Do undergraduates' motives for studying change as they progress through their degrees?
David A Lieberman1, Richard Remedios
1Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK. dal1@stir.ac.uk
The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|May 17, 2007
Summary
Student motivation shifts from mastery to performance goals as they advance through university. Later-year students prioritize grades over understanding, potentially reducing academic interest.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Higher Education Studies
Background:
- Students exhibit varying academic motivations, including mastery (deep understanding) and performance (outperforming peers).
- These distinct motivational orientations can influence learning behaviors and outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal changes in students' mastery and performance goals throughout their university education.
- To determine if academic goals evolve as students progress from their first year to subsequent years.
Main Methods:
- A quantitative study involving 1857 students at a Scottish university.
- Utilized a questionnaire based on the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (Elliot & McGregor, 2001) to assess mastery and performance goals.
- Included questions on students' course expectations and experiences.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in the desire for subject mastery was observed in second, third, and fourth-year students compared to first-year students.
- Later-year students demonstrated a greater focus on achieving high grades.
- Students in higher years reported lower expectations of course enjoyment.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a potential decline in intrinsic motivation for learning as students progress through higher education.
- The increasing emphasis on grades may detract from students' genuine interest in their academic subjects.
- Further research is needed to explore the impact of grade-centric pressures on student engagement and learning.
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