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In a school setting, intrinsic motivation can be described as a motivation to learn that results from internal satisfaction and fulfillment, without external rewards and incentives. Intrinsically motivated children, as opposed to those extrinsically motivated, often have better academic achievement, since they learn because of their need for knowledge, growth and development. Intrinsically motivated children are also expected to experience less fear of school, defined as fear of failure related to academic achievement, because they are more focused on learning for their own pleasure and are less concerned about their academic performance and success. In that context, the general aim of this study was to examine the relationship between intrinsic motivation and fear of school among pupils in lower grades of primary school. An additional aim was to explore the possibility of predicting intrinsic motivation and fear of school based on pupils’ perception of quality of school life. The sample included 1, 487 pupils in the second, third and fourth grade of 49 primary schools in Croatia. The results showed that intrinsically motivated pupils experience less fear of school. Fear of school is more prevalent among girls than boys and among older than younger pupils. Significant age, but not gender differences were found in intrinsic motivation, showing higher intrinsic motivation in girls than in boys. Significant effect of age and gender interaction was also found with regard to intrinsic motivation, and older girls tend to be more intrinsically motivated when compared to younger girls, as opposed to older boys who show lower intrinsic motivation than younger ones. Results showed that family characteristics were weakly related to intrinsic motivation and fear of school. Regression analyses with intrinsic motivation and fear of school as criteria and children’s evaluations of quality of school life as predictors show that these predictors contribute more to explaining intrinsic motivation than fear of school. The practical implications of these results for increasing intrinsic motivation and decreasing fear of school among pupils in lower grades are discussed. |
