Academic achievement motivation in college students : the effect of grade information on motivation

Date
1994
Authors
Kirk-Kuwaye, Michael R.
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Abstract
The effect of mid-term grade information on the self-reported motivation patterns of college students is examined in this study. Seven-hundred twenty-five college students in four introductory courses, representing a cross section of disciplines, were administered the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The MSLQ scales used were those purporting to measure intrinsic goal orientation, extrinsic goal orientation, task (course) value, control of learning beliefs, and self-efficacy. The MSLQ was administered three times: (a) at the beginning of the semester, (b) just prior to the first examination or project of the semester, and (c) shortly after the examination or project grades were made available to the students. Of the 725 students who were administered the questionnaire, 227 students provided an identification number at each of the three administrations and were the study's sample (n = 227). It was found that (a) there was a general decline in motivation across dimensions before grade information was received; (b) the students who received low grades and grades below and above what they had expected accounted for most of the pre- to post-grade information decline in intrinsic goal orientation, self-efficacy and task value; and, (c) three motivation dimensions were situation-specific, which other research have found to be strongly related to deeper processing learning strategies and to final grade. It was also found that younger students and students who were first in their family to attend a university were more likely to show a decline in their control of learning beliefs levels than other students. These findings are significant because they add empirical evidence to the expectancy-value motivation model and help reveal to instructors and learning assistance specialists the relationships between examination or project grade information and student motivation.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1994.
Includes bibliographical references (l. 161-168)
Microfiche.
xii, 168 leaves, bound illus. 29 cm
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Theses for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Educational Psychology; no. 3000
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