National Education Association (NEA) · Professional association
Code of Ethics for Educators (opens in a new tab)
Explore commitments to students and the profession as a starting point for reflection on your work.
YOUR WORK. YOUR PRACTICE.
Motivational Interviewing (MI) in K–12 education
Invite students and caregivers into conversations about learning, daily routines and the support that could make a difference.
School responsibilities meet a student's lived day.
A late arrival, a return to class or a quiet request for help can mean different things to the student and the adults around them. Practice hearing that perspective while making the school professional's role and available information clear.
Use curiosity, reflection and shared focus to understand the student or caregiver. Where a personally meaningful change is the task, explore their reasons and ideas; where clarification is needed, help make the next question or responsibility clear.
What is Motivational Interviewing?
Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, goal-oriented way of talking that helps people explore and strengthen their own motivation for change. Careful listening, shared focus and respect for choice guide the conversation. These skills also help when the immediate task is to understand a concern, explain information or agree what happens next.
BECOMING WITHIN YOUR WORK
Become the educator you intend to be in everyday moments.
Professional identity takes shape in how you respond to a student, invite a caregiver’s perspective and hold a learning expectation. Practice noticing the meaning you give a behavior before deciding what to ask or explain. Make room for the support that helps you stay present.
A question to carry into practice
What do I want this student or caregiver to experience in the way I respond?
Explore professional identity and practice resources
Explore the resources that fit your role, alongside your organization’s guidance and local credentialing requirements. These independent resources are offered for learning; their inclusion does not imply affiliation or endorsement.
CONVERSATIONS YOU CAN PRACTICE
Bring the realities of your work.
Help a student ask their question
Understand what is unclear and explore a way to seek learning support.
Understand a school-day routine
Hear the family's experience and explore a preparation or communication idea that fits.
Make home–school communication useful
Clarify what each person needs to know and what follow-up is possible.
Support a return to class
Explore the student's priorities and questions for the staff responsible for class arrangements.
The daily conversation rotates within your field. Additional conversation choices depend on your account's access.
FROM PRACTICE TO YOUR NEXT CONVERSATION
A few minutes today. Something to try tomorrow.
Have a short back-and-forth with a fictional partner. Get specific feedback on your responses, choose something to try next, and return to your saved conversations as you develop.
Notice what you inferred from a student's behavior. Reflect on how you could check that understanding and make it easier for them to speak.
Build my practice home →WHY BECOMING MI
Becoming is personal and professional.
Becoming MI connects daily practice with the person and professional you want to become. Try a response, consider feedback, and carry something useful into your next conversation.
Your whole well-being belongs here.
Your values, responsibilities and well-being meet in your work. We make room for that whole experience, including the resources and support you need.
Explore AMIGA’s approach to becoming →