Personal variables, motivation and avoidance learning strategies in undergraduate students

Abstract

This study examines the relationships among students' personal variables, their initial motivation and the avoidance learning strategies they used during the teaching/learning process followed in the Educational Psychology subject matter. The sample comprised 195 Spanish undergraduate students who studied Educational Psychology. A questionnaire was administered at the beginning of the academic year to measure students' personal variables and their initial motivation, while another was administered at the end of the academic year to measure students' involvement in their learning process through the avoidance strategies they used. The data analysis was done by using structural equation modeling. The results reveal important associations among students' personal variables, their motivation at the beginning of the academic year and the avoidance strategies used during the learning process followed in the Educational Psychology subject matter. The implications of these findings for teaching and learning a specific subject matter in formal classroom contexts are discussed.