Chapter 7: School Culture Matters for Teachers’ and Students’ Achievement Goals

Traditionally, schools were considered a place where knowledge was transferred to students by teachers. In a world where information is growing in a fast and irrepressible way in all aspects of human life, education is of tremendous importance, more than ever before in history (Maehr & Midgley, 1996). However, it is impossible to teach all the knowledge and skills needed in the future. Therefore, a very important purpose of education should be to turn students into life-long learners (Maehr & Midgley, 1996). The task of developing ways to engage students in learning throughout their lives has to do not only with students’ learning skills but also with their will or motivation to do so. In this sense, motivation in the school system is central because a successful educational system requires motivated students. But motivated students require motivated teachers (Maehr, 2001). Teachers are therefore a key element in the educational process. It is their responsibility to create adequate learning environments and to motivate students to learn, so that they become life-long learners.