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- Title
Motivations for Going to University: A Qualitative Study and Class Project.
- Authors
Schmidt, Heather; Carocci, Nicole; Gardner, Chris; Serroul, Alicia; Topalovic, Megan
- Abstract
We explored student motivations for attending university, including how motivations may change over the course of one's postsecondary career, by conducting semi-structured interviews with 8 upper-year undergraduates. Participants were also asked to reflect back on their own experiences and provide advice for new university students. We conducted a grounded theory analysis to identify common themes running across the 8 interviews. What emerged was a pattern of transition from a predominance of external/extrinsic motivators at the beginning of one's university career, into increasingly internal/intrinsic motivators as students discovered their passions and interests. Two unexpected external/extrinsic themes to emerge included: 'unhelpful high-school guidance-counselling' and 'motivation to disprove people who underestimate you'. The strongest internal/intrinsic motivation was 'desire to help others'. Students can apply these findings to their own lives and as well, universities can gain a better understanding of the supports that are needed to retain students through to graduation.
- Subjects
MOTIVATION (Psychology); CLASSROOM environment; QUALITATIVE research; STRUCTURED employment interviews; EDUCATIONAL counseling
- Publication
Collected Essays on Learning & Teaching, 2014, Vol 7, Issue 2, p1
- ISSN
2368-4526
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.22329/celt.v7i2.3996