tate Modern in London (Sept 2005).

To understand why Frida painted this picture and to ‘read’ it symbolically and

literally requires some knowledge of her life. Nearly all of Frida’s paintings are

representations of herself even when depicting someone or something else.

A biographical explanation

Frida Khalo was a bright student with her heart set on becoming a doctor. On 17th

September 1925 aged 18, she was involved in a bus crash that transformed her life.

Her injuries nearly killed her, she had multiple fractures to her spinal column and

many other fractures and wounds. Immobilised for months in hospital she began

sketching and then painting. She would spend the rest of her life enduring many

operations and stoically managing her physical and psychological pain. Her

psychological pain emanating from her many miscarriages the result of her injuries.

The cracked ionic column represents her damaged spine, her torn body is held

together by the surgical corset that she often had to wear and she is alone in an

unforgiving, barren landscape.

It is possible to apply a lifespan theory of motivation to Khalo’s intellectual and

creative output, however, it would take the rest of the paper to do so, instead a

motivational portrait of another (ordinary) lifelong learner is presented later.

What do current models of motivation say about lifelong learning?

Current theories of motivation are dominated by the ‘social-cognitive’ approach

which ‘focuses on specific cognitive and affective mediators of behaviour rather than

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more general traits or motives’ (p. 1 Heckhausen and Dweck, 1998). Rather than

seeing motivation as simple drive reduction, reinforcements or emanating from fixed

personality structures, motivation is considered a process shaping thought, feeling and

action. In social cognitive theory human behaviour results from a dynamic interaction

of personal factors, behaviour and the environment (Bandura, 1986). Cognitions-

thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and goals - are strongly emphasised in the construction of

reality and meaning and then in patterns of motivation. Furthermore, cognition and

emotion alter over time as a result of maturation and experience.

Two theories

1. Bandura - Self-Efficacy theory

2. Heckhausen & Shultz -Action Control Theory

1.

‘People are proactive, aspiring organisms who have a hand in shaping

their own lives and the social systems that organize, guide and regulate the affairs of

their society.’ (Bandura, 1997)

Self-efficacy refers to judgements of personal capability, what one can do and the

level of control they can assert (Bandura, 1997). Self-efficacy is strongly related to

educational outcomes, the greater one’s sense of can do, the greater the potential for

persistence and achievement. Even when this belief is erroneous, many children

believe they can do something only to then find their performance is well below

expectation (without any dent in their self-efficacy belief!). Self-efficacy develops

through exploratory behaviours that allow the infant and child to test and develop

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their competence. The family, then peers provide the social environment in which to

further efficacy beliefs. The quality of these social environments are strongly

implicated in the strength of efficacy belief and strong efficacy is reputed to provide

healthy development in many domains of life (relationships, health, work etc.)

School is a crucial setting for the development of cognitive competence. School

practices and peer and teacher efficacy are important influences on the individual

(ranking and competitive practices militate against educational competence for less

efficacious students).

Adolescence, adulthood and advancing age all require further development of efficacy

as each ‘stage’ requires the negotiation of new life demands and new competencies to

cope. Self-efficacy is believed to undergo change over the course of a lifetime and

Bandura has assembled a large body of research to support his lifespan analysis,

however, there are not yet longitudinal studies directly testing the development of

self-efficacy across a lifetime and some important concepts remain problematic.

Persistence, a concept that must be at the heart of motivation to learn, has shown

contradictory outcomes in self-efficacy research. As Schunk and Pajares (2002) have

argued students may persist on task not because of high efficacy but because of

teacher encouragement or others keeping them ‘on task’ (p.28). Also as skills develop

task time is reduced so self-efficacy ‘will relate negatively to persistence’ (ibid).

though they guess that it may predict persistence at higher levels of learning. Efficacy

beliefs needn’t always be high for an individual to achieve, (see Pintrich, 2003) and I

have known students who continue to express doubts about their ability to achieve

some academic task when they have consistently achieved in the past.

2.

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Action Control Theory posits that individuals are active in influencing their own

development and try to shape their life course and optimise development. Controlling

outcomes in one’s physical and social environment is central for the basic

motivational systems – achievement, power and affiliation (Heckhausen and

Farruggia, 2003). Regulation over the lifespan is achieved through two types of

control: Primary control striving is the attempt to control outcomes in the environment

often physical needs, such as foraging, seeking shelter, competing for mates, fighting

off predators, caring for the young. The potential for such control changes over the

life course- being low in childhood, increasing across adolescence and young

adulthood peaking and plateauing in midlife and declining in old age. Secondary

control is a set of strategies targeted at internal processes and serves to focus and

protect motivational resources needed for primary control’ (Heckhausen and Schulz,

1998, p.53). Further, human development relies on failure, failure is inevitable and

provides feedback for the improvement of performance, secondary control supplies

resources to buffer against negative experiences and to help ‘in goal disengagement

and self protection’ (Rogers and Smith, 2003, p.196).

An important third element in this model is the idea of developmental deadlines, these

are major opportunities and constraints and a life course timetable exists for the

individual to meet age normative developmental goals; for example completing

primary education, finding a first job, finding a partner or having a child are

considered to lie in an attainment window. Resource investment (motivation) in off-

time goal achievement is considered a costly risk and ultimately futile (trying to bear

a child after the typical deadline has passed is associated with increasingly negative

consequences (Heckhausen et al, 2001).

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In terms of education, there are no real deadlines other than of course the sensitive

period of childhood for learning language and other cognitive capacities, so having

had an early education it is possible to continue to develop educationally and continue

studying. The constraints then become socio-cultural factors, such as availability,

money, free time, social support etc. Likewise in terms of work there is no reason why

an individual should stop until they are unable (for a variety of reasons) to do so.

Using this theory it is possible to ‘chart’ an individuals developmental phases,

opportunities and life events to provide an illustration that may help to explain their

particular learner biography and their motivational pattern. An example of this is

given later in the case study.

Method

Taking a case study and biographical approach, life story data in the domain of formal

learning experiences were recorded for a group of men and women (sample size,

currently six) one of which will be presented here.

‘A life story is a fairly complete narrating of one’s entire experience of life as a

whole, highlighting the most important aspect’ (Atkinson, 1998, p.8).

However, the life stories collected for this study do not encompass all domains of life

but rather are focused on the storyteller’s experience of education. Inevitably,

digressions into different aspects of life occur and these can be used to support the

analysis if they perhaps touch on issues of identity, self worth other achievements etc.

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The interviews were designed to allow the participants to tell the story of their

education in broadly four time periods, early years and pre school, primary school,

secondary school and post 16 education and professional development.

The interviews ask a very general question for each time period to allow the narrative

to simply flow. So for instance the question relating to early years was as follows ‘can

you tell me when and where you were born and what you remember about your life

before and up to starting school’. Depending on the individual these interviews lasted

from 40 minutes to over two hours.

Participants

This study is ongoing and six fairly developed life stories, psychometric tests results

and follow up data has been collected. This one example presents a case sketch and an

action-phase chart for MD’s life events and educational opportunities. MD has been

chosen because it is possible to look at a whole life - childhood, adulthood and older

age.

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Case sketch

MD is 75 years old and a student at an FE college. He was born in Glasgow in 1931

and describes a secure, organised working class home life. His father was a master

butcher, as was his mother before she started her family. He had two older brothers

one of which died from diphtheria before MD was one year old. His earliest memories

are of his environment, tenement buildings, apartments above rows of shops and little

motorised traffic. From an early age he would play out on the streets with large

groups of children toddlers to 5 year olds, straight after breakfast up until dinner time

(lunchtime), when all the children would disappear off the streets and emerge an hour

later to carry on. At 4 o’clock the numbers would be swollen by the arrival of older

children from school, then the streets would empty again for tea time and they would

fill the streets again until dark or being called in.

MD also mentions that from an early age he ran errands for his parents sometimes

covering distances of a mile and more before he was five, which he nor his peers

found unusual (during the war he would scour the whole city in search of cigarettes

for his father, he wasn’t more than ten).

These experiences must have given much opportunity to develop independence and

reliance on his own resources. Playing in large boisterous groups, travelling on your

own and talking to many adults could foster a strong sense of self- efficacy.

His father had started work at 12 years old; he left early in the morning for work and

returned late at night. MD talks of his father never missing a days work in his life and

of his being on the way to work as usual one morning aged 70 when he suffered a

stroke, which disabled and retired him.

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Here is an example consistent with the idea from social cognitive theory of an

important model affecting motivational processes. ‘People are motivated by the

successes of those similar to themselves, whom they strongly identify with and who

share similar standards of conduct’ (or morality) (Bandura, 1997, p.).

MD shares his father’s protestant work ethic and beliefs about effort indeed he

strongly believes in effort over ability as measured by Dweck’s scale (1999).

MD had learned to read before he went to school. His mother had had an education up

to the age of 14 which was quite uncommon for a girl from her class background. He

would sit with her at night when she read her magazines and look for cartoons and ask

questions about the text he couldn’t read and in this was he says he was taught or

learned to read. He was clearly a bright boy, at the age of 8 due to the war, he, like his

peers were evacuated to the country. For two years he received scant schooling,

working on a farm all week and attending school for one morning, which he says he

spent teaching younger children. Nonetheless, he returned to the city and went back to

school, a year later he won the Dux Medal, a citywide award for academic

achievement. For many children such a disruption to their schooling would have been

fairly detrimental, but not perhaps for a child with high self-efficacy and strong

valuing of effort.

After passing his lowers MD left school at 16, his family income did not allow him to

continue with his schooling although he was one of the most academically able

children in the school. He therefore did not go to university but rather went to work as

a civil servant before taking up national service a couple of years later.

He married in his twenties, worked hard, first in a national newspaper and later as a

local government officer he raised a family and then aged 52 suffered a stroke.

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Following his stroke he was disabled, experienced a major personality change and

emotional changes, which are not uncommon for stroke patients. He went from being

a mostly emotionally controlled person quite a conservative man, to an expressive,

gregarious ‘character’.

Interestingly, although his personality and affect changed his motivation did not, he

remained a dogged, energetic, persistent person, which is interesting and worth

speculating on. Motivation like some kinds of learning (procedural learning) may be

‘immune’ to certain influences, which may disrupt other mental processes. In cases of

amnesia for example it has been shown that declarative memory can be affected by

brain damage whilst procedural memory for skills is untouched (see classic study by

Scoville and Milner, 1957) in evolutionary terms this makes sense, forgetting the

capital of France will not have the same consequences as forgetting how to swim.

Likewise M’s stroke affected his personality and affect but not many of his

competencies or persistence. His disabilities were such that he had to retire however.

Fearing some kind of vegetative death at home when sufficiently well after his stroke,

(though his convalescence was about three years) he enrolled at college and has been

a student ever since eventually going to university taking a law degree and now

studying for ILEX qualifications. He knows that although these are vocationally

oriented studies he will not secure any work.

A brief analysis.

The following chart sets out some of M’s life events and his educational opportunities

Figure 2

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It is apparent from the chart that MD experienced 3 major formal educational phases,

schooling, college as a mature student following the last of his children starting school

and college again following his enforced retirement.

As argued earlier there is no reason for education to end, there are no real deadlines

except for of course death or significant disability and this can be seen in the chart, he

is still at college. The constraints are interpersonal and socio-cultural. Interpersonal

constraints may include not wanting to engage in further learning/educational

opportunities or socio-cultural (lack of resources, money, support, time etc).

Interpersonal constraints in terms of not wanting to engage in further study are not

apparent in MD’s career and story, he wanted to continue his schooling gain Highers

and go to university (he had wanted to be a lawyer), his circumstances and the

expectations of his parents prevented this. In terms of control theory a deadline has

been reached and MD had to disengage from the goal of further study, redirect his

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motivation (into getting a job) and engage in secondary (compensatory) control i.e

hope for future opportunities to achieve success.

Once he has established his family and began a new career in local government he

then sought an opportunity to return to study (he was no longer working shifts at the

newspaper and his children were at school). He wanted to go to university and found

that his employers would sponsor him to do a work related degree (in Public

Administration) but he needed Highers or to demonstrate recent study and ability. The

local High School offered evening classes, he enrolled and after a year passed 3

subjects with good grades. He went to university and studied part time for 4 years

gaining a degree and postgraduate diploma. After 5 years of study he concentrated on

his career development, family and social commitments and so on. So once again

after a goal has been achieved striving is redirected to other domains of achievement

(career, family investment etc).

His children had now grown up the youngest had left for university when he suffered

a major stroke, after emergency operations he was very ill for a period and retired

from his job. His convalescence was lengthy, however after three years he had had

enough of sitting around at home and went to his local college and enrolled in a part-

time course (computing) completing this he decided to take an A level in law as he

had a lifetime interest in the subject, he passed this and was offered a place at

university, after 4 years he was awarded an LLB (Hons) and following this has

pursued an number of related courses. His disabilities prevent him from working even

though he takes vocational courses. He studies for the challenge, for the pleasure, for

the social contact and because it is free.

In understanding MD’s motivation for lifelong learning the events of his life help

explain the constraints and opportunities that he pursued. His doggedness I would

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argue stems from the support of family, identification with his father’s belief in effort,

his mothers belief in doing well at school, his independence and stamina developed as

a child on the streets and his sense of having lost out on not going to university as a

young man left a continuing desire to avenge an injustice.

His identity, sense of self, is I think important here, he had developed self efficacious

beliefs and his school achievements confirmed this, however, this sense of self as

someone who could achieve academically at a higher level, would need to wait until

the circumstances allowed the pursuit of formal educational goals as when his

youngest child starts school and he finds that a local school is offering adult education

classes. Likewise when he is forced to retire the self-image he holds as a worker is

removed and leaves a gap in his identity that he can again fill with the pursuit of

qualifications aimed at furthering a career which he cannot have. Though this is a

constraint imposed by the FE system which is mainly geared towards education and

training for work.

His later education allowed him to fulfil his ambition of going to university to study

what he liked and it wasn’t until after he had had a stroke and retired that he could

really pursue his interest in Law. A complex pattern of pedogenetic experience,

sociocultural contraint and opportunity, history, geography and accident combine to

offer some insight into why this man has the learning biography that he does.

Experimental/psychometric studies cannot reveal these factors or capture this

complexity; hypothetical examples wont do either, real lives, real people need to be at

the focus of lifespan accounts of achievement motivation.

So what does this mean in terms of the lifespan theories of motivation described

earlier?

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In terms of self efficacy MD has a strong sense of can do, he demonstrates that in the

face of considerable obstacles, missing two years of schooling he nonetheless finishes

the year top of the class (across the whole city). His sense of self efficacy though has

to be understood within boundaries of his culture and class position, it wasn’t enough

to be academically able, you needed the opportunities to be available for the

expression of that efficacy and you need the resources to come together at the right

time (as Bandura has noted well a lot of opportunity is not planned). Nonetheless,

with the support of family and experiences of success he developed efficacious beliefs

about his ability to learn. What I would say is that efficacious beliefs do not need to

be continually expressed for a domain of life they can remain dormant until it is

possible to apply them. Also in MD’s case he is cautious in using his sense of efficacy

as when he has recovered from his stroke he does not immediately believe he can

study for a law degree he needs to build up to that point, through gradual successes. I

other words efficacious beliefs have to deployed in a strategy that may be long-term.

In terms of control theory which argues that we attempt to control our experiences

through primary and secondary striving, we can see from the chart that MD is

motivated to secure the major developmental goals of life through selective

engagement and disengagement. The pattern of opportunity and constraint weaving

through this describes and I think helps explain, the temporal picture of MD’s lifelong

learning trajectory and his persistence. This lifespan control framework of

Heckhausen et al1 has the potential for integration with a comprehensive theory of

learning to provide a complex (or complexity/dynamics) account of motivation for

1 Heckhausen and her colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, are engaged in longitudinal research to examine the theory in transitions from school to work but have yet to apply their theory and measurement scales to trajectories of lifelong learning.

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lifelong learning and biographical accounts can contribute to a richer conceptual

understanding of motivational processes.

Finally, in understanding motivation for lifelong learning an examination of the

individual can illustrate that people pursue learning goals for very many reasons and

any conception of lifelong learning that is rooted in narrow agenda’s of economic

expediency will make little contribution to the wider programmes of understanding

what moves people and how we become who we are.

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