Chapter eight
Findings and discussion: By research questions
1. What motivates students to study?
Among the top reasons for studying among all students were interesting course and Professor. Fifty-one percent student respondents claimed to study for courses that are “Interesting”. Fear of family comes third as a reason to study. To study for upcoming exams, self-learning and good grades are much more prominent factors among the juniors than the senior batch. Seventy-one percent male students say that their main motivator to study is an interesting course while forty-two percent of female think grades is the main one for them.
The males were more motivated than females by an easy course & fear of disappointing family. Females, on the other hand, were more motivated by the presumed applicability of getting good grades and the possibility of self- learning.
The differences between the motivational forces of senior and junior students uncovered in this survey confirm the existing literature on adult learners. Tweedell (2000), for example, wrote of differences between adult learners and adolescents significant enough to require completely different learning structures between the two groups. It is unreasonable, therefore, to presume that a factor that motivates the senior group would have a similar effect on the junior ones.
The differences between male and female students in having different preferences for motivational factors might have arisen from true gender differences, but could also be a function of the differences in their CGPAs.
Because the females in the study academically outperform the males, it is impossible to draw conclusions about their different motivations based on their genders alone. While it appears that the female students were motivated more by achievement and male students more by fear, these results are most likely driven by their differences in academic performance, not their different genders. Further research should be done with a larger population that could be normalized for grades before analyzed by gender.
2. Are there differences between the motivating factors of high performing and lower performing students?
The samples show that the greater differences between high CGPA and low CGPA students that in the motivating factors of Grades, Interesting course, Professor and the Fear of failing. Where the students holding CGPA above are mostly motivated to study because of grades, interesting course and professor; lower CGPA holding ones study mostly because of the fear of failing.
Overall, the high achievers appear to thrive on the positive reinforcement that comes with their success, while the lower performers are driven largely by fear and competition.
As the study showed that students with high GPAs are different in their motivations than those with low, this conclusions offer little guidance for faculty members trying to create a full class of high CGPA holders. A “one size fits all” motivational tool will fail in this case and a course instructor can hardly motivate all the students of his/her by using a same strategy.
3. Do the factors that motivate students to study align with the motivational theories of Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, and/or Frederick Herzberg?
Past theories of motivation are tremendous indicators of factors that influence people to be motivated in different settings or different purposes. The study shows what influence student motivation aligned with theories like Abraham Maslow’s (1968) hierarchy of needs, McGregor’s (1985) theory X and theory Y & Frederick Herzberg’s (1984) two-factor theory of motivation.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
According to Maslow, motivation arises from different needs in different individuals. Needs, he argued, can be arranged in a hierarchy and individuals progress from one level of the hierarchy to another once the needs on the lower level are satisfied. The hierarchy consists of five levels – physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.
To apply this model and to identify need levels in this study the survey questions were categorized as complying with social, esteem, and self-actualization motivators and the samples show that different students appear to operate at different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy.
High CGPA holders and female students are more motivated by social needs (professor, family). The males are more inclined towards esteem needs like grades. Self-actualization needs like self-learning also motivates a good percentage of students.
Here “one size fits all” pedagogy will not motivate a mixed group of students within a class.
Motivation in the classroom needs to be customized according to need levels.
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor (1985) developed two complementing theories of motivation. His theory X implies that people see work as burdensome and they must be forced to get to work. Theory Y on the other hand implies that people see work as a natural part of their lives and they do not really get coerced to work.
For this study, several questions on the motivation survey were earmarked as “Theory X” compliant (Theory Y was not directly measured, but was presumed instead to be confirmed by the negation of Theory X.) to see if really In the academic arena, a Theory X student would be one motivated only by the fear of failure.
The study shows that both senior and junior batches are affected by the X factors like fear of failing or family pressure. The majority of males study mostly because of the fear of failing where the females put more importance on family pressures. The motivational force of fear is strongest among students. Fear, therefore, may be considered a “last resort” motivator.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
According to Frederick Herzberg (1984), the factors that motivate employees are not the exact opposite of those that do not. His classic separation of factors such as pay, work conditions, and supervision (hygiene factors) from work-content factors (motivators) was clear: in order to motivate employees, give them interesting and fulfilling work in which they can take pride.
To test Herzberg’s theory in this study, survey statements were separated into hygiene factors (grades, low-course average, and fear of failing) and motivators (interesting courses, self-learning). The biggest percentage of students reveals that the professor instructing the course is the major hygiene factor in motivating them to study. Interesting course and the fear of failing come next.
However, the agreement with many of the statements classified as hygiene factors, particularly those related to grades, demonstrates that students are also motivated to study by factors Herzberg claimed could not motivate. The mixing of hygiene factors into motivators that come across in this study is not necessarily a negation of Herzberg’s theory, though.
Chapter nine
Recommendation
1. Many students are thriving by professor and interesting courses, so teachers can motivate students by making the classes more interactive.
2. Grade point is another factor that motivates students; authority can run session how the students can get high grade points.
3. Competition might help in this consideration; classes can be divided into small groups then they can compete each other to get good grades.
4. Low course average de-motivates students; session can be arranged to find out their problems.
5. Strict control should exert on supplementary exam so that student take their exams seriously and have fear of failing which eventually help to improve grades.
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