The Influence of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors on the Academic Achievement of Adolescent Boys in a Residential Home
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to research the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence
the academic achievement of adolescent boys' age14-17 in· a residential home. The research was
conducted at the Methodist Children's Home Society in Redford, MI. during the summer of
2011. A total of 23 adolescent boys were surveyed and 10 staff members. In addition, 15 field
observations in the classroom were done. Among these findings arose several categories of
themes. These categories included academics, attributions, motivation, home environment, child welfare
system arid. behavior. The theme categories were complemented by the· boys' self-reported
surveys which were sometimes found to be inconsistent or contrasted with the staff
interviews. The results reported that the boys' were either not performing at grade level or more
than one grade. level behind, which contrasts with the boys' self-reported rating of achieving an
average of a grade B in school. However, the data corresponded in that both staff interviewees
and the boys' tended to attribute failure to ability and attributed a lack of effort towards
academics. The boys' were found to be internally motivated, yet there is disagreement in
perception between staff and the boys' motive to achieve success and motive to achieve failure.
The results also showed that home environment and the child-welfare system negatively
influenced the boys' ability to achieve academically due to past trauma, lack of basic resources
and instability.