Classroom effects on student motivation: Goal structures, social relationships, and competence beliefs Tim Urdan * , Erin Schoenfelder Department of Psychology, Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053, United States Received 13 September 2005; received in revised form 3 April 2006; accepted 3 April 2006 Abstract Psychologists and educators have often conceptualized motivation as an individual difference variable, something that some students simply have more of than other students. This view of motivation can underestimate contextual influences. In this article we consider how characteristics of the school and classroom may influence student motivation, as well as the role of educators in shaping school and classroom climate. We describe three motivational perspectives: achievement goal theory, self-determination theory, and social-cognitive theory. The effects on motivation of social relationships with teachers and peers are also considered. D 2006 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Keywords: Classroom; Student; Motivation; Goal; Social relationship; Competence Psychologists are often trained to think of individuals as semi-autonomous beings with stable personalities that are somewhat resistant to environmental influences. Theories of motivation, which have been developed mostly by psychologists, have often followed this perspective by framing motivation as an individual difference variable. Until recently, psychologists generally recommended working one-on-one with individuals who lacked 0022-4405/$ - see front matter D 2006 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2006.04.003 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 408 554 4495; fax: +1 408 554 5241. E-mail address: turdan@scu.edu (T. Urdan). URL: http://itrs.scu.edu/psychology/faculty/turdan. Journal of School Psychology 44 (2006) 331 – 349