This study examines the social and pedagogical factors of success in the teaching and upbringing of younger students and how they perceived the meaning of success. Teachers in the primary grades were asked to answer two questions: "What do you consider to be the most important in the teaching and upbringing process?" and "What do you see as the end goal of your pedagogical activity?" They were asked to assess the quality of the upbringing work being done in their school and to list the qualities of students that are impossible or difficult to instill. Participants in the questionnaire were 140 teachers in six regions of the Russian Federation. Survey results indicate that a majority of the teachers believe that moral qualities are inherent and that they are either reinforced by the family or weakened. Moreover, a survey was conducted among future fifth-graders in different regions of Russia (350 students in the third and fourth grades were surveyed). The children were asked to complete a number of statements of the type "I am going to school in order to..." Findings show that the predominant motives of third-and-fourth graders relate to the content and process of their learning; to a large extent, broad social motives of self-determination and self-improvement are also at work. Consequently, It is very important today to teach children how to stand up to stressful situations and not to fall into depression when they fail. From an early age they need to be instilled with the desire to be bold and optimistic, to develop their ability not to be afraid of hard work, the ability to interact with their peers and with adults, the desire to be a humane and competitive individual under the conditions of a society undergoing reforms.