ABSTRACT
In this chapter I present a postmodern perspective wherein scientific and lay theories are seen as bound up with the values of the people doing the theorizing. Next I present evidence that children's theories about success in school accord with this postmodern view. Two broad theories of success are distinguished: one involving the desire for superior ability (ego orientation) and one the desire to comprehend (task orientation). Then I discuss less generic forms of task-oriented theories: theories about specific types of academic subjects. Finally, I illustrate the sort of discussion that can occur when teachers take seriously the idea that students are educational theorists. These discussions hint at a democratic approach to the enhancement of academic motivation wherein negotiation of the curriculum is an integral part of classroom life.
