ERIC Number: EJ918357
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Apr
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0729-4360
EISSN: N/A
The Direct and Indirect Effect of Motivation for Learning on Students' Approaches to Learning through the Perceptions of Workload and Task Complexity
Kyndt, Eva; Dochy, Filip; Struyven, Katrien; Cascallar, Eduardo
Higher Education Research and Development, v30 n2 p135-150 Apr 2011
The present study investigates the direct and indirect influence of motivation for learning, as understood by the self-determination theory, on students' approaches to learning. Concerning the direct influence of motivation, results show that autonomous motivation is positively related to a deep approach to learning and negatively to a surface approach. Motivation also has an indirect effect on students' approaches to learning through the perceptions of workload and task complexity, in particular through the perception of a lack of information. The greater the extent to which students are autonomously motivated, the less they perceive that they have a lack of information and the less they are inclined to adopt a surface approach to learning. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Student Motivation, Learning Motivation, Learning Strategies, Self Determination, Personal Autonomy, Attitude Measures, Difficulty Level, College Students
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A