ABSTRACT
We make two major assertions about the research on motivation in classrooms to date. First, most of the research about classroom characteristics that are related to students' motivation for learning has been conducted outside of classrooms or is based solely on learners'
perceptions of the classroom context. Second, much of this motivation research has isolated features of teaching and learning contexts rather than studying them in combination to learn how they support or undermine one another. Certainly progress has been made since Corno and Mandinach (1983) identified the need for an integrated theory of classroom learning and motivation more than 20 years ago, one that encompasses variables associated with learning, motivation, and instruction and involves research in rather than about classrooms. Contextual understandings are more integral to research on motivation today, reflecting the general shift in educational research toward situated and social perspectives on learning. However, we would argue, progress in this regard is slow, perhaps reflecting the complexity ofstudying motivation in situ, in events (Winne & Perry, 2000), and from more sociocultural points of view (Hickey & Granade, 2004).
