What drives adolescents’ performance: An explanatory research on motivation, aspiration and goals of high school students.

Abstract

This study showed that motivation did arise from specific situations and did depend on the distinct surroundings in the life of the high school graduates. Additionally, it showed that the ability of articulating motivation can be directly correlated with the level of motivation present in an adolescent. Furthermore, the outcome of this research was a diagram that links the type of motivation with performance and how different motivators can influence it. The objectives of this study were to find out whether high school participants are already able to articulate their motivation and what their main motivational drivers are regarding performance. In addition to this, this research also found out what influence the work environment, atmosphere and rewards have on the individuals. At last, a mismatch between the expectations of the future employees and employers is investigated. In order to gather the necessary data for this research, semi-structured, qualitative interviews with partly open-ended questions were used. Motivation is present in each and every individual, the only difference is that some are more able to articulate it and know exactly what motivates them, while others have not identified their motivational drivers yet. Hence, making it a very complex, diverse and especially individual subject that depends on a number of varies parameters. The interviewed individuals’ underlying motivational drivers were independence and freedom which subconsciously influenced their decision making. This was the result from their directive nurture and the organised educational school life.