Understanding Learning and Motivation in Youth: Challenging Policy and Practice

Through interviews with a selection of the most qualified and well-reputed Northern European researchers, Understanding Learning and Motivation in Youth explores, and offers a range of solutions to, one of the central problems in modern education: motivation for learning.

The way that teaching is currently delivered to students aged 11–19 often does not support positive learning; the ongoing encouragement to produce as much competence as possible at the lowest possible costs elicits critical conditions for learning processes, endangering not only the motivation of students, but also the engagement and motivation of teachers themselves. This book examines how this can be handled in practice by teachers and educators, drawing on the perspectives of carefully selected experts to provide an introduction to the debates surrounding neoliberal education, as well as a means to counteract the damages in their everyday teaching and activities.

With an original and accessible format and a unique insight into the thoughts of a select group of academics, Understanding Learning and Motivation is essential reading for students, researchers and academics studying the effects of neoliberal education, as well as practicing teachers and educational leaders who are attempting to combat the problem.

Noemi Katznelson is Professor of Youth Research at the Danish Centre for Youth Research, Aalborg University, Denmark.

Niels Ulrik Sørensen is Senior Lecturer of Youth Research at the Danish Centre for Youth Research, Aalborg University, Denmark.

Knud Illeris is Professor Emeritus of Lifelong Learning at Aarhus University, Denmark.