College Students’ Motivations Related to Voluntary Dropout and Under-Overachievement

Abstract

This is an exploration of college students’ motivations that affect their performance, and that might eventually provide educators with suggestions for program modifications. S's were 343 women's college freshmen. Student responses to the author's College Assessment Inventory gave information on eight student motivational variables. Students’ perceptions of meaningfulness of daily college tasks were positively related to overachievement, with r=.22, significant at .001 level. Field of interest (liberal arts and professional), relevance of college to the student's future goals, and warmth of interpersonal relations predicted voluntary dropout, with chi-squares significant beyond the .05 level. A combination of liberal arts, low on future goals, and low on warmth resulted In a 55 percent chance of a student's staying and a 41 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. A professional field" high on future goals, high on warmth combination indicated an 82 percent chance of staying and a 10 percent chance of voluntarily dropping. Further explorations seem called for, but practical applications are not yet warranted.