Secondary students' motivation to complete written dance examinations

Abstract

There is little research that focuses on students, experience of national examinations in non-traditional curriculum such as dance. In this research, we examine why New Zealand students sitting national examinations (NCEA) in dance, were not attempting one of two written standards of their assessment. A non-attempt by a student present at the examination is referred to as a void in New Zealand. Results showed that the greatest difference between these two groups involved the students, belief in their ability to succeed. In line with attribution theory (Weiner, 1985), students who attempted both standards attributed their success to internal factors such as the effort they put into study. Students who voided a standard attributed their results to external factors such as the appeal of the topic they had studied, the difficulty of the questions or the layout of the standard. Interestingly some students who voided a standard could provide correct answers to the interviewer. The research also found that lack of success with school practice examinations, which are intended to assist students, preparation for NCEA examinations, had the unintentional effect of contributing to the beliefs of students who voided standards that they were not capable of success. Initially, researchers and teachers made assumptions such as lack of literacy skills, or having already achieved sufficient credits for a certificate, impacted on students, motivation to attempt dance standards but this research found that these factors did not significantly influence students to void standards. The implications of this research reinforce the importance of testing assumptions and obtaining feedback from students as a way of supporting their learning. It also reinforces the importance of contextualizing research results to each school,s unique situation.