Key factors that impact upon children's educational motivation and engagement are here considered from an international and comparative perspective. Based upon a major programme of research undertaken in sites in England, the USA and Russia, the authors identify interrelated elements operating at international, national and local levels. These include children's self-perceptions, goals, interests and aspirations, curriculum and pedagogy, peer and parental influences, teacher perceptions, school traditions and practices, together with the pervasive influence of broader social, cultural, historical and economic factors.

JULIAN G. ELLIOTT is Professor of Education at the University of Durham, UK. Formerly a teacher in mainstream and special schools, he subsequently practised as an educational (school) psychologist before entering higher education. In addition to achievement motivation, his research and publication interests include: the treatment of children's disorders, cognitive education and dynamic assessment, and teachers' skills of behaviour management. He is currently President of the International Association for Cognitive Education and Psychology. NEIL R. HUFTON was formerly Principal Lecturer in Education at the University of Sunderland, UK. A former teacher, his educational research has been particularly informed by his interest in philosophy and history. WAYNE WILLIS is Professor of Education at Morehead State University, Kentucky, USA. He is co-editor of a forthcoming text on moral development and education and author/illustrator of a children's book, This is How We Became a Family. He is currently President of the Society of Philosophy and History of Education. LEONID ILLUSHIN is Head of the Department of Modernization of Education, Regional and International Cooperation in the Committee of Education in the St. Petersburg Government, and teaches at Hertzen State University and St Petersburg State University, Russia. He is involved as an expert in educational projects with several countries within Europe.