ERIC Number: EJ917458
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Mar
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0307-5079
EISSN: N/A
More Can Mean Less Motivation: Applying a Motivational Orientation Framework to the Expanded Entry into Higher Education in Hong Kong
Kember, David; Hong, Celina; Ho, Amber; Ho, Amaly
Studies in Higher Education, v36 n2 p209-225 Mar 2011
A motivational orientation framework for higher education has previously been derived from interviews with 36 undergraduate students in an elite university system. The framework consists of six interacting facets of motivation represented by continua labelled: compliance, individual goal setting, sense of belonging, interest, career and university lifestyle. The aim of this study was to see whether the framework also applied to entrants to a community and vocational college sector, the emergence of which has boosted participation to mass higher education status. Individual interviews were conducted with 25 students in five colleges in Hong Kong. Analysis identified main themes and referenced these against those of the previous study. The data were consistent with the facets of the original framework. A fuller understanding was reached of the less motivated ends of the continua, as these were more commonly displayed than by the undergraduate sample in the previous study. There was evidence of avoidance goals, in the form of fear of failure. Sense of belonging was, in some cases, manifest in a form in which students socialised at the expense of academic work. There was evidence of interest being stifled because of curriculum design problems, as the awards were often not suited as terminal vocational awards, nor led to places in undergraduate degrees. The conclusion was that the motivational orientation framework also applies to the type of students entering mass higher education systems. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Higher Education, Curriculum Design, Goal Orientation, Student Motivation, Foreign Countries, Interviews, Student Attitudes, Selective Admission, Compliance (Psychology), Student School Relationship, Student Interests, Career Choice, Socialization, Academic Achievement
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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
Identifiers - Location: Hong Kong
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A