A Study on Academic Motivation of University Students

Integrative approaches toward the study of academic motivation suggest that motivation encompasses both adaptive and maladaptive cognitive and behavioral dimensions, therefore drawing upon key influential theoretical perspectives; including self-efficacy theory, achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, in its research. This research used the Academic Motivation scale as well as Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale as a primary source of data collection. Quantitative data analyses of this study, presented through descriptive statistical methods found that male and female students do not differ in their levels self-esteem, but vary greatly in their intrinsic academic motivation levels. Pearson and Chi-square analysis revealed a strong negative correlation between self-esteem and academic motivation, and further show that academic degree levels rather than gender have a greater influence on self-esteem and intrinsic motivation. Results of the present study as well as prior studies have shown that, research surrounding gender and self-esteem or self-efficacy or academic motivation levels between genders is still not precise or consistent.