EFFECTS OF BOARDING AND DE-BOARDING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

2.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

SCHOOL

A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsory.[2] In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below) but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university.A school may be dedicated to one particular field, such as a school of economics or a school of dance. Alternative schools may provide nontraditional curriculum and methods. Non-government schools, also known as private schools,[3] may be required when the government does not supply adequate, or specific educational needs. Other private schools can also be religious, such as Christian schools, gurukula (Hindu schools), madrasa (Arabic schools), hawzas (Shi'i Muslim schools), yeshivas (Jewish schools), and others; or schools that have a higher standard of education or seek to foster other personal achievements.

BOARDING AND DAY SCHOOL

the origin of boarding houses in formal education in Uganda can be traced to the advent of Christian missionary activities in Nigeria as far back as the early 1 840s. It was then used to schedule the converts especially the young ones from the larger society to enable the missionaries inculcate in the young ones Christian values as well as other western values and culture such as dressing code, eating habits among others, The idea behind this was that, if the school children lived in a mission-controlled environment, it would be easier to indoctrinate and force them to attend school regularly. According to Aghenta (1983) he identifies the objectives of the boarding houses systems as:,

1. The provision of opportunities for students of varying social and economic background to live together and share common problems and interest.
2. The provision of opportunities for students to develop independence and a sense of responsibility.
3. The provision of stable environment with regular sleep, planned diet and conducive atmosphere, which encourages serious academic work.
4. The provision of opportunities for students to make genuine friendship in life.
5. The provision of boarding facilities for students whose parents live very far from school. The boarding system however, is a matter of choice for those who can afford the cost among the societies of Uganda. For others who may prefer coming to school from home since they cannot afford it. There have also been speculations on whether the boarding school is really necessary.

In China, "boarding school" is not a synonym for "elite school" or a unique institution in specific areas. It refers to schools that have the necessary facilities to allow students to live at school during the week. A large number of Chinese primary and secondary schools enroll both day students and boarding students. "Boarding on campus" provides a non-coercive option for Chinese rural and urban students who experience a long commute to school and lack of family support. Additionally, the available funding of public schools is related to the student number and local finance. Schools in either less developed or sparsely populated areas are challenging to supply adequate inputs to students Debate in both academic fields and education practice over the consequences of sending children to boarding schools has been heated. Many previous studies have described and analyzed boarding institutions by incorporating narratives of boarding school life (Colmant et al. 2004), mainly focused on disadvantaged children. Defenders argue that boarding schools provide educational opportunity, foster care, and a “therapeutic model” for problem students and those from poor immigrant families (Colmant et al. 2004). Boarding may be beneficial to students’ academic performance and psychological well-being. For instance, Kadushin (1967) argues that collective education can control children’s immediate adverse environment and change their behaviors, especially those of problem children. It can teach students a new way of life and help them conform to society (Bronfenbrenner 1970) and enhance their potential in college and their future careers (Association of Boarding Schools 2004). In other research, Simmons and Alexander (1978) argue that in poorer countries students gain the most when they are taken from their home environment and placed into a school environment, suggesting longer exposure to schools is beneficial to students’ learning.

Duffell (2000, 2012) describes the historical and social context of boarding that was fashionable in the U.K throughout the early to mid-20th century; particularly that of sending children away to boarding school at a young age which has declined in popularity more recently. He contends that while the boarding experience may have been a happy one for many, there are some experiencing long-lasting negative effects of boarding school (Schaverien, 2011). Indeed, there is a body of work describing the negative experiences of Indigenous youth in residential education settings in the late 19th and earlier 20th centuries (Armitage, 1995; Auditor-General, 2011; Barton et al., 2005; Cardinal, 1999; Glenn, 2011). Taken together, these historical, ethnographic and narrative perspectives have shed important light on diverse boarding experiences. For example, these have described the experiences of Indigenous youth during European colonization throughout the 19th and 20th century in a number of countries where Indigenous people were removed from families, often resulting in loss of relationships with family, loss of cultural identity, poor standard of education, and long-term mental health issues (Barton et al., 2005; Smith, 2010). Other research has investigated the effects of boarding from a young age (e.g., Duffell, 2000, 2012; Partridge, 2007, 2012; Schaverien, 2004, 2011; Standish, 2011) or attending boarding schools run by religious organizations throughout the 20th century (e.g., Trimingham Jack, 2003). Only more recently in the 21st century have studies examined contemporary experiences of and factors affecting student transition to boarding school. These generally show that relationships with parents tend not to be maladaptive (e.g., Cree, 2000; TABS, 2003, 2013; Whyte & Boylan, 2008), that boarders tend to develop the personal resources to cope with living away from home (e.g., Bramston & Patrick, 2007; Downs, 2002; Ronen & Seeman, 2007; Whyte & Boylan, 2008), and that boarding school can cultivate a range of academic and non-academic outcomes (e.g., cooperative learning, self-discipline, maturity, independence, critical thinking) (e.g., TABS, 2003, 2013). A number of authors also contend that some boarding schools are environments which perpetuate societal and institutional power structures and gender ideologies (Chase, 2008; Cookson & Persell, 1985; Finn, 2012; Gaztambide-Fernández, 2009; Khan, 2010). While key findings from this diverse body of research are suggestive of boarding effects on these factors, they nevertheless do not address issues of central concern to this study – namely, specific impacts on motivation, engagement, and psychological well-being across numerous schools in a multivariate quantitative research design. This is the central purpose of the present investigation.

Boarding and Day-Schools Boarding (or residential) schools are in this research defined as schools where students stay internally during the school week (and sometimes during the weekend/ holidays). Boarding schools have dormitory facilities and facilities for eating, studying and recreational activities. Usually there is accommodation for supporting and/ or teaching staff as well. Day-schools are defined as schools that students attend during the school day. Children stay in school during school hours. Often, there are facilities to take lunch at school as well. Furthermore, extra-curricular programs can be offered in and/ or by the school outside school hours. Day-schools do not have dormitory facilities. Many boarding schools in Southern countries date back to colonial periods. Most boarding schools are found in former English colonies. In former British colonies, for example India and Nigeria boarding schools are one of the preferred modes of education (Wikipedia, 2007).

REASONS FOR CHOICE OF BOARDING SCHOOL

There are different reasons for establishing or attending a boarding school. Reasons that can be found in the literature are:

1. Intensive quality and holistic education. Wealthy parents for example send their children to exclusive boarding schools in order to receive high quality education. These schools usually offer extra-curricular activities to broaden the education and offer opportunities for social, cultural and personal development as well. In other cases children are sent to boarding schools in order to improve their educational results. Boarding schools offer supervision and coaching to students when they study, also outside school hours.
2. For religious education. Madrassas (Koran-schools) or monastery schools are examples of schools established especially for religious education. Other examples of establishment of boarding schools related to religious education are Christian or Muslim schools which are established in areas where these religions are a minority.
3. For ethnic minorities. Schools for ethnic minorities are and have been established to remain their culture and/ or to socialise children into the main culture. Boarding schools have been misused for this purpose in the past as well (for example in the case of Indians in America (Davis, 2001)).
4. For children with special needs. For example (mentally) disabled children can be sent to a home or boarding school to benefit from extra care offered in these schools. In many of these cases parents are not able to take care for their children at home.
5. For children from difficult or bad home situations. There can be distinctive reasons which make it better for children to be away from home or make it impossible for them to stay at home. Parents can have different kind of problems that hinders them from taking care of their children. There are also sad cases of abuse of or violence directed at children in the home situation.
6. For children living in conflict and/or unsafe areas. A lack of safety can hinder children to travel to school daily. Conflict situations can also lead to displacement and separation of children from their parents. In these cases boarding schools can be a solution.
7. For children whose parents live a nomadic life. For children from for example sailor- or shepherd-families, boarding schools are often the only opportunity to go to school.For children who live in remote (rural) areas. For children in remote (rural) areas there is not always a school nearby. This is especially the case in many southern countries, where there is a lack of schools, especially for secondary or higher education, or in countries/ regions with a low population. For orphans. Boarding schools often function as orphanages.

DE-BOARDING

De-boarding system was introduced in Nigeria education system because of huge financial implication of boarding system, which the government is unable to, sustained and fund. The increasing enrolment of student in our education institutions without a correspondence increase in government funding coupled with bad planning and poor management led to the phasing out of boarding school in public government secondary schools Adeniyi (2009).

Likewise in Plateu state, plan to de-emphasize boarding schools was first officially made known at the end of 1981, and not quite long, a new admission policy was handed down. In it, candidates were to be granted admission in school (s) nearest to their places of residence and the non-indigenes of the state would automatically and without option, become day students. According to Tayo (2003) high fees were charged to discourage the policy and this eventually rendered most school hostels virtually empty and in some schools, such hostels are being used as classrooms or workshop. Tayo (2003) maintained that there were no boarding students at all in some school while in some schools there were still boarding facilities. In such schools, the school principals charged the boarding house students extra boarding fees apart from the general tuition fees.

While justifying the introduction of de-boarding system in Kwara state, the then civilian Governor of the state in 1982, Alhaji Adamu Attah said that the running cost of the boarding schools were becoming unbearable for the Government. According to him, during 1981/82 academic session alone, #13.2 million was spent by the state government, that, this money could be spent to improve physical facilities and other teaching resources needed to implement successfully the new National policy on Education (1981), the 6-3-3-4 system, which invariable would improve the academic performance of the students.

Mohan (1991) in his own view stated that a suitable environment can aid an effective learning in a learner centred approach. To him, schools provide an enabling environment where students can participate effectively in spite of their ethnic origins and social economic status, this pointed to the fact that if the schools are returned to the total boarding system, the students can obtain good human relations and respect for one another. Ayodele (1989) also, supported boarding system of education when he argued that student will be more exposed to services of in disciplinary activities under the boarding system. He concluded that the introduction of de-boarding system might give excessive freedom to students.

Maigari, (1982) outline the advantage of day school system and according to him, the system would cut down the cost of running the boarding institution drastically and the revenue accrued from such arrangement could be used for providing facilities urgently needed by the education sector in the state. He continued that it would improve discipline among students, improve their performance and make teaching profession more attractive to prospective teachers who will be willing to join the service. He elaborated further that, de-boarding system would reduce the burden of supervision on students, leaving them with more time at their disposal; more importantly is the elimination of the perpetual anxiety which might be caused at the presence of the student in the dormitories. With more time at their disposal, teachers teach better, give out and check home work more often than before. The policy of de-boarding secondary school system introduce since September 1982 in the state and it has ever been in operation till date, however, some schools still operates full boarding system while some schools operates partial boarding system, in which the school provide accommodation while the student does the cocking by themselves.

However, Tayo (2003) noted that, with proper control of parents there is possibility that the day students perform significantly better than their counterparts (boarding students) which depend largely on the attitude of their parents towards the supervision of their children at home.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Academic performance is the extent to which individual have gained from a particular curriculum, subject or task based on relatively standardized experiences, such as class test and examination. Effective learning and sound academic performance was also reported to constitute an integral part of the goal of schooling (Owoeye, 2009). Academic performance is of great importance not only to parents but teachers and students. Even the large society is aware of the long-term effects of high or low academic performance (Salami, 2001).

The complexity of the academic achievement starts from its conceptualization. Sometimes it is known as school readiness, academic achievement and school performance, but generally the difference in concepts are only explained by semantics as they are used as synonyms. Conventionally, it has been agreed that academic performance should be used in university populations and school performance in regular and alternative basic education populations. We will point out just a few because there is a diversity of definitions. Several authors agree that academic performance is the result of learning, prompted by the teaching activity by the teacher and produced by the student. From a humanistic approach, Martinez (2007) states that academic performance is “the product given by the students and it is usually expressed through school grades” (p. 34). Fifteen years ago, Pizarro (1985) referred to academic performance as a measure of the indicative and responsive abilities that express, in an estimated way, what a person has learned as a result of a process of education or training. For Caballero et al. (2007), academic performance involves meeting goals, achievements and objectives set in the program or course that a student attends. These are expressed through grades which are the result of an assessment that involves passing or not certain tests, subjects or courses. On their part, Torres and Rodríguez (2006 quoted by Willcox, 2011) define academic performance as the level of knowledge shown in an area or subject compared to the norm, and it is generally measured using the grade point average,

Purpose Of The School Or Academic Achievement

This is to achieve an educational goal, learning. In this regard there are several components of the complex unit called performance. They are learning processes promoted by the school that involve the transformation of a given state, into a new state, and they are achieved with the integrity in a different unit with cognitive and structural elements. Performance varies according to circumstances, organic and environmental conditions that determine skills and experiences. The academic performance involves factors such as the intellectual level, personality, motivation, skills, interests, study habits, self-esteem or the teacher-student relationship. When a gap between the academic performance and the student’s expected performance occurs, it refers to a diverging performance. An unsatisfactory academic performance is the one that is below the expected performance. Sometimes it can be related to

teaching methods. (Marti, 2003, p. 376).

EFFECTS OF BOARDING AND DE-BOARDING ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS

academic performance is on the downward trend in Nigeria and this has remained a matter of grave concern to many educationists (Aremu, 2000).Also the poor performance of Nigerian secondary school students in the final school certificate examination in Economics has been widely reported since the phasing out of boarding system in Kwara State (Ayodele, 1989). He asserts that de-boarding policy has done more harm than good because there has been drastic reduction in the number of students that passed the final school certificate examinations. Thus, it becomes necessary to delve into the causes of such ugly performance with a view to proffering solution to the problem. Likewise, poor academic performance has been recognized as a problem with the Nigeria education system since the introduction of de-boarding system and many studies have been conducted by researchers in these regard, they are; factor affecting day and boarding students and academic performance (Musa, 2011; Tayo, 2003; Aghenta, 1983; Miya, 2010; Jegero, John and Ayodo 2010), comparative study of full boarding era and de-boarding era( Ayodele 1989, Bello 1986, Afolayan 1995), and reading habit of boarding and day students (Adeniyi and Oladeji 2007).

However, Tayo (2003) noted that, with proper control of parents there is possibility that the day students perform significantly better than their counterparts (boarding students) which depend largely on the attitude of their parents towards the supervision of their children at home. Lambert (1975), as cited by Ayodele (1989) submitted that senior day school boys did better than comparable boarders while less able boarders did better than comparable day schools boys. In Malawi, Scharff and Brady (2006) submitted that girls are expected to help their mother with labour intensive house-hold chores before going to school and therefore arrive to class late and exhausted. Because of such responsibilities, girls that are day students are less likely to perform well than girls that are boarding students (Scharff, 2007). Also, a study by Coady and Parker (2002) in Mexico had shown that distance to school had large negative effect on day students. The impact of distance was larger for girls than boys.

Furthermore, Tayo (2003) in their study involving boys and girls have reported that female have consistently better score than male in test of verbal skill as well as those which require some types of memory and call but males are better than females in task involving arithmetic, numerical manipulation and spatial relationship like Economics, Mathematics and Physics. This is also supported by Kaur, and Gil, (1993) and Suneetha et al. (2001) in his study of age and gender difference as factor affecting academic achievement.

Someparents have no choice but to send their children to a boarding school because of their work or lifestyle, while there are other parents who choose a boarding school life for their children because of “the said” benefits of staying at school for the entire term of study. 1 Either way, entering into a life of boarding school means a big change in a child’s life. The life turns 360 degrees for the child. The protective arm of the parents is no more around. Children have to learn to be self-reliant at boarding school; they do not have a choice in that matter. And with this self-reliance, they grow more mature than their age which the researcher views as a problem to note. When a child leaves the warmth of his house and comes to live in a community of students and teachers at the boarding school, he goes through a considerable amount of psychological changes. From a feeling of loss of family life to strategically devices ways to survive the practicalities of boarding school life, a child’s psychology touches many layers of insecurity. Especially in young children, when they are separated from their cozy family life and put amongst a bunch of strangers, they do not know how to deal with such a big emotional alteration. Another challenge that the researcher has observed in most boarding students especially the new entrants. They either act out or become a recluse and slowly come up with ways to deal with such a permanent variation in their lives. There are so many other effects of sending off children to boarding schools, some of these are positive while others are negative. One should carefully consider these effects because once a child is set off into boarding school life, his/her whole life will be shaped differently from there basing on the school environment and the general behaviors of the students he or she is going to associate with.

In contrast, opponents of boarding schools argue that public residence should be the last resort for young people who cannot receive support and do not have a safe family environment (Whittaker 2004; Cookson 2009). Some boarding school students have reported multiple forms of abuse and neglect, including no contact with the opposite sex, separation from siblings, and physical and emotional neglect (Colmant et al. 2004). Others have indicated that boarding makes children mature primarily in a single socialization setting in a collective context (Bronfenbrenner 1970). As a result, boarding students who are raised by schools solely but not by families, another quite important agent of socialization, cannot learn to adapt to various environments. Some researchers have found that boarding children are more likely to develop psychological problems and become malnourished under the strict hierarchy and poor service of the schools (Chase 2008; Luo et al. 2009). They also tend to have poorer academic outcomes (Adams 2006; Moswela 2006). In further explanation of why sending children to boarding schools has these consequences, previous research has pointed out various mechanisms that in general fall into beneficial, detrimental, and conditional categories. Among the beneficial mechanisms, boarding students are exposed to a learning setting different from their home and this exposure benefits their schooling, as boarding school provides structure in terms of wake up, meals, exercising, and homework (Martin et al. 2014). In particular, Fisher et al.’s (1984) concept of “reversible relocation” argues that temporarily moving away from home causes the home environment to exist in a different geographical location that can be visited or contacted only irregularly. This temporary discontinuity may produce a release of tension and provide a basis for further.cognitive activities as individuals seek to restore their equilibrium or find substitute activities (Mandler 1982). In this way, the reversible relocation can be beneficial to students, especially over the long term. Others argue that boarding school provides a more stable environment that makes children turn away from their “toxic” home setting and neighborhood (Scott & Langhorne 2012). It also makes children develop a collective identity with others in their boarding house, which can provide a lifetime of camaraderie (Martin et al. 2014).

Kerns 2008). Evidence on the impacts of the peer effect, however, is mixed. For instance, public boarding schools in Western countries largely receive students from poor and disadvantaged families, so the transmission of peer cultures may be dominated by deviant behaviors or those who carry infectious diseases or inappropriate habits (Dishion, McCord, and Poulin 1999; Said et al. 2003). In contrast, if boarding students are from more positive populations, they may transmit a more beneficial peer culture. Thus, boarding schools’ influence will depend on the extent to which students come from poor or troubled families (Datnow and Cooper 1997).

2.2 THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A Self-Determination Theory

Various theoretical approaches have been used to define and operationalize motivation. Researchers have used motivational approaches, such as expectancy-value theory (e.g., Berndt & Miller, 1990), goal theory (e.g., Meece & Holt, 1993), and selfefficacy theory (e.g., Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons, 1992) to examine the relationship between academic motivation and academic achievement. Another perspective that appears promising and pertinent for the study of academic achievement is Deci and Ryan’s (1985, 1991, 2000) motivational approach— the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Indeed, this theoretical perspective has generated a considerable amount of research in the field of educationand has been used recently to better understand educational outcomes. SDT is an approach to human motivation that highlights the importance of the psychological need for autonomy. Autonomy implies that individuals experience choice in the initiation, maintenance, and regulation of their behaviors (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000).

Central to the theory is the distinction between autonomous and controlled motivation. Autonomous motivation involves acting with a full sense of volition and choice, and it encompasses both intrinsic motivation and well-internalized (i.e., integrated) extrinsic motivation . Controlled motivation, in contrast, involves acting with a sense of pressure or demand and includes regulation by external contingencies and by contingencies that have been partially internalized (i.e., introjected; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000). Only autonomously motivated behaviors are considered fully self-determined because these motivations are either innate to the active organism—that is, are part of the inherent, core self—or have been fully assimilated with the core self through the process of organismic integration (Deci & Ryan, 2002). SDT proposes that humans have an innate desire for stimulation and learning from birth, which is either supported or discouraged within their environment (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000). The degree to which this natural drive, or intrinsic motivation, is realized is contingent on the fulfillment of one’s psychological needs. Therefore, SDT delineates three types of psychological needs: the need for competence, the need for autonomy, and the need for relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000). The need for competence is the need to experience satisfaction in improving one’s abilities (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), and competence is a facilitator of intrinsic motivation. The need for autonomy is the need to engage in self-directed behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), and it is also a facilitator of intrinsic motivation. Finally, the need for relatedness, another facilitator of intrinsic motivation, is the need to feel related to significant others.. All in all, the satisfaction of these three psychological needs is indispensable for facilitation of self-determined motivation. Furthermore, the multidimensional motivation orientation encompasses three global types of motivation: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and a-motivation. While applying SDT to academic motivation, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are the two primary types of motivated academic behavior (Cokley, 2003). Intrinsic motivation is the drive to pursue an activity simply for the pleasure or satisfaction derived from it (Deci, 1975). Therefore, intrinsic motivation is the most self-determined form of motivation (Vallerand & Ratelle, 2002). For instance, students who enjoy doing their homework are intrinsically motivated. Initially, theorists argued that intrinsic motivation was uni-dimensional in nature. Intrinsic motivation to know refers to the desire to perform an activity for the enjoyment one receives while exploring, learning, and understanding new things (Vallerand, 1997). Intrinsic motivation to accomplish refers to the desire to perform an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction that one receives from accomplishing or creating new things. Finally, individuals who participate in an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction derived while experiencing pleasurable intellectual or physical sensations are intrinsically motivated to experience stimulation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, “refers to a broad array of behaviours having in common the fact that activities are engaged in not for reasons inherent in them, but for instrumental reasons.

SDT also posits different types of extrinsic motivation (i.e., extrinsic motivation external regulation, extrinsic motivation-introjected regulation, and extrinsic motivation-identified regulation), which vary in the degree of self-determination of the behavior, where more internalized or more integrated behaviors produce a greater sense of selfdetermination (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991). In other words, SDT maintains that these types of behavioral regulation can be situated along a self-determination continuum, with external regulation representing a complete lack of self-determined motivation and intrinsic motivation representing the fullest type of self-determined motivation. Extrinsic motivation-external regulation, the least selfdetermined type of extrinsic motivation, refers to behavior that is determined through means external to the individual. In other words, rewards and constraints regulate these behaviors. For example, a student who performs an activity to satisfy external demands (e.g., a tangible reward or punishment) or social contingency is externally regulated. Next along the autonomy continuum is the construct of extrinsic motivation-introjected regulation. These behaviors are controlled in part by the environment but also by internal reward/punishment contingencies (e.g., ego enhancement, guilt, shame, or obligation). An example is students who perform their schoolwork because they do not want to let their parents down. Hence, introjected regulation encompasses a moderately low degree of self-determination. Further along the self-determination continuum, extrinsic motivation identified regulation refers to behaviors that are performed by choice because the individual judges them to be important. For instance, a student with identified regulation engages in a particular behavior as long as she or he perceives the usefulness or instrumental value of doing so. In contrast to interjected regulation, identified regulation encompasses a moderately high degree of self-determination. Therefore, identified regulation is a relatively autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. The final concept posited by SDT is amotivation, the lowest level of autonomy on the self-determination continuum, which relates to the lack of intentionality and, therefore, refers to the relative absence of intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation. When individuals are amotivated, they do not perceive a contingency between their behaviors and outcomes. “A highly probable consequence of academic motivation is to quit the activity toward which the individual is amotivated. Because the students who are amotivated are neither intrinsically motivated nor extrinsically motivated, they may decide to drop out of school. Considerable research in the educational realm (Black & Deci, 2000; Deci et al., 1991; Noels, Clement, & Pelletier, 2001; Vallerand et al., 1993) suggests that positive indices of student functioning are associated with high levels of autonomous motivations, whereas negative indices are associated with high levels of controlled motivations.