Motivation matters? The relationship among different types of learning motivation, engagement behaviors and learning outcomes of undergraduate students in Taiwan

Abstract The purpose of this study is to understand predictors of different learning outcomes among various student background characteristics, types of learning motivation and engagement behaviors. 178 junior students were surveyed at a 4-year research university in Taiwan. The scales of motivation, engagement and perceived learning outcomes were adapted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the National Survey of Student Engagement College Student Report. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used in data analysis. Findings confirm that different student background characteristics and learning motivation can predict different learning outcomes. However, student engagement behaviors cannot significantly predict different types of learning outcomes when student background and learning motivation variables are included. This study also finds that student’s majors play an important role in explaining learning outcomes. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of learning motivation and suggest that instructors can provide students with more successful learning experiences to ensure more confidence in their learning abilities.

[1]  J. Moon.  Honors and high-ability students: Factors that predict academic efficacy, critical thinking skills, and academic goals , 2012 .

[2]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis : a global perspective , 2010 .

[3]  Shouping Hu,et al.  The Effects of Student-Faculty Interaction In the 1990s , 2001 .

[4]  Norma S. Guerra,et al.  A Closer Look at College Students: Self-Efficacy and Goal Orientation , 2007 .

[5]  P. Winne,et al.  Handbook of educational psychology , 2015 .

[6]  J. Spence,et al.  Achievement and achievement motives : psychological and sociological approaches , 1984 .

[7]  Robert W. Lent,et al.  Relation of self-efficacy expectations to academic achievement and persistence. , 1984 .

[8]  Susan A. Ariew,et al.  National Survey of Student Engagement , 2003 .

[9]  J. Eccles,et al.  Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. , 2002, Annual review of psychology.

[10]  J. Eccles.  Expectancies, values and academic behaviors , 1983 .

[11]  P. Pintrich.  A Manual for the Use of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). , 1991 .

[12]  Mimi Bong,et al.  Role of Self-Efficacy and Task-Value in Predicting College Students' Course Performance and Future Enrollment Intentions. , 2001, Contemporary educational psychology.

[13]  Siegfried Dewitte,et al.  Student motivation and self-regulation as a function of future time perspective and perceived instrumentality. , 2000 .

[14]  C. Sansone,et al.  Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation : the search for optimal motivation and performance , 2000 .

[15]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  How college affects students , 1991 .

[16]  Kristy J. Lauver,et al.  Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[17]  Jennifer A. Fredricks,et al.  School Engagement: Potential of the Concept, State of the Evidence , 2004 .

[18]  John C. Smart,et al.  Educational expenditures and student engagement: When does money matter? , 2006 .

[19]  M. Bruinsma,et al.  Motivation, cognitive processing and achievement in higher education , 2004 .

[20]  J. Eccles.  Subjective Task Value and the Eccles et al. Model of Achievement-Related Choices. , 2005 .

[21]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Motivating Learning, Performance, and Persistence: The Synergistic Effects of Intrinsic Goal Contents and Autonomy-Supportive Contexts , 2004 .

[22]  Rex B. Kline,et al.  Convergence of Structural Equation Modeling and Multilevel Modeling , 2011 .

[23]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  A third decade of research , 2005 .

[24]  Kenneth A. Bollen,et al.  Structural Equations with Latent Variables , 1989 .

[25]  Su-Rong Huang.  Predicting Students' Academic Performance in College Using a New Non-cognitive Measure: An Instrument Design and a Structural Equation Exploration of Some Non-cognitive Attributes and Academic Performance , 2011 .

[26]  Jacquelynne S. Eccles,et al.  Development During Early and Middle Adolescence. , 2006 .

[27]  J. Eccles,et al.  Expectancy-Value Theory of Achievement Motivation. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[28]  Ernest T. Pascarella,et al.  How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research. Volume 2. , 2005 .

[29]  Mary Ann Schroeder,et al.  Diagnosing and Dealing with Multicollinearity , 1990, Western journal of nursing research.

[30]  Chang Dian-Fu,et al.  Teaching Quality After the Massification of Higher Education in Taiwan , 2012 .