Academic Motivation as a Determining Factor of Class

Performance of High and Low Performing Grade 12 Students of

Philippine Nautical and Technological Colleges (PNTC)

PREPARED BY:

Ian Gray S Dela Cruz

Joshua Miranda

Lawrence Ralph L. Picazo

Clyde Tyrone L. Rodejo

Leonie Mar Singson

 CHAPTER I

PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Studying is an important activity in a person's life. It is through

studying that people learn, by reading, writing, listening, or asking
questions. It always has been a continuous process which involves a lot of
patience, hard work and dedication. Compromising it might affect
student's performance. Everything that involves studying must be given a
favorable time and effort in order to obtain study success.

Time is quite a difficult thing to manage by high school students.

Activities at the school, pressures, family problems and other risks maybe
the reasons why they are having a hard time to handle time properly.
Moreover, high school is the developing time of all the teenagers. It is the
time where changes occur. The time where all the human aspects are
shaped and altered which carry all throughout their entire lives. These
rapid changes may cause varying behavior, attitude, and values that are
uncomfortable among the high school students (Sun & Shek, 2012).
When these changes and problems as an individual and student interact
with each other, studying maybe compromised and motivation becomes
less as time goes by (Dobson, 2012).

Motivation is defined as “the process whereby goal-directed activity

is instigated and sustained” (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). It is described as
“an internal state that arouses, directs, and maintains behavior”
(Woolfolk, 2004). It is also explained as “an internal force that activates,
guides, and maintains behavior over time” and asserted that motivation
comprises of some multidimensional systems that guide individuals’
willingness to approach or to avoid particular tasks (Thorkildsen, Nicholls,
Bates,Brankis, & DeBolt, 2002). From these various definitions,
motivation can be concluded as inner forces, enduring traits, behavioral
responses to stimuli and sets of beliefs and affects (Evans, 2000).
According to McClelland, Atkinson, Clark and Lowell (1953),
motivation which is identified as the most influential of all factors that
affect student performance has been found positively associated with
academic achievement, performance and will to learn. This emphasizes
that academic motivation is one of the basic factors for academic
performance. It is described as “the cognitive, emotional and behavioral
indicators of students’ investment in and attachment to education”
(Tucker, Zayco & Herman, 2002). Moreover, it is suggested that
academic motivation is the only factor that directly impacts academic
achievement; all other factors affect performance through their effect in
motivation (Tucker et. al, 2002). Research has consistently found that
academically motivated students tend to perceive school and learning as
valuable, like to learn, and enjoy learning-related activities (Zimmerman,
2008). Studies have identified lack of motivation as a primary reason for
underachievement (Wigfield, Lutz, & Wagner, 2005).
There are significant factors which affect learning and motivation of
the students towards academic performance. For example, school
climate, educators’ beliefs and perceptions, and family and social values
have been demonstrated as important factors affecting student
motivation (Eccles, 2007).
On the other hand, motivation is significantly differed by high,
middle, & low achievers (Matuga, 2OO9). Studies have revealed that
students who are self-regulating, who set goals or plans, and who try to
monitor and control their own cognition, motivation, and behavior
predicated upon these goals are more likely to do much better in school
while those who have no control on their cognition, motivation and
behavior are more likely to achieve less academically (Schunk, Meece &
Pintrich, 2008).
Academic motivation has a direct impact to class performance. This
study aims to show the correlation academic functioning of the students
with respect to their motivation. It investigates the motivation of high
performing students and low performing students in studying.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Generally, the purpose of the study is to investigate how affects

academic motivation as performance of Grade 12 students at Philippine
Nautical and Technological Colleges (PNTC). Specifically, it will address
the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the grade 12 students in PNTC I terms of:

1.1 Gender
1.2 Average grade in 1st semester
1.3 Motivation
2. What is the relationship between students’ academic motivation
and class performance in:
2.1 high performing students
2.2 low performing students

HYPOTHESES

This presents the null and alternative hypotheses as well as the

thesis statement of the researchers.

Null Hypothesis: There is no relationship between academic

motivation and class performance of Grade 12 students of Philippine
Nautical and Technological Colleges.
 Alternative Hypothesis: There is a relationship between academic
motivation and class performance of Grade 12 students of Philippine
Nautical and Technological Colleges.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The present study is mostly based on theoretical perspective that

has produced significant empirical evidence supporting the theoretical
assertions of the researchers. It is the social-cognitive theory of self-
regulated learning (Bandura, 1997; Zimmerman, 2000). According to the
social-cognitive view, academic self-regulation consists of motivation
components and is represented by individual learners’ thoughts, affects,
and behaviors used to attain learning goals. Self- regulated learners enlist
self-reactive influences to motivate their efforts and employ appropriate
strategies to attain success. From the motivation side of academic self-
regulation, self-regulated learners are motivated because they view tasks
associated with learning as valuable, are highly self-efficacious, expend
effort to achieve goals, and demonstrate persistence when they
encounter difficult tasks. From the metacognition side of academic self-
regulation, self-regulated learners use effective metacognitive strategies
such as planning learning activities, monitoring learning processes, and
regulating the use of cognitive strategies This theory has been the basis
of the researchers to the present study. It encapsulates the hypothesis
formulated by them.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The Input, Process, Output (IPO) Model is a diagram that shows

procedure and methods of the study. It is invented and first used by
Davis in 1998. It is used to illustrate and describe the structure or
process of information (Goel, 2010). In IPO diagram, there is an input
that shall be the materials, person, or information that will undergo
process to arrive on a result (Waring, 1996).
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
The profile of the Gathering data Academic
Grade 12 students through: Motivation as a
- Gender Determining
- Questionnaire
Factor of Class
- Average s/Survey
Performance of
grade in 1st - Statistical
High and Low
analysis Performing
semester
- Interpretation Grade 12
- Motivation of data Students of
Philippine
The relationship
Nautical and
between students’ Technological
academic Colleges
(PNTC)
motivation and
class performance
in:

- high
performing
students
- low
performing
students
 Figure 1 The above figure describes the conceptual framework of
the study wherein the input consists of profile of the Grade 12 students
(Gender, Average grade in 1st semester and motivation) and the
relationship between students’ academic motivation and class
performance in: high performing students and low performing students.
On the second part, the process that is being used is questionnaires,
survey, statistical analysis and interpretation of data. The output is the
academic motivation as a determining factor of class performance of high
and low performing Grade 12 students of Philippine Nautical and
Technological Colleges (PNTC).

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of this study will benefit students since it can help
them improve and excel in their academic performance through applying
the recommendations made by the researchers on their studies. Teachers
will be guided on what are the effective teaching techniques in teaching in
order to foster motivation to the students in achieving good academic
performance. Different teaching strategies can be suggested by the
administration to the teachers in order to motivate the students in
achieving good academic performance. Department of Education, on the
other hand, will be guided accordingly in formulating policies and
strategies on the academic curriculum with the information the study
provides. The researchers can use the study as a reference for the other
works and researches related to the topic.
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

The study was conducted to assess the academic motivation of

Grade 12 students of Philippine Nautical and Technological Colleges
(PNTC). The study focused on motivation of Grade 12 students on
studying. The study was conducted in PNTC during January 2019. The
aspects looked into were the motivation of the high and low performing
Grade 12 students. On the other hand, students of other schools,
students who are not in Grade 12, training staffs, faculty members, and
instructors are excluded from the study.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Academic Motivation. is the internal state of the students that

drives them to sustain their behavior towards studying. It also indicates
students’ attachment and investment in studying.

Class performance. is the behavior of the students toward

studying in the aspects of written activities, non-written activities and
extracurricular activities which help them achieve academic success.

Studying. is the process of acquiring knowledge through reading,

writing, listening, executing or asking questions.

Academic Achievement - is the evidence of knowledge

acquisition, literacy, and learning. In a school environment, this
achievement is normally assessed through student assignments, class
participation, test scores in examinations, and individual cumulative
grades.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies

relevant to the research work. The researchers reviewed books, journals
and published articles, both foreign and local, which provided relevant
facts and background information about the elderly.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

LOCAL LITERATURE

In an article, “Motivating Students to Excel Academically” (2017)

states that teachers would always have the vital role of shaping the lives
of learners to eventually reach for their dreams in the long run. They
have to endure all difficulties they might encounter in achieving optimum
learning inside the classroom. Hence, students must have to be
motivated at all times to hold on to their grip of enthusiasm towards
learning. Teachers’ role is to make the students to perform well in their
classes through motivating them. It is one of the most essential aspects
of becoming a teacher is learning how to motivate your students.
Students who are not motivated will not learn effectively. They won’t
retain information and worst they won’t participate. These may lessen the
chances to achieve the targeted aims for the lessons. So, teachers must
know ways and means to motivate students to excel academically.
Though motivation is part of the structure of the lesson plan or the
entirety of the delivery of the lesson itself, it is needed to plan even
better ways to let the students be into learning more. Sometimes, reward
method works. Offering students small incentives makes learning fun and
motivates students to push themselves. Motivated students are more
excited to learn and participate. This eventually leads to students even
excelling with their works academically.
FOREIGN LITERATURE

According to Hoffman (2015), when investigating motivation, the

Medical Doctor seeks to determine the causality of behavior. Armed with
knowledge of what factors result in specific behaviors, the investigator
can determine appropriate strategies to mediate the undesirable behavior
or sustain that which is desired. Although the ultimate goal is behavioral
change, sometimes only behavioral consequences, not motives, are
addressed. For example, one of the most frequent issues with which
teachers wrestle in the classroom is academic procrastination, where a
resounding 75–90% of undergraduate college students are estimated to
delay completing academic tasks, such as homework. Typical solutions
used to address the homework problem include giving extra credit for
timely completion of work, granting special privileges to homework
completers, or perhaps overemphasizing the role of homework when
determining course grades. However, none of these “solutions” actually
addresses the reasons underlying academic procrastination, including
questionable beliefs about learner competency, lack of interest in the
subject, or the perception of a controlling teaching environment and loss
of autonomy. Teachers addressing academic procrastination with
incentives may successfully change behavior, but rewards do little to
address why students fail to complete homework in the first place (pp.
29-30).

Hoffman (2015) added that the homework dilemma brings to the

forefront one of the most salient issues when interpreting scientific
evidence: establishing a clear interpretive distinction between correlation
and causality. The homework example suggested that certain factors
cause procrastination, while teacher incentives, such as grades, are
associated with reducing academic procrastination.

More recent research broadly examines individual motivation and

strategy differences among individuals. Studies frequently investigate the
role of socioeconomic factors, culture, and other contextual and social
influences on learning and performance outcomes. The common thread
throughout these studies is understanding how interactivity among
motivational variables influences optimal motivation for learning and
performance. Perhaps, the most significant revelation is the idea of
reciprocity between learning outcomes and sustaining personal beliefs
about motivation. As students encounter success in learning, motivation
to learn is enhanced. Students begin to believe in their own success and
gain confidence that the strategies they use are influential in the learning
process. When the learning strategies lead to success, students are
motivated to continue using the effective strategy. Reciprocally, learner
perception of content mastery leads to reaching academic goals, further
improving motivation. The reciprocal relationship becomes a powerful
cycle for the success of the student. Reciprocity can be equally
devastating when students develop counterproductive beliefs and exhibit
maladaptive motivation patterns when learning obstacles or failures are
encountered. Although these findings imply causality, only under rare
circumstances should we confidently conclude that one factor actually
causes the other to happen (pp. 30-31).

Motivation has been shown to positively influence study strategy,

academic performance, adjustment and well-being in students in domains
of education other than medical education (Vansteenkiste et al. 2005).
Studying motivation particularly in medical students is important because
medical education is different from general education in several aspects,
some of them being high intensity of study, the requirement to carry out
clinical work along with study and the need to follow a highly specifically
defined path to be able to qualify to practice as doctors. In a literature
review we found that the positive correlation between motivation and
performance has not been substantiated strongly in medical education as
different studies have contradictory findings (Kusurkar et al. 2011). The
objective of the present research study was to explore the relationships
between motivation, study strategy, study effort and academic
performance among medical students.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

LOCAL STUDIES

Tiangco (2014) mentioned that unmotivated students are at risk in

failing their courses, of frequently absenting themselves from their
classes, dropping out, or of not graduating on time. As such, motivation is
an important aspect to consider by educators since this is usually seen as
crucial to performing well academically.

Tiangco (2014) explained that motivation is deemed to be crucial to

student success, influencing what, when, and how learning happens.
Students who are highly motivated demonstrate eagerness to learn and
subsequently engage in behaviors geared towards the acquisition of
knowledge. Together with energy, effort, and persistence, this often leads
to enhanced performance. Gains showed by motivated students may be
the outcome of a systematic approach to their learning efforts. Also,
motivation is reciprocally related to learning and performance. This
means that when motivated students perform well, this further
strengthens their academic motivation to continue to do so. In general,
motivation level has been found to be strong predictors of academic
achievement in the sense that students who report higher levels of
motivation also report higher levels of learning or get better grades
relative to their peers. Performance will also depend on the quality of
motivation, such that performance is best when motivation is at an
optimal level rather than when it is below or above it. Furthermore, the
form of motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, will have different
effects on learning and performance. Students are more likely to benefit
when they are intrinsically motivated to engage in classroom activities
and in the learning process. One intrinsic motivator is when the doer is
happy with what he or she is doing. Motivated and highly performing
students experience a higher level of satisfaction. It may be that the
satisfaction derived from engagement in the tasks and what ensues from
good performance (e.g., high grades, social praise) serve as potent
positive reinforcers. These feed on the initial motivation such that the
student is inclined to continue actions that would bring about desired
rewards.

On the research by Haarms (2014), self-efficacy was positively

related to academic performance for all culture and socio economic
variables. Students self-reported self-efficacy did influence their overall
academic performance. This relationship is consistent with historical
results from educational research performed in western based studies
where a clear relationship is established between high self-efficacy results
and performance Tentative linkages have been proposed to link cultural
awareness and self-efficacy in the sphere of academic performance with
early indicators of a higher individualism in Anglo cultures impacting upon
self-efficacy. The relationship between self-efficacy and self- awareness is
established and cultural variations have been recorded in non- academic
spheres and directly for Confucian cultures underestimation of self-
efficacy.
 Additionally, Haarms (2014) indicated that intrinsic value was
positively related to academic performance for all culture and socio
economic variables tested. This indicates students with a positive
motivation towards the curriculum content, students who were motivated
to learn the content are more engaged in deeper level comprehension.
This linkage indicates that students who are either interested in the
subject material, or believe it is important to them, develop higher levels
of self-control and ultimately higher performance.

FOREIGN STUDIES

Ahmed and Khanam (2014) in their study revealed that there is a

significant correlation between academic achievement and intrinsic goal
orientation. It means the higher the intrinsic goal orientation, higher the
academic achievement. This finding is consistent with some previous
studies (Was, 2006; Chan, 2008; Touminen-Soini et a1.,2008; Chyung et
a1.,2010; Bulus,2011; Gul & Shehzad, 2012; Stegers-Jager et al., 2012).
Intrinsic goal orientation indicates students' participating in a task for
reasons such as challenge, is curiosity, and mastery. Students who are
intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as
well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities.
According to cognitive approaches to motivation, we are more apt to
preserve, work harder, and produce work of higher quality when
motivation for task is intrinsic rather than extrinsic (Feldman, 2008). So,
it was expected to find significant positive correlation between intrinsic
goal orientation and academic achievement.

Ahmed and Khanam (2014) indicated that the higher the academic
self-efficacy, the higher the academic achievement. A possible reason is
that self-efficacious students participate more readily, work harder,
persist longer and have fewer adverse emotional reactions when they
encounter difficulties than those who doubt their capabilities. An
individual with high sense of self-efficacy believes in his or her capability
to carry out a task, invest effort in the activity, persist in the face of
difficulty and has an optimistic outlook. Even students with high sense of
self-efficacy believes study harder and persist longer when they approach
difficulties, whereas students who have low self-efficacy belief perform
worse at learning tasks and tend to avoid difficult task.

Ahmed and Khanam (2014) added that low achiever students differ
from high achiever students in intrinsic goal orientation, and academic
self-efficacy. Students who are high achievers have more intrinsic goal
orientation and higher academic self-efficacy than low achiever students.
The academic achievement was significantly and positively correlated with
intrinsic goal orientation, and self-efficacy.

As stated by Lepper (2015), in the classroom, it seems, intrinsic

and extrinsic motivation can and do coexist. When measured separately,
these two orientations proved only moderately correlated, suggesting that
they represent two somewhat orthogonal dimensions of motivation,
rather than simply the opposite ends of a single dimension. His study
suggests that it is not whether a child is intrinsically or extrinsically
motivated, but how much intrinsic and how much extrinsic motivation
that child displays. It may be adaptive for students to seek out activities
that they find inherently pleasurable, while simultaneously paying
attention to the extrinsic consequences of those activities in any specific
context. Seeking only immediate enjoyment with no attention to external
contingencies and constraints may substantially reduce a student’s future
outcomes and opportunities. Conversely, attending only to extrinsic
constraints and incentives can substantially undermine intrinsic interest
and the enjoyment that can come from learning itself. Additionally, there
was a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and performance
both in class and on standardized tests.
 CHAPTER III

METHODS AND PROCEDURE

This chapter presents the methods used in the study. It describes

how the study was conducted, the instrument used in gathering the data,
the setting of the study, the respondents of the study, the sampling
procedure, and the statistical treatment used.

RESEARCH METHOD

Correlational method of research was used in the study. The

correlational research is a type of non-experimental research method in
which a researcher measures two variables, understands and assess the
statistical relationship between them with no influence from extraneous
variable. The correlation between two variables is shown through
correlation coefficient that is a value measured between -1 and +1. A
correlation coefficient is a statistical measure that calculates the strength
of the relationship between two variables (Bhat, 2019). Since the study
was concerned with the correspondence of class performance and
academic motivation, the correlational research was the most appropriate
method to use. The data collection was done through survey form and
observation.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

The primary tool used in gathering the data in this study was a
survey form. The survey form was obtained from Pintrich and De Groot
(1990) on Motivated Strategies for Learning (MSLQ) which has been
utilized and adopted by many researches for it determines the types of
academic motivation.
 The survey form consists of the following: Part 1 composes the
profile of the students with regards to gender and age Part 2 presents the
Effects of academic motivation to the class performance. The
questionnaires are directed at their attitude towards studying thus Likert
Four- Point scale was utilized with the following categories and scale
value.

Weight Description
Analysis
4 Strongly Agree
3 Agree
2 Disagree
1 Strongly Disagree

With the academic performance, the grades provided by the Grade

12 students in the survey form will be ranked from highest to lowest. By
this, the researchers will determine the upper and lower quartile. This
shall divide the high performing and low performing students. The
formula will be the following:
Lower quartile:
1
Q1= (n+1)th term
4
Upper quartile:
3 th
Q3= (n+1) term
4
n= sample size
RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY

The respondents of the study were the Grade 12 students of PNTC.

Two hundred nineteen (219) randomly selected students were asked to
answer the survey form to assess their motivation towards studying.

SAMPLING PROCEDURE

The respondents of the study were chosen Convenience sampling.

To obtain 220 students sample size which is 486 is the total population of
grades 12

n= N

2
1+ Ne

= 486

1 +486 (0.5)2

= 486

1 + 486 (0.0025)

= 486

1 + 1.215

= 486

2.2

= 219
STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA

After gathering all the needed data for the study, they were
subjected to the following statistical treatment where analysis of data was
based upon the questions raised in chapter 1.

1. For the specific question no. 1, about the profile of the Grade 12
students in PNTC with regards to gender, frequency of response
for each item was determined. The percentage, on the other
hand, is computed through this formula:

F
P= × 100 %
N
where:
P= proportion
F= frequency
N= respondents
2. To obtain the mean of the motivating factors, the researchers
used this formula:
∑x
x = n

where:
x = mean

∑ x = summation of the scores

n= number of items

In order to interpret the mean, the transmutation table

below is used:
 Weight Rating Scale Description Analysis
4 4.5 – 5.0 Always True
3 3.5 – 4.49 Frequently True
2 1.5 – 2.49 Sometimes True
1 1.0 – 1.49 Never True

3. To answer what is the relationship between students’ academic

motivation and class performance in high performing students
and low performing students, the Pearson- Moment Correlation
Coefficient formula was utilized.
n ∑ XY −∑ X ∑ Y
r=
√¿¿¿

where:

r= Correlation Coefficient

n= no. of students on the quartile (either low and upper)

X= total number in motivation

Y= Average grade last semester

In order to interpret the correlation coefficient, the

transmutation table below is used:
Value of r Interpretation
±0.81 to ±0.99 Very High Correlation
±0.61 to ±0.80 High Correlation
±0.41 to ±0.60 Moderately High correlation
±0.21 to ±0.40 Low Correlation
±0.01 to ±0.20 Negligible Correlation
If the value of r is 1, -1, or 0, the researchers interpret it as
follows:
Value of r Interpretation
r=1 Perfect Positive Correlation
r=0 No Correlation
r=-1 Perfect Negative Correlation