Culturally+Responsive+Motivation

= Culturally Responsive Motivation =

====**Does culture affect motivation? Indeed there is research to suggest a link between motivation and culture and ultimately, this section will provide a tool to help instructors increase the motivation and learning in culturally rich environments.**====

//"////Who we are culturally and how we interact with the world is an intriguing intersection of language, values, beliefs, behaviors and experiences that pervades every aspect of a person's life while it continually changes and evolves. Across, cultural groups, all students are motivated though some may not be motivated to learn what an instructor has planned. In such instances, their motivation may be in another direction, aligned with a different perspective or part of another set of values...."// (Ginsberg 2005)

As instructors, do we understand the challenge of motivating or providing meaning in a diverse classroom setting?

"//Increasingly, professional development programs are multicultural environments where instructors must relate their content to participants of varying backgrounds. Instruction that ignores their norms of behavior and communication provokes resistance."// (Wiley 2003). There is research dating back to 2001 that demonstrates how emotions can influence our motivation (Ratey 2001) and " //in turn, our emotions are socialized through culture—the deeply learned confluence of language, beliefs, values, and behaviors that pervades every aspect of our lives."// (Wiley 2003)

Culture can heighten or dampen our desire to learn (motivation). One example researched is the embarrassment emotion. Embarrassment is one emotion that can lead to a reduced motivational drive to learn but this is not necessarily the case in all cultures. For instance, we often share our opinions and thought with others who we don't know well in a classroom situation--indeed, this can be considered participation marks in some course syllabuses.

"//But studies consistently reveal that self-disclosure of this nature may be incompatible with the cultural values of Asian Americans, Latinos, and American Indians, who often reserve expression of personal feelings for the intimacy of family// (Sue and Sue, 1990). A request for self-disclosure might be disconcerting for people from these ethnic backgrounds." (Wiley 2003)

To help with understanding this complex topic, several tools have been designed whose intention is to //"enable the construction of a common culture and the learning environment all learners can accept".// [Ginsberg 2005). One framework that is referenced in many research articles on this topic, The Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching is introduced below.

This framework respects different individual cultures and works at the same time to create a common culture in the learning situation that all adults can accept. The main factors behind this framework include four motivational conditions that the instructor and the learners collaboratively create or enhance:

1) Establishing inclusion:  Creating a learning atmosphere in which learners and instructors feel respected by and connected to one another. 2) Developing attitude: creating the right environment towards learning by using personal relevance and encouraging a positive attitude. This can be done through having discussions, group work, journaling, and any other activity where students can examine and share their own experiences. 3) Enhancing meaning: This step refers to creating engaging and challenging learning experiences which encompass the learner's perspectives and values. Does one do this? Instructor should use different activities and learning opportunities such as assigned reading, discussions, community engagement, storytelling, and any other activities that explore deeper meaning of the subject. <span style="color: #06ac07; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4) Engendering competence: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Creating an understanding that learners are effective in learning something they value.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In conclusion, this section is used to demonstrate the influence of culture on motivation. There is a clear link between the two. As instructors, it would be useful to incorporate the framework provided to ensure motivational issues are not created by cultural barriers.

__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">References: __

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ginsberg, Margery and Wlodkowskim, Raymond. //P////rofessional Learning to Promote Motivation and Academic Performance among Diverse Adults//. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indiapolis: Lunia Foundation for Education. 2008.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sue, D. W., and Sue, D. //Counseling the Culturally Different: Theory and Practice//. (2nd ed.) NewYork: Wiley, 1990.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wiley. //New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education//, no. 98, Summer 2003.(