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This paper focuses on the role of the school leader as motivator. In particular, attention is given to what those in school leadership roles can do to enhance the personal investment of students in learning. A conceptual model is outlined which suggests that school leaders affect not only the degree, but also the quality of student motivation by influencing the "psychological environment" of the school. A program of research is described that explicates that relationship and demonstrates the validity and utility of the model. Special attention is given to the definition of "psychological environment" and to specifying its antecedents and consequences. Field studies at both the elementary and middle school levels are described to illustrate how leaders can work on the school environment in a way that will influence student motivation. Building especially on the preliminary results of these field studies, specific implications for practice are discussed. (Contains 69 references.) (Author)

Achievement assessment has recently become an issue of major public concern. Concurrent with demands which have placed increased reliance on measurement and assessment have been criticisms of present testing practices. The effects of sociocultural and motivation variables on achievement patterns of 7,000 Illinois school children were investigated. Achievement, conceptualized as the students' sense of competence (evaluation anxiety and achievement attributions) and motivation goals, was assessed through the use of standardized testing instruments. Results indicated that: (1) sociocultural background directly affects motivation and performance; (2) motivational effects serve to reinforce or enhance the effects of sociocultural background on performance; and (3) both objective performance and the interpretation of that performance affect motivation. (Author/HLM)

Early research on motivation, especially achievement motivation, was based on a dynamic model which focused on enduring affective dispositions growing out of early childhood experiences. Cognitive theory provided a way to reconceptualize achievement motivation in terms of achievement-related perceptions, thoughts, and meanings, and a framework for beginning to examine how changing circumstances possibly correlated with age might modify whatever turned out to be defined as achievement motivation. A research project was developed which focused heavily on the development of a workable approach to research in this area. It examined how age was related to meanings and in turn to personal investment. Results from preliminary data on approximately 3,000 adults in white-collar occupations seem to suggest that modest changes in personal incentives may occur with age and that goal directedness may vary with age. The results suggest that job satisfaction tends to increase with age, as does organizational commitment. The research found little evidence of age-related changes in achievement motivation. Motivational patterns appear to be minimally related to age during the working ages of 20 to 70 years of age. (NB)