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Characterising the motivational orientation of students in higher education: A naturalistic study in three Hong Kong universities
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 17:35 authored by David KemberDavid Kember, Hong, C, Ho, ABackground. Consideration of motivation in higher education has often been drawn upon theories and research that were based upon school or workplace studies. Aims. This paper reports an open naturalistic study to better characterize the motivational orientation of students in higher education. Method. Open semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 36 students from three universities in Hong Kong. The analysis used an exploratory grounded theory approach. Results. Motivation was characterized as a framework with six continua with positive and negative poles. On enrolment, students had positions on the six facets of motivation, which shifted as they progressed through their degree, according to perceptions of their teaching and learning environment. The positive poles of the six continua were given labels: compliance, individual goal setting, interest, career, sense of belonging and university lifestyle. Conclusion. The formulation of motivational orientation is consistent with contemporary social cognitive theories of motivation in that it has been characterized as a multifaceted phenomenon, with students expressing context-dependent multiple motives. © 2008 The British Psychological Society.
History
Publication title
British Journal of Educational PsychologyVolume
78Pagination
313-329ISSN
0007-0998Department/School
Faculty of EducationPublisher
British Psychological SocPlace of publication
St Andrews House, 48 Princess Rd East, Leicester, England, Leics, Le1 7DrRights statement
Copyright 2008 The British Psychological SocietyRepository Status
- Restricted