A Cultural Heuristic Approach to Studying Achievement Motivation: Building Practical and Useful Theories of Motivation for Jamaican Undergraduate Students

• In Event: Achievement Goals and Beliefs

Abstract

In recent years, there have been increasing calls to develop a more contextually-based, sociocultural perspective of achievement motivation. In line with this emerging area of research, this qualitative study examines Jamaican, of the West Indies, undergraduate students’ perception of motivation, especially factors contributing to why they are motivated or unmotivated. The results indicate that both cognitive (e.g., beliefs about ability) and sociocultural (e.g., familial, economic, religious) factors impact Jamaican undergraduate students’ motivation. However, the sociocultural factors play a more critical role in impacting their motivation and academic achievement than the cognitive factors.

Authors

• Karen Elizabeth Clayton, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

• Gerard Robertson, Fordham University

• Akane Zusho, Fordham University