Academic motivation and satisfaction among students of education: an international perspective

This paper presents part of the results of the international project titled 'From Tradition to Innovation in Teacher Training Institutions (TOINN)', in which 13,939 European and Latin American university students taking Education Sciences participated. The objective of the study was to trace the students' motivational profiles and to detect which factors from their social backgrounds and academic satisfaction explained and predicted their academic motivation. To this end a 33-item questionnaire was used which explored the social dimensions of the students' backgrounds and experience, including socio-demographic variables, the type of student, their satisfaction with different aspects of their university experience, their social and university participation and a range of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors. The questionnaires were administered online at 24 educational institutions in 3 European countries and 7 in Latin America. Results suggest a mostly female socio-demographic profile, with an average age of around 25, of socio-economically medium or low family origin and needing to combine studying with working. Among their reasons for choosing the degree, intrinsic motives associated with identity and achievement (suitability to their aptitudes, desire for social mobility and the pleasure of studying for its own sake) carried more weight than extrinsic ones such as achieving enhanced social status. Both types of motivation were differentially associated with various elements of academic satisfaction. A linear regression model showed that the variables predicting motivation were the parents' age, education and type of employment and the fact of working while studying. Finally, the limitations of the study are discussed and future lines of research suggested, especially regarding the educational institution as a vehicle of social mobility and the role of gender in academic motivation.