ABSTRACT
This chapter examines definitions and theories related to motivation, and the specific role of motivation in the classroom context. It focuses on specific factors that can create difficulties for children and place them at risk. The stories introduced athletes to the viewing public, who served as examples of individuals whose grit, resilience, and motivation contributed to their Olympic dreams becoming a reality. Teachers of young children can support children's motivation by providing them with opportunities to gain some distance and perspective in order to persist toward a desired goal. While the motivation that a child brings into a classroom may be influenced by intrinsic and/or extrinsic forces, it is interesting to consider times when a perceived lack of motivation might actually be advantageous. The connection to motivation is sometimes as simple as the desire "to seek reward and avoid punishment more broadly".
