The goal of this research was to investigate teachers' perceptions of professional discretion and satisfaction related to internal and external factors of curriculum control. Results of the study were intended to provide data to policy makers and school district administrators that could be used in the development and implementation of the curriculum reform process. Middle and high school teachers in a large central Florida school district completed the survey. The survey's six constructs were 1. Influence of Teacher Beliefs 2. Perceptions of Success and Satisfaction 3. Influence of Tests and Curriculum Guides 4. Teacher Control of Pedagogy 5. Leadership 6. Maintaining High Standards The research questions focused on determining the difference in perspectives due to years of teaching experience, level of teaching (middle or high school), and curriculum control category (high, medium, or low). The results revealed there was not significant disagreement among teacher perceptions based on years of teaching experience. However, results indicated significant differences in perceptions based on level of teaching and curriculum control category in regard to the six survey constructs. The construct of leadership revealed significant differences between both levels of teaching and curriculum control categories. Overall, the results indicated a significant relationship among curriculum control policies and effects on teachers' perceptions of professional discretion and satisfaction. The literature on curriculum reform efforts since the 1980s, specifically in the areas of curriculum standards, textbook adoption policies, testing policies and leadership practices, framed the study. The literature review focused on existing research issues within the six constructs and the research questions. The information gained from this study may be used to inform policies, improve teachers' working conditions, and promote teacher and leadership effectiveness. Recommendations for practice were addressed in terms of what policy makers, school district administrators, and individual classroom teachers can and should do to implement and support meaningful curriculum reform. The researcher emphasized that recognizing the professional expertise and knowing the perspective of teachers are key to the development and implementation of an effective curriculum reform process.

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Problemområdet som uppsatsen belyser är sambandet mellan organisationstillhörighet och autonom motivation inom IT-konsultbranschen. Forskning om dessa områden har tidigare utförts främst var för sig, men har på senare år kopplats mer och mer samman. Dessutom har undersökningarna inom konsultbranschen enbart gjorts på bemanningsföretag. Utifrån sambandet och i förhållande till nuvarande teorier tas tre hypoteser fram och prövas. Metoden som använts i undersökningen är en enkätundersökning bestående av frågor angående organisationstillhörighet och motivation. Undersökningen genomfördes på två IT-konsultföretag i Skåne, Sverige, där 63 IT-konsulter medverkade. Detta material analyserades sedan utifrån de teorier som tagits upp. Resultatet visade att det finns ett positivt samband mellan IT-konsulternas upplevda organisationstillhörighet och autonom motivation, men att organisationstillhörighet inte är lika viktigt för externa IT-konsulter (arbetsplats på kundföretaget) som för interna IT-konsulter (arbetsplats på konsultföretaget). Resultatet bekräftar även att motivationen hos de interna IT-konsulterna var lägre än hos de externa IT-konsulterna. Vidare forskning behöver göras för att kunna öka förståelsen om sambandet mellan organisationstillhörighet och motivation inom IT-konsultbranschen; att ta in fler faktorer i sambandet, förslagsvis flexibilitet, och att undersöka vidare vilket av områdena som påverkar det andra. / The problem in focus in this thesis highlights the correlation between organizational commitment and autonomous motivation within the IT consulting business. Research within these areas has earlier mainly been conducted separated from each other, but recent research has aimed at merging the two areas together. In addition research within the consulting business has solely been made within temporary staffing agencies. Three hypotheses are developed and tested with a base in the correlation and the connection made with existing theories. The method used in the research was a survey consisting of questions regarding organizational commitment and autonomous motivation. The survey was conducted on two IT consulting firms in Skåne, Sweden, and a total of 63 IT consultants participated. The material was analyzed with regards to the existing theories. The results showed that there is a positive relationship between the IT consultants’ perceived organizational commitment and autonomous motivation, but that organizational commitment is not as important for external IT consultants (workplace at the client company) as for internal IT consultants (workplace at the consulting firm). The result also confirmed that the motivation of the internal IT consultants was lower than among the external IT consultants. Further research is needed to increase the knowledge regarding the correlation between organizational commitment and motivation within the IT consulting business; to include more factors in the correlation, flexibility as a suggestion, and to further research which area that affects the other area.

Syftet med studien var att utforska unga vuxnas uppfattningar om varför de började föreningsidrotta och varför de valde att hoppa av från föreningsidrotten. Vidare strävades utforska om det fanns några likheter eller kontraster mellan hur individer från en storstad kontra en tätort i Sverige upplever motiven bakom ingång till och avhopp från föreningsidrotten. Sex unga män mellan åldrarna 18-30 rekryterades utifrån en målstyrd, icke-sannolikhetsbaserad urvalsmetod. Kvalitativa, semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med deltagarna för att motta beskrivningar om deras upplevelser kring motiven bakom ingång till/avhopp från föreningsidrotten. En kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera och tematisera insamlad data för att kunna besvara på de formulerade forskningsfrågorna. Resultaten är i linje med tidigare forskning som visat att avhopp från föreningsidrotten är ett kombinerat resultat av yttre såväl som inre faktorer. Centrala teman kring motiv bakom ingång till föreningsidrott var gruppinflytande, intresse för idrott/idrotter, och bristande utbud av föreningsidrotter i närområdet. Kring motiv bakom avhopp från föreningsidrott framkom missnöje med tränare, andra prioriteringar, bristande samhörighet, andra intressen, för långa distanser till idrottsföreningar, idrottsskada och upplevd kompetensbrist som centrala teman. / The purpose of the study was to investigate young adults’ perceptions of why they started participating in organized sports, and why they chose to drop-out from organized sports. Additionally, the study sought to explore whether there were any similarities or contrasts between how individuals from a large city versus an urban area in Sweden experienced the motives behind entering and leaving organized sports. Six young men between the ages 18-30 were recruited based on a goal-oriented, non-probability sample method. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were performed with the participants to receive descriptions of their experiences of their motives behind entering and leaving organized sports. A qualitative content analysis was used to analyze and thematize collected data in order to answer the formulated research questions. The results are in line with prior research which suggest that drop-out from organized sports is a combined result of external as well as internal factors. Central themes connected to the motives behind entrance into organized sports was group influence, interest in sports/sports, and lack of sportclubs in the local area. Connected to the motives behind drop-out from organized sports, dissatisfaction with the coach/coaches, other priorities, lack of fellowship, other interests, too long distances to sportclubs, sport injuries, and lack of perceived competence arose as central themes.

Det som ska undersökas i denna fallstudie är ifall visualisering av studerad tid kan öka motivationen hos en högskolestudent att studera på högskola. I denna uppsats definieras studietillfällen som schemalagda föreläsningar och övningar, eller självorganiserade studiepass. Kopplingen mellan motivation och visualisering av tid lagt på träning i gym har tidigare undersökts. Vi bygger vidare på det och undersöker ifall det finns ett liknande samband med mängden tid nedlagd på studier och motivationen att studera vid högre utbildning. Frågan är av intresse för främst utvecklare av lärplattformar, då ifall att fallstudiens resultat skulle tyda på att visualisering av tid nedlagt på studier orsakar en ökad motivation skulle det vara värdefullt att implementera i lärplattformar. Vidare, är frågan av intresse för studenter eftersom det skulle kunna öka deras studiemotivation. Fallstudien inleddes med att 28 studenters motivation mättes, för att få fram ett referensvärde. Därefter fick studenterna under en tvåveckorsperiod dagligen logga den tid de lagt på studier. Utöver det fick studenterna dagliga uppdateringar med stapeldiagram som visuellt representerade den loggade tid de dagligen lade ner på sina studier. Därefter mättes deras motivation återigen, som sedan jämfördes med den inledande mätningen. Resultatet visade att det fanns en signifikant skillnad i två av de sju motivationsskalorna i “Academic Motivational Scale”, den inre motivationen att prestera och den yttre introjicerade motivationen. Detta styrker tidigare studier som visat en koppling mellan visualisering av en elevs nedlagda tid på avklarade moment och elevens prestation i skolan. / This case study aims to examine if a visualization of undergraduate students’ learning sessions can increase their motivation to study. Previous studies have shown that there is a correlation between motivation and visualization of time spent on, for example, training in gyms. Consequently, this case study aims to expand on this subject and examine if there is a similar correlation in time spent on studying and the motivation to study in higher educational settings. This question is mainly of interest for developers of learning management systems, such as online course platforms, since if the case study results show that there is an increase in motivation caused by a visualization of time spent studying it would be of value to implement in their learning management systems. Furthermore, this question is of interest for students since it could increase their motivation to study. The case study was initialised by measuring and evaluating 28 undergraduate students’ motivation, to calculate a reference value. The students were then asked to log their study sessions each day and they were given daily updates based on their loggings of their time spent studying during two weeks, with visual bar charts. The case study finished by re-evaluating the motivation of the students and comparing it to the initial measurement. The results showed that there was a significant difference in 2 of the 7 motivational categories of the employed “Academic Motivational Scale”, namely the intrinsic motivation towards accomplishment, and the extrinsic introjected motivation. This further validates previous studies which shows a connection between visualising a students total time spent on accomplished course modules.

Learning kanji (i.e., the Chinese characters utilized in the Japanese writing system) is unique for learners of Japanese who speak Chinese as their first language (L1) due to their ability to transfer their knowledge of L1 hanzi (i.e., the Chinese characters utilized in the Chinese writing system). The present study is a longitudinal investigation into the effects of affective variables and kanji growth on kanji learning utilizing the self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002). L1 Chinese learners of Japanese as a second language (L2) responded to a questionnaire designed to measure eleven affective variables and took kanji tests three times over one academic semester (N = 229-340). In addition, interviews were conducted with 12 participants to further explore the affective variables influencing kanji learning. The data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate latent growth modeling, multiple regression analyses, and path modeling to answer six research questions. The results showed that: (a) there were no associations between the initial affective status and the initial kanji proficiency; (b) intrinsic motivation and introjected regulation exerted significant positive and negative influences on short-term kanji growth, respectively; (c) growth in kanji proficiency did not cultivate intrinsic motivation, nor did intrinsic motivation lead to growth in kanji proficiency; (d) perceived competence was significantly associated with both the initial status of intrinsic motivation and changes in intrinsic motivation; (e) perceived competence was not associated with either the initial level or the development of kanji proficiency; (f) perceived competence positively affected four variables, intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and mastery goals; (g) perceived autonomy led to lower amotivation and higher intrinsic motivation, but caused lower external regulation; (h) peers' positive influences positively affected all six variables, cultivating higher intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation, and mastery goals, as well as causing lower amotivation; (i) peers' negative influences led to lower identified regulation and higher amotivation, and higher introjected regulation, and; (j) attitudes toward L2 community/speakers did not influence any of the SDT kanji learning motivation and mastery goals. The results of the interview study revealed that (a) the participants felt various types of enjoyment in kanji learning, including intrinsic motivation-knowledge, intrinsic motivation-stimulation, and intrinsic motivation-accomplishment; (b) ideal L2 self guided intrinsic motivation; (c) introjected regulation was channeled by ought-to L2 self and feared L2 self, and; (d) feared L2 self was uniquely formulated as a result of the complex interactions of various factors such as pride as L1 hanzi knowledge holders and normative pressure from Chinese peers. Evidence gathered in research targeting English learners is not necessarily applicable to the learning and motivation for learning other languages. The present study contributes to a better understanding of the universality as well as the individuality of the roles of motivation in L2 learning. / Applied Linguistics