ABSTRACT
The fact that 85 per cent of young people complete an education is a historic success. The focus of education policy has shifted from democratic education towards the development of skills. Education policy has, to a great extent, become employment policy, and is increasingly being geared towards ensuring the optimal use of young people's employment potential. The young people's ability to meet this requirement for lifelong learning is essential for their 'employability' and, therefore, also for their position in the social structure of the future. Motivation has emerged from the mist of everyday life in families and has taken a central role in our understanding of learning and education, and the concept of motivation has become a key educational policy battleground. 'The motivation project' can, therefore, also be said to be a disciplining project where the positive emphasis on motivation at the same time highlights and stigmatizes a lack of motivation.
