Instilling in a child an inherent motivation for school does not come easily. There are many factors which contribute to this such as familial, cultural and personality. However, there are a few ways you can contribute to fostering a greater motivation on their part for school.
Share a love of learning
As a parent one of the best ways to motivate your child at school is to model for them the role you believe education plays in their future. Teaching them the concept of education as investment can instil in them a shared love of learning. A child who sees their parent place value on their education will in turn encourage them to give authority to it.
In practice:
Organise times for learning together as a family such as going to the museum, a historical site or an art gallery.
Discuss from an early age the benefits of education in terms of future opportunities and career progression or success.
Integrate learning into everyday parts of life such as shopping at the supermarket, engaging children in household budget issues or giving them quizzes about subjects they are interested in.
Reward good learning behaviour
Everyone loves a reward, children especially so. They are always looking for ways to receive credit for their work, behaviour and choices. It is a common practice amongst quite young children to ask an adult for a commensurate reward for a recent good doing. The only problem with youth is that it comes with an inherently skewed perspective. To create a sensible reward system there will need to be negotiations to ensure that a reward for particular achievements reflect the effort and commitment taken to succeed at it.
In practice:
Reward systems will need to reflect a child’s age and interest levels; star charts can work well for younger children, points for older children and written agreements or calendar goals work best for teenagers. The rewards for each goal or target could be as little as a sticker or as big as a deposit for a car. It’s your choice. A positive is that you can use the devising of the reward system as another opportunity to learn together.
Create time for positive reflection
When difficulty strikes a child their resilience will be tested. It is easy for them (and adults too) to focus on the negatives and feel defeated. Before this happens, exercise some positive reflection time with your child. Using a visual reminder such as a list, journal or a jar with tokens can be a constant source of support for them in times of turmoil. The intimacy created by the two of you stopping to reflect on their small achievements will be a comfort and reward for them as well.
In practice:
Set specific times for you to sit down and reflect on your child’s achievements. When they are younger they could paint a picture of their achievement and you could write their words. As they get older this may reflect more of a list perhaps divided up into months, subjects or areas of interest. For teenagers encouraging them to keep a journal which includes sources of pride or success is the best way of getting them to begin to reflect on their own with your input if and when it is needed.
In the meantime tutoring can be of great benefit not only to motivate your child to succeed but to also reassure them they are able to find success in the smallest achievements.