This chapter aims to answer the following question, what are the differences in motivation between male and female, differences in motivation among the 3 year of study, and relationship between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. This study’s results suggest there is statistically significant difference in academic motivation between male and female, and significant difference in motivation among 3 years of study among UTAR students. However, there is significant relationship between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. In addition, each variable will be examined for significant and non-significant differences between the genders, as well as applicability to previous studies, significance to college enrollment and possible future research.
Motivation
Results for motivation suggested there are statistically differences between male and female. This might be interpreted as meaning the more motivated a student is, the more likely they are to enroll in, attend regularly and graduate from University or College. Academic Motivation Scale-College Version (AMS-C) was used to measure motivation, which reported average scores of ….. for male students and……for female students (see Table… in Chapter 4). The data represents a difference found between the two groups, with the female students reporting higher levels of intrinsic motivation.
When comparing male students and female students, results of this study suggest there are higher levels of motivation reported by the femala students. The current study found similarities to past research. According to Nadia (2010) indicated that female students more likely to have academic ethics than male students, which are characterized by higher academic attainment. Furthermore, the findings of the study show that female students were intrinsically motivated than males. In contrast, male students were extrinsically motivated than females. The possible explanations of these findings are that males are expected to be the main breadwinner of the family in society (Nadia, 2010). Whereas, for females, they are academic performance and motivation is based on self-exploration and internal satisfaction (Nadia, 2010).
Data have shown that there is a significant link between a parent’s education and a child’s motivation for college enrollment. Other research suggests, for first-generation students, the motivation to enroll in college is a deliberate attempt to improve his or her social, economic, and occupational standing (Ayala & Striplen, 2002).
Academic Performance and Motivation
On top of that, findings suggest that there is significant relationship (r=.??; n-??)between motivation and academic performance among UTAR students. Academic performance was using grade point average (GPA) and the average of ?? (B-). These findings are consistent with previous literature. Johnson (1996) and other researchers also found out that academic achievement is highly correlated with student’s motivation (as cited in Nadia, 2010).
Due to the previous research, the types of the motivation can affect on the performance of the students. This is because intrinsic and extrinsic motivation effects on the achievement and goals of the students performance. Students’ enjoyment when they learn new things is an example of intrinsic motivation. For instance, student may do their homework because they find it interesting and satisfying to learn about certain subjects (Isiksal, 2010). Findings also supported previous research based on SDT, which posit the relation between students being intrinsically motivated and academically successful (Turner, Chandler & Heffer, 2009).
As Fortes, Rodrigues and Tchantchane (2010) pointed out that when students are realize that the academic courses can improve their career prospects, they will be motivated to improve their academic performance as well. These types of students are tending to more on extrinsic motivation and other such as they want to get more reward or praise. Moreover, students with ammotivation also can affect their academic performance. They will experience feelings of incompetence and expectancies of uncontrollability they perceive their behavior as caused by forces out their own control. They feel undeceived and start asking themselves why in the world, why they go to school or they may stop participating in academic activities (Nadia, 2010).
Year of Study
The results for motivation among 3 years of study in UTAR students. This could be due to the differences in age and experience during their study in University. A research done by Uguroglu (1982) and McClure (1986) found that older students were more stable in certain personality characteristics and have higher achievement motivation and self-control than the younger one (as cited in Habibah Elias & Rafaei abdul Rahman, 1995).
Female stuents hv in general a better motivation profile and spent more time studying for their courses. Due to these observations, it is expected that the average female student would be the significant better performer in her first year at university. But it was observed, that the group of female students did not scored better in their
first year.
Students find increasingly little that is directly relevant or useful in their daily lives or those students’ ability belief and goal orientations shift from being positive and task focused to being more pessimistic and performance focused in their study. Intrinsic motivation is certainly not being supplanted by extrinsic motivation in the second year in University (Lepper, Iyengar & Corpus, 2005) .
Limitations of the Study
There have several limitations that are identified during the progress of completing in this study such as that is related to population sample limitations to only one University, with a limited amount of student willing or able to participate. It might be more beneficial towards this type of research to have a wider range of University involvement in hopes to have a larger amount of student participants. With a larger amount of participants, this research could possible give results that are more inferential and accurate from the data.
In addition, there is the lack of a large sample size within the target population. Instead of focusing research efforts on just one University, students from all Kampar, Perak state University or College could be considered as potential participants. It suggested that a larger population yield a larger amount of participants and could potentially lower instances of extraneous flaws thus results are reliable and valid to all state-level University or College populations.
On top of that, this research is only focusing on the demographic variable, such as years of study, gender and GPA. However, there were other variables that might affect the level of motivation and academic performance. For example, classrooms environment, parental-child attachment styles, parental behavior, urban or rural area, peer pressure, courses, faculty, socioeconomic status (SES) and others. Those variables may account for the shift in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Another possible flaw is an inadequate time to collect the questionnaires. Even have give enough time for participants to fill in the questionnaire, but they may not collaboration to participate answering the questionnaire. Additional research is needed in order to get the reliability results and to determine the generalization of such findings to other populations and cultures.
Recommendations for Future Research
With the conclusion of this study, some possible recommendations for future research haven arisen. In the future, studies could aim to focus on younger demographic where intervention can be assesses and applied. This would include factors that are currently lacking, like motivation and college academic preparation. This research study discovery that preparing people for college starts at young age, as early as elementary school. This information could initiate further research, which aspires at a much younger demographic than the current study. Possible development of interventions for implementing programs that targets for the purpose of college preparation and provide the social support needed for these youth to be motivated to want and attend college could also be explored.
Moreover, it is important assess the absence of parental figures, like with those in prison or who have passed away. For example, if a child is raised by a single parent, it might be important to narrow down factors and see how perceived social support and motivation apply to his or her circumstance. Once again by knowing what could contribute to these individuals can further assist those interested in implementing programs that target these particular populations.
In the Western countries, researchers are very focusing about younger’s education and performance in school, and there have many research talking about this, but yet very few research in Malaysia. Therefore more research should be conducted in order to know more about the students’ motivation in school, how this can effect on their learning and the perception or early support services for parents. Therefore, future research could be important in finding which variables are contributing to or the level of motivation in homes as children develop ideals for future. This would be helped to improve the education and getting more researches in Malaysia.
