To what extent, and in what ways, do elective subjects in lower secondary school contribute to students’ motivation, sense of mastery, and their choice of educational programs in upper secondary school?
Elective subjects were reintroduced in Norwegian lower secondary schools in 2012 as part of the Youth Stage in Development initiative, with the aim of increased motivation, mastery and more varied and practical teaching. However, research shows varying practices and uncertain effects of elective subjects on pupils' experiences of relevance, motivation and identity development.
Despite the intention of elective subjects to support pupils' educational choices and contribute to broader competence development, there is limited national knowledge about:
- which elective subjects are actually offered,
- how elective subjects are organised and implemented,
- how pupils experience the importance of elective subjects for motivation and mastery and
- to what extent elective subjects have an impact on pupils' educational choices.
The purpose of the project is therefore to provide updated, empirical knowledge about the importance of elective subjects in lower secondary schools in terms of pupils' motivation, mastery and further educational choices.
Research questions
- How does student participation in electives affect the experience of mastery and motivation in middle school? This research question is about studying student experiences of participating in electives and a possible transfer value between participation in electives and general school motivation in middle school.
- What is the significance of student choice of electives in middle school for later choice of educational program in upper secondary school? This research question is about studying potential correlations between student choice of electives, their experience of mastery and motivation in electives, and which educational program they apply for in upper secondary school.
We have chosen to use a quantitative method in which students answer a digital questionnaire that is later analyzed statistically.
