Achievement-Oriented Motivation Levels of University Students

Abstract

Motivation is the power that gives us action, the continuity in our action. It is clear that motivation is the most important component of success and effective teaching in education as it is in every field of life. Highly motivated individuals have a sense of self-realization that is at the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, as well as being successful and confident. There are internal and external resources that influence the motivation of students' success in education. The structure of the relationships between achievement-focused motivation resources and academic achievement may vary according to the learning stages. In this study, achievement-oriented motivations of university students were examined in terms of gender, class, department, academic average, university preference order and membership variables of student club. 440 students from 9 different departments at Istanbul Technical University participated the study. The Achievement Oriented Motivation Scale was used as a measurement tool based on measuring participants' motivation for success. The collected data were analyzed by Pearson correlation, t-test and one-way ANOVA. Variables that are related to achievement-focused motivation and that are different have been discussed in relation to field literature in order to produce possible solution proposals.