study

Introduction

Mary is a high school student who has shown interest in becoming a newspaper reporter in the future.

She has demonstrated her determination in pursuit of the career by completing a two -day shadow

exercise for a community newspaper. Mary also undertook a nine -week nonpaid reporting experience

with a newspaper reporter. Indeed, her actions convinced her handlers, including parents, career

mentors, and the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, that she is interested and possesses the

skills to become a newspaper reporter. Mary's case reflects two education theories, namely; the interest

theory and the theory of motivation or the expectancy -value theory. This article explores the link

between Mary's case and the two theories and provides recommendations and strategies to as sist her

to realize her career goal.

Body

The arguments in the interest theory of education would best explain Mary's trajectory towards

becoming a newspaper reporter. According to the theory, the ability to help learners find meaning and

value for courses is the route for realizing and maintaining their motivation (Harackiewicz, Smith, &

Priniski, 2016). Mary's school has invoked the interest theory of education concepts to motivate her

towards attaining her career objectives. For instance, the school al lowed her to enroll in a two -day

shadowing reporter exercise regarding a community newspaper. Alternatively, the theory posits that

when students develop value -related beliefs, they tend to work harder, show greater interest, persist

longer, and perform better in their respective courses leading to future careers (Tibbetts, Harackiewicz,

Canning, & Hyde, 2014). Accordingly, students with greater involvement, exemplary identification with

career choices, and better positive attitudes towards tasks are those that see value in their

specializations like Mary. Thus, the interest theory of education encourages learning stakeholders such

as teachers, parents, and IEP to help learners in the best possible ways to achieve the career objectives.

The theory of motivation is also relevant in explaining Mary's case as she pursues a future career in

newspaper reporting. Proponents of the theory argue that individuals opt for challenging tasks if they

value them and believe that they can succeed in the same (Harackiewicz et al. 2016). Mary's actions in

her pursuit of a newspaper reporting career show her motivation, belief that she can prosper in it, and

values the career as her future specialization. For instance, her motivation manifests through her resolve

to undertake a 9-week nonpaid attachment with a reporter despite her tender age. Furthermore, the

theory of motivation explains the expectancy -value concept that could motivate Mary towards achieving

her career goals. As such, Harackiewicz et al. (2016) argue that self -belief and value of the task trigger

interest in the course and career choices among learners. The interests comprise the intrinsic value,

which is the enjoyment people derive from performing tasks. Under interests, there exists also the

attainment value which is the personal importance of excellently on tasks, and the utility value which

details the relevancy or the usefulness of tasks on learners' current and future career goals. Additionally,

the theory of motivation maintains that intrinsic value exace rbates situational interest which activates

persistence. Thus, Mary's determination originates from the individual interests that convince her

family, her supervisor, the community newspaper reporter, and her En glish teacher that she has the

interest and skills to become a reporter.

Conclusion

Mary has demonstrated that she is a hardworking student working hard towards her future career as a

newspaper reporter. Two theories namely, the interest theory of education and the theory of

motivation explain her case. The former stipulates that helping learners to realize the value of their

courses ignites their motivation while the latter argues that human beings choose challenging tasks if

they value them and believe that they can succeed in their pursuit. As a result, Mary requires counseling

on the value of her courses to rekindle her motivation in pursuing a career in newspaper reporting. Also,

Mary's support system such as the family, the English teacher, the faculty supervisor, and the career

mentors should make her feel that although her course ch allenging, it is valuable and she possesses all

the skills and interests to succeed in its pursuit. Therefore, the two theories corresponding to Mary's

case are the interest theory of education and the theory of motivation.