Student Virtue

Our Virtuous Motivation Survey offers a robust tool for assessing students' character development. Utilizing a pre- and post-test model, we track character growth over time, providing valuable insights. 

The Virtuous Motivation Survey is the product of a two-year collaboration between Steven Bourgeois, PhD, of Ahart Solutions, and Matthew Post, PhD, of the University of Tulsa. Below is a brief overview of the origins of this innovative research tool. 

Human behavior is complex, often driven by conflicting motivations. For instance, someone might donate to charity to help others and/or to gain recognition, just as a student might study calculus out of passion and/or for a good grade. We're focused on understanding children's motivation to act virtuously in and out of school, aiming to help educators integrate character and virtue into academic programs.

Rooted in self-determination theory (SDT), which identifies autonomy, competence, and relatedness as fundamental needs that foster quality motivation, our research introduces the concept of virtuous motivation. This construct involves actions taken not only for enjoyment but also for self-development toward increasing excellence and the benefit of others.

We explore the roots of moral action and how virtues become internalized in children. Drawing on the framework adopted by the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues and previous SDT research on self-regulation and prosocial behavior, we seek to determine the antecedents of children’s moral behaviors and how cultural factors, including parenting and schooling, foster or impede the internalization of virtue.  

Our new survey assess for dimensions of virtue, including intellectual, moral, civic, and performance. In addition, we include items on incentivized environment and school culture, allowing us to leverage the research in a pre-test post-test intervention model.