Survey on Factors that Motivate Learners to Pursue Postgraduate Studies

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The purpose of this survey is to investigate the dominant factors that motivate learners to pursue
postgraduate studies. The data for this study is purely academic and assurance is given that all
information obtained will remain strictly private and confidential.

This survey consists of two parts (Part A and Part B). Your kind assistance to answer the questions
as accurately as possible is deeply appreciated.
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PART A: General Information

Please select the most appropriate option that reflects the general information about yourself.
Please check ONE box only for questions 1-15. You may check more than one box for question 16.
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1. Gender ☐ Male
☐ Female

2. Place of residence ☐ Urban area

☐ Rural area

3. Age ☐ 20 years old and below

☐ 21 – 25 years old
☐ 26 – 30 years old
☐ 31 – 35 years old
☐ 36 – 40 years old
☐ 41 years old and above

4. Race ☐ Malay
☐ Chinese
☐ Indian
☐ Others

5. Marital status ☐ Married

☐ Single (including divorced/widowed)

6. Number of children ☐ None

☐1
☐2
☐ 3 or more

7. Highest level of education completed ☐ Master degree

☐ Bachelor degree
☐ Professional
☐ Diploma/technical
☐ Upper secondary (Form 6)
☐ Secondary (Form 5)
8. Employment ☐ Sole proprietor
☐ Professional/partnership
☐ Company director
☐ Consultant
☐ Manager
☐ Lecturer
☐ Teacher/tutor
☐ Executive
☐ Supervisor
☐ IT service/support staff
☐ Clerical
☐ Casual worker/self employed
☐ Student
☐ Not employed/retired

9. Computer literacy ☐ Very good

☐ Good
☐ Not so good

10. Parent with the highest level of education ☐ Doctorate degree

☐ Master degree
☐ Bachelor degree
☐ Professional
☐ Diploma/technical
☐ Secondary
☐ Primary
☐ No education

11. Parent – breadwinner’s occupation ☐ Sole proprietor

☐ Professional/partnership
☐ Company director
☐ Consultant
☐ Manager
☐ Lecturer
☐ Teacher/tutor
☐ Executive
☐ Supervisor
☐ IT service/support staff
☐ Clerical
☐ Casual worker/self employed
☐ Not employed/retired

12. Total number of brothers and sisters ☐ None

☐1
☐2
☐ 3 or more

13. Distance of higher learning institution to home ☐ Less than 1 km

☐ 1 – 5 km
☐ 6 – 10 km
☐ 11 - 15 km
 ☐ More than 15 km

14. Preferred institution of study ☐ Local private institution

☐ Local private institution (with twinning)
☐ Foreign private institution
☐ Government institution

15. Preferred mode of study ☐ Full-time study

☐ Part-time study
☐ Flexible learning
☐ Open distance learning

16. Interest in types of study ☐ Management

(You may check more than 1 box) ☐ Accounting and finance
☐ Marketing
☐ Information technology (IT)
☐ Hospitality
☐ Language
☐ Social studies
☐ Mathematics and science
☐ Education
☐ Engineering
☐ Law
☐ Medicine and healthcare

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End of Part A
PART B: Learners’ Motivators to Pursue Postgraduate Studies

Please select the option which best represents your response to each statement on the various
elements that motivate you to pursue your postgraduate studies.

1 = Strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neither agree nor disagree; 4 = Agree; 5 = Strongly agree

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A Personal prerequisites 1 2 3 4 5
I intend to further my studies because …
1 I have enough funds to pay for my higher education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 My parents have saved for my higher education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 I can meet more people in social circle ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 I am qualified to advance to further higher education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 I have no problem to understand my study materials ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
6 I believe higher education will improve my social status ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 I feel important after I attain higher educational qualification ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

B Personal advancement 1 2 3 4 5
I feel that by furthering my studies, I can …
1 Increase my chance to find a better job ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 Earn higher salary ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 Increase my chance for promotion ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 Acquire different skills for career change ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 Increase community respect on me ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
6 Learn something new to contribute more to society ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 Continuously challenge my thinking ability ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

C External influences 1 2 3 4 5
There are external factors that inspire me to further my studies,
such as …
1 My parents encourage me to pursue higher education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 I want to fulfil my parents’ expectations ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 I want to follow my family members to be highly educated ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 Most of my friends are attending postgraduate studies ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 My teachers in school encourage me to further my higher ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
education
6 My company provides study incentives for higher education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 I can be a role model to the younger generation and influence ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
them to pursue higher education
 D Lifelong learning 1 2 3 4 5
I am committed to learn continuously because …
1 I want to learn something new ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
2 I want to achieve my educational goal/objectives ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 I have a strong desire to continue my studies ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 I aspire to write research findings ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 I want to broaden my knowledge in different fields ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
6 I want to learn to communicate intellectually to broader ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
audience
7 I want to relate theories learnt with practical experience ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

E Institutional entrepreneurship 1 2 3 4 5
Learning institutions have helped me to further my studies
because the …
1 University has conducive infrastructure, environment and ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
facilities
2 University cost of education is affordable ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 University is situated near to my place ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
4 University offers flexible schedule for learning ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
5 University allows me sufficient time to complete my studies ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
6 University provides opportunities to interact with other students ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
7 University has good tutors or lecturers to meet my learning ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
objectives

F Pursuit of postgraduate studies 1 2 3 4 5

I intend to enrol in higher learning institutions because …
1 I am motivated for self-improvement through postgraduate ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
studies
2 I am motivated to learn through postgraduate studies ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
3 I am motivated to keep in touch with changes in education ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
through postgraduate studies
4 I am motivated to improve my quality of thinking through ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
postgraduate studies
5 I am motivated to exchange knowledge and ideas with other ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
students through postgraduate studies
6 I am motivated to gain more confidence to interact ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
intellectually through postgraduate studies
7 I am motivated to increase recognition as an intellectual by my ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
community through postgraduate studies

End of Part B

Thank you for taking time to participate in this survey. Have a pleasant day.