Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T11:06:41.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Comparative Study on Undergraduate Students' Academic Motivation and Academic Self-Concept

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Mine Isiksal
Mine Isiksal*
Affiliation:
Middle East Technical University (Turkey)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mine Isiksal. Middle East Technical University. Faculty of Education. Department of Elementary Education. 06531 Ankara. (Turkey). Phone: +90-3122106412. Fax: +90-312-2107984. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish and American undergraduate students' academic motivation and academic self-concept scores regarding the years that they spent in university. The analysis was based on 566 (284 Turkish, 282 American) undergraduate students where, Academic Motivation Scale and Academic Self-Concept Scale were used as measuring instruments. The results showed that there was a statistical significant effect of nationality and number of years spent in university on undergraduate students' intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-concept scores. Turkish students had higher intrinsic scores whereas American students had higher extrinsic scores and more positive academic-self concept compared to Turkish partners. Regarding grade level, senior students from both cultures had higher intrinsic motivation and academic self-concept scores compared to other grade levels. In terms of extrinsic motivation, there is steady decline in American students' scores as grade level increases. On the other hand, Turkish undergraduates' extrinsic scores decrease in the second year but increase in the third and fourth year of university education. Results were discussed by taking into consideration the social and cultural differences between two nations.

El propósito de este trabajo fue investigar en postgraduados turcos y americanos la motivación y el autoconcepto académicos, en relación con los años invertidos en la universidad. Se registraron las puntuaciones de una muestra de 566 estudiantes postgraduados (284 turcos y 282 americanos) en una Escala de motivación académica y otra Escala de autoconcepto académico. Los resultados indicaron un efecto estadísticamente significativo entre la nacionalidad y el número de años invertidos en la universidad para las puntuaciones de motivación intrínseca, extrínseca y autoconcepto. Los estudiantes turcos puntuaban más alto en motivación intrínseca mientras que los americanos puntuaban más alto en extrínseca y mostraron un autoconcepto más positivo que los estudiantes turcos. En relación con el nivel de estudios, los estudiantes licenciados de ambas culturas puntuaban más alto en motivación intrínseca y en autoconcepto académico que los estudiantes diplomados. En cuanto a la motivación extrínseca, los estudiantes americanos mostraron un descenso en sus puntuaciones a medida que aumentaba el nivel de estudios. Por otro lado, las puntuaciones extrínsecas de los postgraduados turcos disminuía en la segunda mitad del año aunque incrementaba entre el tercer y cuarto año de estudios universitarios. Los resultados se discutieron teniendo en cuenta las diferencias socioculturales de ambas naciones.

Keywords

comparative studyacademic motivationacademic self-conceptestudios comparativosmotivación académicaautoconcepto académico
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , November 2010 , pp. 572 - 585
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ames, C. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 261–271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Areepattamannil, S., & Freeman, J. G. (2008). Academic achievement, academic self-concept, and academic motivation of immigrant adolescents in the greater Toronto area secondary schools. Journal of Advanced Academics, 19, 700–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benware, C. & Deci, E. L. (1984). The quality of learning with an active versus passive motivational set. American Educational Research Journal, 21, 755–766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boshier, R. (1991). Psychometric properties of the alternative form of the education participation scale. Adult Education Quarterly, 41, 150–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bye, D., Pushkar, D., & Conway, M. (2007). Motivation, interest, and positive affect in traditional and nontraditional undergraduate students. Adult Education Quarterly, 57, 141–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chao, R. K. (1996). Chinese and European American mother's beliefs about the role of parenting in children's school success. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 27, 403–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chirkov, V. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Parent and teacher autonomy support in Russian and U.S. adolescents: Common effects on well-being and academic motivation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 618–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cokley, K. (2000a). Examining the validity of the academic motivation scale by comparing scale construction to self-determination theory. Psychological Reports, 86, 560–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cokley, K. (2000b). An investigation of academic self-concept and its relationship to academic achievement in African American college students. Journal of Black Psychology 26, 148–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cokley, K. (2003). What do we know about the motivation of African American students? Challenging the “anti-intellectual” myth. Harvard Educational Review, 73, 524–558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Connell, J. P., & Wellborn, J. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy and relatedness: A motivational analysis of self-system processes. In Gunnar, M. & Sroufe, A. (Eds.) Minnesota symposium on child psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Daoust, H., Vallerand, R. J., & Blais, M. R. (1988). Motivation and education: A look at some important consequences. Canadian Psychology, 29, 172.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L. (1992). On the nature and functions of motivation theories. Psychological Science, 3(3), 167–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R.M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1024–1037.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality, in: Dienstbier, R. (Ed.) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Perspectives on motivation, (Vol. 38, pp. 237–288). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuit: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., Connell, J. P., & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Self-determination in a work organization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 580–590.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26(3–4), 325–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekker, S., & Fischer, R. (2008). Cultural differences in academic motivation goals: A meta-analysis across 13 societies. The Journal of Educational Research. 102(2), 99–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fazey, D. M., & Fazey, J. A. (2001). The potential for autonomy in learning: Perceptions of competence, motivation and locus of control in first-year undergraduate students. Studies in Higher Education, 26(3), 345–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortier, M. S., Vallerand, R. J., & Guay, F. (1995). Academic motivation and school performance: Toward a structural model. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 20, 257–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, S. (1997). Using attributes theory to understand social and academic motivation in African American youth. Educational Psychologist, 32, 21–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grolnick, W. S., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). Autonomy in children's learning: An experimental and individual difference investigation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 890–898.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guay, F., Marsh, H. W., & Boivin, M. (2003). Academic self-concept and academic achievement: Developmental perspectives on their causal ordering. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 124–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henderson, B. B., Marx, M. H., & Kim, Y. C. (1999). Academic interest and perceived competence in American, Japanese and Korean children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 32–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, R. D., Chih-Mei, C., & McDevitt, T. M. (1987). Cultural variations in family beliefs about children's performance in mathematics: Comparison among People's Republic of China, Chinese-American, and Caucasian-American families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 79, 179–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (1999). Rethinking the value of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 349–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kao, G. (1995). Asian Americans as model minorities? A look at their academic performance. American Journal of Education, 103, 121–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitayama, S., & Markus, H. R., & Kurokawa, M. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition and Emotion, 14(1), 93–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Komarraju, M., Karau, S. J., & Ramayah, T. (2007). Cross-cultural differences in the academic motivation of students in Malaysia and the United States. North American Journal of Psychology, 9(2), 275–292.Google Scholar
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Gore, P. A. (1997). Discriminant and predictive validity of academic self-concept, academic self-efficacy, and mathematics-specific self efficacy. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44, 307–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. K. (1991). Culture and self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. K. (2003). Culture, self, and the reality of the social. Psychological Inquiry, 14(3–4), 277–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W. (1989). Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 417–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, H. W., & Craven, R. G. (1997). Academic self-concept: Beyond the dustbowl. In Phye, G. (Ed.) Handbook of classroom assessment: Learning, achievement and adjustment. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Michie, F., Glachan, M., & Bray, D. (2001). An evaluation of factors influencing the academic self-concept, self-esteem and academic stress for direct and re-entry students in higher education. Educational Psychology, 21(4), 455–472.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murphy, P. K., & Alexander, P. A. (2000). A motivated exploration of motivation terminology. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 3–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pintrich, P. R. (2000). An achievement goal theory perspective on issues in motivation terminology, theory and research. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 92–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rao, N., Moely, B. E., & Sachs, J. (2000). Motivational beliefs, study strategies, and mathematics attainment in high-and low achieving Chinese secondary school students. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 287–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, W. M., (1988). Measurement and academic self-concept in college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 52(2), 223–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classics definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shavelson, R. J., & Bolus, R. (1982). Self-concept: The interplay of theory and methods. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 3–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976). Self-concept: Validation of construct interpretation. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407–441.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shen, C. (2005). How American middle schools differ from schools of five Asian countries: Based on cross-national data from TIMSS 1999. Educational Research and Evaluation, 11(2), 179–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2005). Antecedents and outcomes of self-determination in three life domains: The role of parents' and teachers' autonomy support. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34, 589–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (1996). Using multivariate statistics, (3rd edition). New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Vallerand, R. J. (1991). A motivational analysis of high school dropout. (Unpublished manuscript). Montreal: University of Quebec.Google Scholar
Vallerand, R. J., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., & Pelletier, L. G. (1989). Construction et validation de l'Echelle de Motivation en Education [Construction and validation of the Academic Motivation Scale]. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21, 323–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Valleires, E. F. (1992). The academic motivation scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 52, 1003–1017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Boven, L., & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 1193–1202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2006). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 41(1), 19–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2002). The development of competence beliefs, expectancies for success, and achievement values from childhood through adolescence. In Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (Eds.) Development of achievement motivation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Wigfield, A., Eccles, J. S., Yoon, K. S., Harold, R. D., Arbreton, A., Freedman-Doan, K. et al. , (1997). Change in children's competence beliefs and subjective task values across the elementary school years: A three-year study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 451–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar