PISA results prompt reflection on student´s persistence: Motivation regulation skills may be part of the solution

The finding raises an important question: what happens to a student’s motivation when learning begins to feel difficult, boring, or overwhelming, and what helps them persist despite these challenges?

This question has been examined in the University of Oulu's MotoR research project, which has investigated lower secondary students´ motivation, emotions, and self-regulated learning in authentic learning situations.

"Public discussion often focuses on a lack of motivation. However, our research suggests that the more fundamental question concerns the skills students have to recognize, understand, and regulate their own motivation in changing learning situations," says Professor Hanna Järvenoja, who leads the project.

"Our findings clearly show that motivation is not a fixed characteristic. It varies from one situation to another, even during a single learning task. Persistence should therefore not be viewed solely as a stable personal trait or a matter of willpower. What matters most is what students do when their motivation declines or when a task begins to feel too difficult," explains Postdoctoral Researcher Tiina Törmänen.

Fluctuating motivation can be confusing

According to Järvenoja, discussions about young people's persistence should be broadened to include motivation regulation skills. These skills can be learned just like reading, writing, or problem-solving.

"Students need tools to recognize their own motivation, understand why it fluctuates, and influence it both independently and together with others. If we want to strengthen young people's ability to persevere in learning, we must also teach the skills on which persistence is built," Järvenoja says.

In research, motivation is generally understood as a student´s perception of whether they can succeed, whether they want to commit to a task, and whether they find it meaningful.

The MotoR project has examined students´ motivation and motivation regulation both in collaborative learning situations and as part of regular classroom activities in several lower secondary schools across northern Finland.

Data was collected in two phases. The first phase focused on fluctuations in students´ motivation and the regulation of motivation during collaborative learning activities. In the second phase, survey data on students´ motivation was collected as part of normal classroom work throughout spring 2025.

"When we asked lower secondary students what motivation means to them and how it can be influenced, only a small proportion were able to describe the beliefs underlying motivation or identify strategies for strengthening it. In other words, students often recognize that motivation is important, but they do not necessarily have sufficient understanding of what motivation is built on or how it can be maintained when learning requires effort," says Törmänen.

According to the researchers, it is difficult to expect students to maintain motivation in challenging situations if they do not understand why motivation changes or what they can do to influence it.

Supporting the development of motivation regulation skills

The findings also show that situations in which students consider a task important but doubt their ability to succeed are particularly challenging. In such cases, they can be both motivated and burdened at the same time.

"Physiological measurements revealed that when a task was considered highly important, but students were uncertain about their chances of success, their level of physiological arousal increased during the learning task. This suggests that challenges related to persistence are not simply questions of willpower. They are also closely linked to emotions and stress," Törmänen explains.

Järvenoja emphasizes that there is no single factor behind the PISA results and no simple solution. Therefore, attention should shift from assigning blame to developing solutions.

"Our research suggests that discussions about young people's persistence should also focus on motivation regulation skills. If we want students to continue working when they encounter difficulties, we need to invest more effort in understanding how these skills can be developed and supported in everyday school life. This is also an area where both research and teacher professional development deserve greater attention," Järvenoja concludes.

The MotoR project Not motivated – How regulation of learning builds up students’ will to learn is funded by the Research Council of Finland.