Understanding the Nature of Motivation and Motivating Students through Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (Springerbriefs in Education)

This book is based upon three interrelated open naturalistic studies conducted to better characterise the motivational orientation of students in higher education. Open semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with undergraduates, students at community colleges and students in taught postgraduate courses in Hong Kong. The analysis used an exploratory grounded theory approach and resulted in a motivational orientation 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 their perceptions of the teaching and learning environment. The framework can, therefore, be used to explain both initial decisions to enrol and motivation to continue studying. The interviews included descriptions of teaching approaches and learning activities and their effects on motivation. This made it possible to describe a teaching and learning environment conducive to motivation, with eight supportive conditions. Each facet of the teaching and learning environment is illustrated with quotations from the three groups of students, resulting in a guide to configuring a teaching and learning environment conducive to motivating students. The emerging community-college sector in Hong Kong is used as a case study of the effects on student motivation of the expansion of the higher education sector through private colleges. Cultural issues are discussed, particularly the performance of Asian students relative to those in the West. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii The Studies....Pages 1-15 Motivation Framework....Pages 17-20 Relationship to Other Theories of Motivation....Pages 21-41 Motivation to Enrol....Pages 43-61 Motivation to Study....Pages 63-77 Motivating Students through Teaching and Learning....Pages 79-97 Motivating Students through the Curriculum....Pages 99-105 Systemic Issues....Pages 107-121 Cultural and Motivational Issues Concerning the Performance of Chinese Students....Pages 123-145 Reflections on Motivation....Pages 147-153