HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

Introduction

Motivation is part of the emotion that is regarded as the main factor for one’s

success. Motivation is a core construct in human behaviour and attitude. The role of

motivational process and dynamics of students’ achievement behaviour choice,

persistence, cognitive engagement and actual performance have been research as the

main part of Educational Psychology. (Fortier, Vallerand, & Guay, 1995; Guay,

Boggiano, & Vallerand, 2001, Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). What motivates students

academically and their relationship with students’ expectation of success are very much

closely related.

Take for example; a student who is expecting to get straight A’s for the upcoming

examination will act accordingly in order to achieve their expectation. They will plan their

schedule, study hard, refer many books, and ask a lot to their teachers and answering

as many previous questions as they can. The target or said here as expectation of

success motivates the student willingness to learn. However if they do not have any

specific target they will just get along the learning process dully, without any initiative or

effort to learn more than whatever the teacher taught. This essay will discuss the

relationship between students’ academic motivation and their expectation of success

and hopefully the writing will help educators to understand more of students’ character

and improve the teaching and learning success rate.

Definition of Motivation

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

Motivation is part of emotion. Motivation is an emotion needed to get works done.

Motivation is like a fuel to car, or a toolbox for a handyman, or an internet access for a

blogger. It is something very important to get the job done enthusiastically. For a learner,

motivation is an emotion required to excel in any area of learning. Thus, it is noted that

motivation differs for individuals an even within an individual person it might as well

differ for different area, depending on various factors.

Motivation is defined as a drive to fulfil a need (Aderman, 1999; Maslow, 1954;

Murray, Poole, & Jones, 2006).

According to Vinacke (as cited in Landy & Conte, 2004), motivation entails the

conditions responsible for variations in intensity, quality and direction of ongoing

behaviour.

Motivation may be driven by either intrinsic or extrinsic factors or the interplay of

both (Maslow, 1954).

According to Groccia (1992), motivation is that which influences the arousal,

selection, direction and maintenance of all human behaviour. Students require some

form of stimulus to activate, provide direction for and encourage persistence in their

study and learning efforts. Motivation is the energy to study, to learn and achieve and to

maintain these positive behaviours over time. Motivation is what stimulates students to

acquire, transform and use knowledge.

Academic Motivation

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

Achievement motivation is measured along the dimensions of the will to succeed,

mastery need in relation to challenging tasks, and the meaningfulness of academic

performance (Tella, 2007). Academic motivation refers solely on motivation requires in

learning process in order to be successful. Academic motivation drives students to put

more effort to achieve the determined learning objectives. Academic motivation also

proves to be one of the factor in determining the success of teaching and learning

process.

According to Groccia (1992), students require some form of stimulus to activate,

provide direction for and encourage persistence in their study and learning efforts.

Motivation is the energy to study, to learn and achieve and to maintain these positive

behaviours over time. Motivation is what stimulates students to acquire, transform and

use knowledge.

Why Motivation is vital?

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

Motivation rate determine success rate. As defined previously, motivation is

defined as a drive to fulfil a need (Aderman, 1999; Maslow, 1954; Murray, Poole, &

Jones, 2006). Motivation is an energy required to fulfill task with the greatest effort and

optimum ability. Motivation is what stimulates students to acquire, transform and use

knowledge ( Groccia, 1992)

Motivation separates the outcomes of two students with more or less same IQ,

same ability and same skills in an examination. Motivation may as well encourage an

average student to score better than advanced student. In contrast, an advanced

student with low motivation level may score poorer that an immediate student.

Therefore, apart from individual cognitive factors, motivation plays a very important role

as it determine the intensity of effort to be put by an individual and if more effort be put

together the success rate will increase accordingly. Simply said as, the more motivated

an individual is the more successful he will be.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO MOTIVATION

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

1. SELF PRINCIPLE / BELIEF / ATTITUDE

1.1 Parents Factor – Education and demonstration

A baby born innocent, it is their parents who directed their nature either

they will become good or bad. Parents are very important person in a students’

life. Parents are the first and second person they see after they are born into the

real world. 80-100% of their time spent with their parents during their childhood

before primary school. 50-70% of their time spent with their parents during their

primary and secondary school but still 80-100% time spent during weekends.

Does this means anything? Parents play a very important role in students self

principle, self-belief and their attitude.

These self principles, self-belief and their attitude contribute the most in

students’ motivation in learning process. Parents are important role models in

students’ social systems. There is some evidence that parents’ level of education

and perceptions about education play an important role in the development of

their children’s core beliefs and behavioural tendencies relating to educational

pursuit (Piotrkowski & Katz, 1982).

1.2 Self Principle

Self principle built since the day they are born until they grow up by

parents. Some of the parents guide their children according to religious

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

requirement, some may guide according to contextual requirement and some

may guide according to materialistic requirement. All of these contribute to the

building and toughen of the Self principle, self-belief and attitude of the students.

If students perceive themselves competent concerning the course material and

activities, they tend to be intrinsically motivated to learn underlying concepts and

principles (Deci, Schwartz, Sheinman, & Ryan, 1981; Harter, 1982).

Intrinsic motivation is the driving force that is fundamental to the active

nature of human beings (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Intrinsic motivators are

characterised by a personality variable called achievement motivation (Sturman,

1999). Achievement motivation can be understood as a disposition, which refers

to a continuous concern about excellence and meeting internalised performance

standards (Sturman, 1999). McClelland’s (1955) theory of achievement

motivation postulates that intrinsically motivated people are generally more

productive and perform well. Task mastery tends to satisfy the individual and

his/her intrinsic need to achieve as it fosters a perception of a challenge, which

encourages task involvement and generates excitement (McClelland, 1965). In

order to be intrinsically motivated, a person must experience interest and

enjoyment in his/her task, along with feelings of competency and self-

determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985). People with a high achievement motivation

explore their environment, take calculated risks, and look for concrete measures

of their progress (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; McClelland, 1965).

1.3 Childhood Experience

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

A student might have many experiences during their childhood especially

experience with their peers. Those who acquire many sweet experiences may

have higher motivation compare to those with a lot of bad experiences.

2. TEACHER FACTOR

2.1 Teachers’ character

A charismatic, soft-hearted, kind, friendly, cheerful, attractive, adorable teacher

definitely will improve students’ motivation compared to a moody, depressed-

looked, fierce, unfriendly and sloppy teacher. Evidence also suggests that

students’ relations with teachers and fellow students have a strong link with

academic performance (Felner, Seitsinger, Brand, Burns, & Bolton, 2007). Felner

et al. (2007) showed that the teaching environment plays a major role in the

academic performance of students. For example, personalising the school

environment through utilising small, interactive groups with students can improve

their motivation, which can lead to positive academic development (Felner et al.,

2007).

2.2 Teachers’ attitude

Attitude also means teacher’s approach, mind-set, behaviour, manner, feelings

and thoughts influenced students’ motivation.

3. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

3.1 Social Support

Students also become motivated in a well-supportive society whether with

their peers or within their society. Muller and Louw (2004) asserted that extrinsic

factors, such as a supportive social environment can foster intrinsic motivation.

3.2 Classroom environment

In general, studies suggested that autonomy-supportive classroom

environments are likely to promote autonomous motivation while controlling

classroom environments are likely to promote controlled motivation (Pelletier,

Fortier, Vallerand, & Briere, 2001). Similarly, research on achievement goals

revealed that classroom environments also influence students’ achievement

goals. Classroom environments where students feel autonomous with minimum

levels of control and pressure exerted on them tend to improve approach goals.

In contrast, classroom environments focusing on competition and teacher control

are likely to promote adoption of avoidance goals. Moreover, competence beliefs

were found to be associated with achievement goals (Elliot & Church, 1997; Elliot

& McGregor, 2001; Elliot & Reis, 2003). Therefore, in the proposed model (see

Figure 1), it was hypothesized that classroom environment perceptions are

related directly to competence expectancies, motivation toward education, and

achievement goals, and indirectly to motivation toward education and

achievement goals through their effect on competence expectancies.

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

4. REWARD FACTOR

Another key extrinsic motivator is rewards, which can either be tangible or

intangible (Gest, Rul ison, Davidson, & Welsh, 2008). For example, if students

excel, they will attain a good academic reputation and receive praise and

recognition from their significant others, which is regarded as an intangible

reward. Students who are perceived as having a good academic reputation may

often be asked for academic help and are associated with students who excel

(Gest et al., 2008). Deci and Ryan (1985) found that using rewards in an

academic setting resulted in a significant improvement in students’ motivational

levels. Moneta and Spada (2009) suggested that individuals who are extrinsically

motivated by an expected reward increase their effort to complete the task and

earn an incentive. A pilot programme was implemented in Atlanta, Georgia, in the

United States, based on the assumption that monetary reward will increase

academic performance (Cushman, 2008)

SUCCESS EXPECTATION

Attribution

Individuals attribute to their previous successes or failures. This is a kind of belief

about the self that refers to the causes. How they attribute their success and failure will

have an encouraging or discouraging effect. Someone may give up or further involved

depends on their attribution towards the causes. Attribution Theory by Weiner (1972)

said our beliefs about the causes of our success and failures influence our future

motivation.

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

Self-efficacy

The way students see themselves; to a large extent determine observation of

their chances of success. Self-concept is how individuals see themselves. It includes

how they see themselves physically, socially, academically, and so forth. Academic self-

concept is how students view their own abilities and skills in handling academic tasks.

Bandura (1977) proposed a very specific form of self-concept theory called self-

efficacy. Self-efficacy refers to the confidence in one’s ability to behave in such a way as

to produce a desirable outcome (Bandura, 1977). Self-efficacy makes a difference in

how people feel, think and act.

Academic self-efficacy refers to subjective convictions that one can successfully

carry out given academic tasks at designated level (Schunk, 1991). Self-efficacy beliefs

also are affected by attributions that students make for their successes and failures.

Attribution of success to stable factors such as high ability has the greatest impact on

increases in subsequent self-efficacy (Schunk, 1984; Schunk & Gunn, 1986; Weiner,

1984).

Achievement-Goal Orientations

Achievement-goal orientations refer to underlying purposes for engaging in

achievement-related behaviours (Ames, 1984; Dweck & Legget, 1988; Pintrinch, 2000).

Students who are oriented toward mastery or task goals strive to acquire new

information to improve their competence. Performance-approach, goal-oriented

students in contrast are motivated mainly by strong desire to outperform others, which

represents performance avoidance goal-orientations. Achievement-goal orientations

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

have likewise been linked significantly to diverse of motivation and performance

outcomes (Elliot, 1999; Urdan, 1997).

CONCLUSION

This essay discusses the factors that cause students’ motivation to increase and

their expectation of success. It is concluded that there is a direct relationship between

students’ motivation and academic performance, as well as an indirect relationship

mediated by effort. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors comprises of

students self-belief, teacher factor, environment factor, and reward factor were found to

be triggers for students’ effort in the aim of performing well academically. Intrinsic

motivation which is self-belief or self-principle was found to be the more important of the

two when it came to explaining variance in academic performance. This essay

corroborates the findings of prior studies (Atkinson, as cited in Tella, 2007; Elliot et al.,

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 HMEF5043-Factors Contributing to Academic Motivation and Expectation of Success

1999; Fraser & Killen, 2005; Grabe, 1979; Sikhwari, 2007; Stanca, 2006; Schwinger et

al., 2009). They further enhance the understanding of the relationship between

motivation and academic performance by including the role of effort as a mediator. In

terms of the practical implications of the current study an increased focus on the

enhancement of students’ motivation and effort levels can possibly positively affect

students’ academic performance. Educational institutions would benefit by identifying

the key contemporary motivational drivers amongst their scholars and use this

information to improve and augment their current educational contexts.

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