Investigation of Academic and Athletic Motivation on Academic Performance Among University Students

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the academic and athletic motivation and identify the factors that determine the academic performance among university students in the Emirates of Dubai. The study examined motivation based on non-traditional measure adopting a scale to measure both academic as well as athletic motivation. Keywords-academic performance, academic motivation, athletic performance, university students, business management, academic achievement, career motivation, sports motivation I. I NTRODUCTION A number of research studies have been undertaken to predict the academic performance of students. During the last decade some research has also been carried out on the performance of student athlete. These studies assume importance because they have an important impact and influence on the academic performance of students. Universities and colleges today have a number of students from countries all over the world. These students come with diverse cultural background and societal traits. It is therefore important to identify the factors that motivate the students to improve their academic performance and also ascertain the reasons for athletic motivation. This assumes importance because Sports Administrators at universities and colleges are faced with the difficulty of encouraging students to participate in sports, in spite of the benefits and scholarships that have been provided. Over a period of time, educators and administrators have taken up the challenge of improving the academic performance of students. However, there is a common misconception that only academic performance matters. Consequently, students who excel in academics tend to give a low priority to athletic performance.