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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu 10.5281/zenodo.321414 Volume 2│Issue 10│2016 IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS P. K. Gupta1i, Rashmi Mili2 1 Professor and Head, Department of Education, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India 2 Research Scholar, Department of Education, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India Abstract: In the present day world, it has been observed that there is an increase in lack of motivation among the students towards their academics especially when they reach high school because at this stage their attention is diverted and divided among many things like peer group, heterogeneous relations, fashion and incessant entertainment and this hampers their academic performance. So, the present paper is an attempt to find out the relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students of Assam, India. Tool used for the study is Academic Achievement Motivation Test by T.R. Sharma and for the academic achievement the final year examination results were taken. The findings of the study revealed a significant positive relationship between academic motivation and academic achievement. There is a significant difference in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers. But there is a significant sex difference within low achievers with respect to academic motivation. Keywords: academic motivation, academic achievement, high school students 1. Introduction Academic Motivation is the driving force behind student’s motivation to learn. It is the need and desire to excel in academic work. Academic behaviours can be seen as Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved Published by Open Access Publishing Group ©2015. 43 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS intrinsically motivated, extrinsically motivated or amotivated. But it is usually seen that the youths of today often lacks academic motivation and at the secondary school level, the students reach the adolescence stage which is considered a period of storm and stress and developmental changes which makes their interest and attention divided among many things like peer groups, engaging in entertaining activities like movies, social networking, outings or other everyday activities in the school and community. They may also find the academic activities in the schools not engaging and interesting. Research shows that one of the most prominent academic problems plaguing today’s teenage youth is lack of motivation towards academic activities. Desai , Hirunval (1980), Krishnamurthy (2000) found that there is a positive and significant relationship between achievement and academic motivation. Koseoglu (2013) found that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students in academic motivation. It has been found that female students are more intrinsically and extrinsically motivated than the males overall. A review of the literature shows that most of studies are done on motivation in general, on a small sample and had contradictory findings. Hence, in the present study academic motivation in relation to academic achievement was investigated into with a larger sample, which is of need and significance. 2. Objectives of the Study 1. To study the relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students of Kamrup Metropolitan District of Lower Assam, India. 2. To study the differences in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers of Class IX students. 3. To find out the sex differences in the Academic Motivation within high and low achievers of Class IX students. 3. Hypotheses of the Study 1. There is no significant relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students of Kamrup Metropolitan District of Lower Assam, India. 2. There is no significant difference in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers of Class IX students. 3. There is no significant sex difference in Academic Motivation within high and low achievers of Class IX students. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 44 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS 4. Methodology 4.1 Population and Sample The population for the present study consist of all the students studying in Class IX in the secondary schools of the Kamrup Metropolitan District of Assam, India. The Kamrup Metropolitan District has a total of 197 secondary schools out of which 87 are government and 110 are private schools. The total enrolment in Class IX in these schools is approximately 19,892. However, the sample for the present study consist of 995 students (500 male and 495 female) of Class IX which is selected randomly by giving a fair representation of government and private schools situated in different blocks under rural areas and different wards under urban areas. 4.2 Tools Used 1. Academic Achievement Motivation Test by T.R. Sharma 2. Marks obtained by the students in their Class IX District Board Exam. 4.3 Analysis, Interpretation and Discussion A. Relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students To study the relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement, the following null hypothesis was formulated. Hypothesis 1: There is no significant relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students. To test this hypothesis, Pearsons r (Product Moment Correlation) was calculated between the variables of Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement. The following Table 1 shows the co-efficient of correlation between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement. Table 1: Showing the co-efficient of correlation between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement of Class IX students Variables involved Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement Category Male Female Total Sample Size 500 495 Computed correlation value 0.22 0.12 995 0.16 Df 498 493 Table value of r 0.115 0.115 Significance Level 0.01 0.01 993 0.081 0.01 From the above table it is found that the value of r is significant at 0.01 level for male, female and the total sample and therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. It indicates that there is a significant relationship between Academic Motivation and Academic Achievement. It means that the higher the Academic Motivation, the higher will be the European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 45 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS Academic Achievement, and the lower the Academic Motivation; lower will be the Academic Achievement. The above findings are in consonant with the earlier findings Kumar (2013), Sikhwari (2014), Momanyi et al (2015). When the students have high academic motivation, they concentrate more in the classroom, have better study habits, are more persistent, put forth more effort and as a result they perform better in the exam. B. Differences in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers of Class IX students To analyse the differences in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers, the following null hypothesis was formulated. Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers of Class IX students. To test this hypothesis, mean and standard deviation of the Academic Motivation scores of the students were calculated with respect to high and low achievers and the value of mean difference (D) and t-values were calculated. The following Table 3 shows the t-values for testing the significance of difference in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers. Table 2: Showing the differences in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers Categories N M SD High Achievers 217 27.94 4.19 Low Achievers 555 26.45 4.81 Mean Difference(D) df Computed t-value Table t-value Significance Level 1.49 770 4.03 2.58 0.01 From the above table it is revealed that the null hypothesis is rejected. It indicates that there is a significant difference in Academic Motivation between high and low achievers of class IX students. The mean difference of 1.49 is in favour of high achievers, indicating that high achievers have higher academic motivation as compared to low achievers. The above finding goes in line with the findings of Srivastava (1982). High achievers have interest in achieving excellence and success and are goal-oriented and focussed that makes them motivated towards their academics. On the other hand the low achievers may be less motivated due to their chronic failing experiences. C. Sex Difference in Academic Motivation within high and low achievers of Class IX students To study the sex difference in Academic Motivation within high and low achievers of Class IX students the following null hypothesis was formulated: Hypothesis 3: There is no significant sex difference in Academic Motivation within high and low achievers of Class IX students. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 46 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS To test this hypothesis, mean and standard deviation for academic motivation were calculated with respect to high and low achievers among male and female students and then the value of mean difference (D) and t-value were calculated. The following Table 3 shows the t-values for testing the significance of difference of high and low achievers among male and female students with respect to academic motivation. Table 3: Showing the Mean, SD, Mean Difference and t-value for Male and Female students within High and Low Achievers with respect to Academic Motivation Categories Sex N M SD Mean Difference (D) df Computed t-value Table tvalue Significance level High Achievers Male Female 118 99 27.75 28.17 4.32 4.02 0.42 215 0.73 2.60 NS Low Achievers Male Female 268 287 25.50 27.32 5.36 4.05 1.82 553 4.53 2.59 0.01 The above table reveals that in the high achievers group both males and females are equally motivated towards academics but in the low achievers group males have lower motivation than females. The finding goes in agreement with the finding of Koseoglu (2013), where females scored higher than males in academic motivation. The author stated that it may be due to developmental differences between boys and girls. In another study by Sikhwari (2014) females were found to have higher motivation scores than males. It contradicts the findings of Desai (1979) and Hirunval (1980) where males were found to have higher academic motivation than females while Krishnamurthy (2000) found that sex is not a determining factor in academic achievement motivation. Thus, from the above discussion inference can be drawn that there are a few research findings that supports that females score higher than males in academic motivation. However, the present study also holds the conclusion that only in the low achievers group females are more academically motivated than males. But in the high achievers group both male and female are equally motivated towards their academics. Although females in the low achievers group are academically motivated, their high level of anxiety might be affecting their performance level. 5. Implications and Recommendations The findings of the present study have its implications for teachers, parents, educators, researchers, policy makers and other stakeholders in the field of education. Understanding the prevalence of lack of academic motivation among the secondary school students becomes imperative for teachers and parents to undertake steps to European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 47 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS enhance the academic motivation of the students and their academic performance. In the light of the findings a few recommendations are given below: a) Needs and Interest of the students The needs and interest of the students should be taken into consideration because an individual is motivated when his or her needs are satisfied. So, the curriculum should be framed relating to the needs and interest of the child and also related with the real-life situations and experiences of the child. b) Activity-based learning The academic task or teaching-learning process in the school should be activity based that will arouse the curiosity and interest of the learner. The teacher can make the academic activities activity-based by making the students indulge in hands-on activities, group work, relating the content with the students’ life experiences and interest by taking them to field trips and excursions. c) Reinforcement The teacher can motivate the child by manipulating incentives and goals that will induce the child to learn or act to reach the desired goal. When students are positively reinforced after completing a task they are motivated to learn more when similar situation arises. d) Social support Academic Motivation of the students is strongly influenced by key social agents i.e. teachers, parents and friends in the students environment. Research supports the conclusion that students motivation benefits if teachers and parents support their autonomy and competence. e) Use of teaching aids and devices Use of relevant teaching aids and devices are very helpful in the development of motivation among the students. Teachers can use models, pictures, charts, maps, tape recorders, PowerPoint etc. relating to the content being taught and the students also should be involved in the use of these aids that will motivate and engage them in the learning process and also all the senses are involved in the use of aids and devices that keeps learning in the memory for a longer period of time. f) Favourable home environment Research findings show that an academically favourable home environment is likely to enhance the child’s motivation to achieve academic success, which in turn will contribute to good performance in school (Moula, 2010). It is recommended that parents should give encouragement and proper learning facilities to the low achieving child at home. European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 48 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS g) Parent-teacher meeting The schools should organise parent-teacher meeting very often and orient the parents on giving proper guidance to their wards because it is found that often the children from the low achievers group are from home backgrounds where there is no proper parental guidance, poor socio-economic background and lack of proper infrastructural facilities. h) Teaching study skills The low achieving students can be taught proper study skills. The teacher should try to find out the learning style of the child to better understand what works for them. They should be taught to set up a schedule of study, manage time properly, organise work, take good notes and review notes on a regular basis. References 1. Desai, S. D. . A study of Classroom Ethos, Pupils’ Motivation and Academic Achievement. In M.B Buch, Third Survey of Research in Education (pp. 663-664). New Delhi: NCERT. 2. Dubey, R. (2010). Impact of Academic Motivation on Achievement in English. Journal of Educational Studies, 8 (1), 13-17. 3. Hirunval, A. . A Study of Pupils’ Self-Concept, Academic Motivation, Classroom Climate and Academic Performance. In M.B Buch (Ed.), Third Survey of Research in Education (pp.666-667). New Delhi: NCERT. 4. Koseoglu, Y. (2012). Academic Motivation of the first-year university students and the self-determination theory. Educational Research and Reviews. Retrieved from http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/ERR/article-full-textpdf/8DB9FEC5495 5. Krishnamurthy, S. (2000). Achievement as Related to Academic Achievement Motivation and Attitude towards Study of History. The Education Review, 106, 9598. 6. Kumar, D. (2013). A Study of Academic Achievement of School Students in Relation to their Study Habits, Academic Anxiety and Academic Motivation. International Indexed and Refereed Journal 4. Retrieved from http://www.ssmrac.com 7. Moula, J.M (2010). A Study of the relationship between academic achievement motivation and the home environment among standard eight pupils. Educational Research and Reviews. Retrieved from European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 49 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/ERR/article-full-text-pdf/67F7B684042 8. Sikhwari, T. D. (2014). A Study of the Relationship between Motivation, SelfConcept and Academic Achievement of students at a university in Limpopo Province, South Africa. International Journal of Educational Science, 6 (1), 19-25. Retrieved from http://krepublishers.com/02-Journals/IJES/IJES-06-0-000-14- Web/IJES-06-1-000-14-ABST-PDF/IJES-06-1-019-14-123-Sikhwari-T-D/IJES-06-1019-14-123-Sikhwari-T-D-Tt.pdf 9. Srivastava, J. (1982). Non-Cognitive factors in Academic Achievement. Meerut: Anu books. 10. Momanyi, J. M. et al. (2015). Effect of Students age on Academic Motivation and Academic Performance among High School Students in Kenya. Asian Journal of Education and E-learning, 3 (5). Retrieved from http://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJEEL/article/view/3130 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 2 │ Issue 10 │ 2016 50 P.K. Gupta, Rashmi Mili IMPACT OF ACADEMIC MOTIVATION ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: A STUDY ON HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS Creative Commons licensing terms Author(s) will retain the copyright of their published articles agreeing that a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) terms will be applied to their work. Under the terms of this license, no permission is required from the author(s) or publisher for members of the community to copy, distribute, transmit or adapt the article content, providing a proper, prominent and unambiguous attribution to the authors in a manner that makes clear that the materials are being reused under permission of a Creative Commons License. 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