A Study of University Students’ Motivation and Its Relationship with Their Academic Performance

Abstract

God-gifted talents, best teachers and best schooling augment the academic performance and students’ motivation is prerequisite for students’ accomplishment. This study attempts to identify the influence of students’ motivation on their academic performance. The sample of 342 individuals studying in different universities of Pakistan was selected. Questionnaires comprising three parts were sent directly to targeted segment. In the first part, the first few questions are related to personal information; second part consists of thirty questions of “The University Student Motivation and Satisfaction Questionnaire Version 2”, which was used to measure students’ extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and last part is related to academics performance of the students. The study delineates that students’ motivations dimensions extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation has positive impact on academic performance of students. Academics performance amplifies between the ranges of 23 percent and 34 percent due to extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation and the overall model is significant (p<0.05). When we compare variables on individual bases, students who adapt self-exploratory variable and altruism variable, rejection of alternative options variable tend to perform better, whereas student who adapt career and qualifications variable, social enjoyment variable and social pressure variable tend to perform less then expected. The study accentuates that students’ motivation is a vital part of students’ success.

Keywords: Students’ motivation, Academic performance, Intrinsic motivation, Extrinsic motivation