An explorative survey of motives of southern albertan high school students to attend school

Dropping out of school and tardiness are problems that may have severe consequences for the lives of students as well as for the society as a whole. These problems are rooted in the motives of students and the working climate at school. So, the most promising question to ask is: why do successful students go to school? What makes them interested in school and which motives may be dissatisfied? Therefore a survey was carried out at a high school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. In the survey, 63 students (male and female) were asked about their motives to come to school and the satisfaction of these motives. Also, some research was conducted on prior studies. In this way, a cross-cultural comparison between the student’s motives and their satisfaction at the Canadian high school and at two German high schools became possible.