EXAMINING MA TESOL STUDENTS' MOTIVATIONS FOR JOINING POSTGRADUATE STUDIES: A STUDY OF INTRINSIC, EXTRINSIC AND DEMOTIVATION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v10i1.5994Keywords:
postgraduate studies, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, self-determination theoryAbstract
For examining the motivations of MA TESOL students and the factors that influence their decisions, the self-determination theory of motivation was taken into consideration. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalent style of motivation and the factors associated with motivation. Moreover, the study aims to identify any lack of motivation. A mixed-methods design (quantitative and qualitative) was adopted involving the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and a semi-structured interview. The findings indicate that MA TESOL students were significantly motivated to join the program. In addition, the prevalent styles of motivation were a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic, with a slightly stronger emphasis on extrinsic motivation. Moreover, the factors that influence motivation were the desire for personal growth, career advancement, and external rewards. In conclusion, this study is mainly focused on identifying styles of motivation and understanding the underlying factors that motivate graduate students to pursue a master’s degree in TESOL.
Article visualizations:
References
Abdullah, A. M., & Saeid, M. (2016). Factors affecting students’ choice of MBA program in Kuwait Universities. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(3), 119-128. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijbm.v11n3p119
Al Habahbeh, A. E. (2014). Motives of Students' Joining the Master's Program at Princess Alia University College/Al Balqa Applied University. International Education Studies, 7(1), 81-91. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n1p81
Al-hadrawi, H. (2017). What is motivation?. Motivation. https://www.uobabylon.edu.iq/eprints/publication_3_25164_494.pdf
Al-Shredi, N. (2024). The Motivations for Joining the Postgraduate Program and the Challenges Confronting Libyan MA Students at the Department of English. مجلة كلية اللغات. جامعة طرابلس-ليبيا, 1(29), 200-172. https://doi.org/10.56592/flj.v1i29.1068
Amani, J. Myeya, H. and Mhewa, M. (2022). Understanding the motives for pursuing postgraduate studies and causes of late completion: supervisors and supervisees’ experiences, Sage Open (1)12, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221109586
Dornëy, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. London: New Jersey. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/The-Psychology-of-the-Language-Learner-Individual-Differences-in-Second-Language-Acquisition/Dornyei/p/book/9780805860184?srsltid=AfmBOoow4yF-vnIt3rFZBsHIhrRgpbJp6Mxgw0draAbUP9KpdLb_vt1b
Ho, K. K., Lo, P., Chiu, D. K., Kong, E. W. S., Chen, J. C. C., Zhou, Q., ... & Dalsgard, S. (2018). Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations of Master of Library and Information Science students: A cross-cultural comparative study. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 50(2), 141-156. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000616664564
Hegarty, N., Brasco, R., & Lu, F. L. (2012). What motivates students in graduate school? An empirical study. An Empirical Study, Business Education & Accreditation vol. 4, 39-47. Retrieved from https://www.theibfr2.com/RePEc/ibf/beaccr/bea-v4n2-2012/BEA-V4N2-2012-4.pdf
Javaeed, A., Asghar, A., Allawat, Z., Haider, Q., Mustafa, K. J., & Ghauri, S. K. (2019). Assessment of Academic Motivation Level of Undergraduate Medical Students of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Cureus, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.4296
Kotera, Y., Taylor, E., Fido, D., Williams, D., & Tsuda-McCaie, F. (2023). Motivation of UK graduate students in education: self-compassion moderates the pathway from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 42(12), 10163–10176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02301-6
Mauliya, I., Relianisa, R. Z., & Rokhyati, U. (2020). Lack of motivation factors creating poor academic performance in the context of graduate English department students. Linguists: Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 6(2), 73-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.29300/ling.v6i2.3604
McGee, E. O., White, D. T., Jenkins, A. T., Houston, S., Bentley, L. C., Smith, W. J., & Robinson, W. H. (2016). Black engineering students’ motivation for PhD attainment: Passion plus purpose. Journal for Multicultural Education, 10(2), 167-193. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JME-01-2016-0007
Royani, H. (2023). Motivational Factors of Graduate Students Pursuing a Master Degree in English Education at Two Selected Universities in Jambi (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Jambi). Retrieved from https://repository.unja.ac.id/53330/6/Hilda%20Royani_Full.pdf
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68. Retrieved from https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary educational psychology, 25(1), 54-67. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary educational psychology, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Ul Haq, S., & Shahzad, K. (2021). Challenges faced by LIS postgraduate students in their dissertations writing. Library Philosophy and Practice, 1-16. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5882/
Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., Blais, M. R., Briere, N. M., Senecal, C., & Vallieres, E. F. (1992). The Academic Motivation Scale: A measure of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education. Educational and psychological measurement, 52(4), 1003-1017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013164492052004025
Wiegerovaa, A. (2016). A study of motives of doctoral studies. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, 217, 123–131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.02.043
Wen, J., & Sha, D. (2014). Chinese students' view on motivation to pursue postgraduate studies. Retrieved from https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:732641/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
