By the time students reach their middle school years, they already have
a mindset about who they are and what they can or cannot accomplish.
Edwards (1954) and Atkinson (1964) developed theories of motivation
related to a person’s expectations of the value of success based on that
person’s perceived probability of succeeding and the incentive value of
that success. In an article in the August 15, 1993, issue of Parade, Jimmy
Johnson, who was then coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was asked how he
turned a team with a losing record into Super Bowl champions. He simply
said, “Treat them as winners . . . and they will win.” In the school environment,
if students believe they can be successful, they usually are. If students
believe they cannot succeed, then students probably will not and will have
little to no motivation to do otherwise. Glasser (1990) said that motivation
comes from within ourselves.