Motivation to Learn: McClusky's Theory of Margin

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   "At the heart of the matter is the understanding by those who create instruction that education and learning is dispensable. If the load that I am under is too great for me to manage, then I must begin to “jettison cargo” emotionally, and here is where education or learning can find itself “thrown overboard” for the sake of survival." (Para. 5)




This post from the Association For Talent Development blog gives a great explanation of McClusky's Theory of Margin and how it relates to learning for adults:
https://cfcastd.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/learning-theory-the-margins-of-learning-management-how-to-keep-learning-indispensible/

In doing research for this post I found that I was interested in many theories and in particular I was drawn to the idea of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. But after careful thought I realized that I wanted to focus more on a theory that resonated with me on a more personal level. After recently being a full time student with a baby, and a husband working two jobs to support us, I definitely understand what it is to feel that the scales that hold your "load" and your "power" may be tipping in an unfavorable way. I was lucky to have a lot of support and strength within myself in order to keep balanced but it took a lot out of me, my husband and the rest of our community to make that happen.

In my career as an instructor I hope to be able to gain the respect and rapport of my students and to create an environment where they feel that their lives are an important factor in their education and that if anyone starts to feel that their is an imbalance and that the "load" is getting to be too high that they will be able to come to me for help before throwing their education overboard.