Trajectories of subject-interests development and influence factors in higher education

Steffen Wild

doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02691-7

Abstract

It is a well-studied phenomenon, that throughout the course of studying at university, the motivation for the study program decreases. Correlation between motivation and learners’ behaviour, for example the learning process, achievement or, in the worst case, dropout exist. So there is a need for understanding the development of motivation in detail, like that of subject-interests, and for identifying influence factors, especially for higher education. This panel study examined the development of 4,345 students in higher education. Growth mixture models for subject-interests identify two classes of trajectories: “descending interest” and “continuously high interest”. In a next step, the analysis shows that gender, university entrance score, academic field and occupational aspiration influence membership of the classes. The results are discussed with respect to their consequences for education programs, but also with respect to possible new research questions.

Highlights

A timeless challenge for education research is how to improve the academic performance of individuals (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000)
Drawing on the Wisconsin model, the Person-Object-Theory of Interest (POI) and a four‐phase model of interest development, this study examines the trajectories in subject-interests in higher education
According to Richard et al (2003), large correlation effect sizes exist between occupational aspiration and subject-interest (r = 0.31 to r = 0.42)

Summary

Introduction

A timeless challenge for education research is how to improve the academic performance of individuals (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000). Motivation is a key to understanding (Richardson et al, 2012) as it often decreases over time in education programs (Gaspard et al, 2020) and that this decrease in the worst case can lead to student drop out (Schnettler et al, 2020) To look at it in more detail, interest is seen as a crucial dimension within motivation theories that influences learning. Neuroscientists have detected interest as a motivator that influences learning and achievement and suggest that educators should focus on how they can best support their students’ interest development (Hidi, 2006). Research data from educational psychology further supports this claim (Hidi, 2006)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion