Damian, Mika Jenel P.

BSPSY B2020 3rd Year

Academic Motivation in a Pandemic Context

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on students’ learning, well-being, and academic
motivation. Due to the pandemic, shifts to remote/hybrid learning, physical distancing, and concerns
regarding health and financial prospects are most likely influencing students’ perceptions, values, goals, and
behaviors.

Motivation

 Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986) - is premised on triadic reciprocity of an individual’s environment,
personal beliefs, and behavior. One influential belief an individual can hold is self-efficacy, or perceptions of
one’s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments.
 Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020) - SEVT’s primary domain-specific perceptions
are expectancy beliefs and subjective task values. Expectancy beliefs are students’ views about how well they
will do on future tasks, (similar to self-efficacy from SCT). Subjective task values encompass intrinsic value,
attainment value, utility value, and cost.
 Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) - Self-determined motivation is achieved when the following
psychological needs are satisfied: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. First, competence refers to
individuals’ perceived effectiveness in successfully navigating their environment and the tasks required to do
so. Autonomy is the sense that one is the origin of their own actions without any external control. Like
belongingness, relatedness is the experience of being connected with others.
 Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1985) - Upon a success or failure, students attribute their outcomes to various
causes described using three dimensions: locus (internal versus external), controllability (controllable versus
uncontrollable), and stability (stable versus unstable).
 Goal Orientation Theory (Urdan & Kaplan, 2020) - A framework that conceptualizes mastery- and
performance-oriented goals. Whereas mastery goals focus on developing personal competence,
performance goals are generally centered on demonstrating one’s competence based on normative
standards. need for achievement and fear of failure; for instance, students who endorse performance-
approach goals aim to achieve success by outperforming others, while those with performance-avoidance
goals try to avoid failure. Another focus of AGO research is creating achievement contexts that foster
students’ development of goal orientations.

Possible Impacts of COVID-19 on Academic Motivation

 Shifts in Instructional Context - Most students were required to adapt to online learning, a complex interplay
of shifts in students’ motivation and learning were bound to emerge. A consistent factor across motivation
theories is students’ perceptions of their competence, whether termed self-efficacy or expectancy beliefs.
With limited experiences using new modalities and opportunities to become self-efficacious in these
environments, it is highly probable that students’ perceived competence for learning would be diminished.
- Social interactions from both teachers and peers were absent, presumably reducing vicarious experiences
and social persuasions that may inform one’s self-efficacy. Being denied options to learn in modalities they
were expecting, students might have felt demotivated learning in a way outside of their control.
- The combination of instructors’ own stressors and new instructional challenges in the pandemic have led to
teacher burnout (Pressley, 2021), which in turn has been linked with their own psychological need
frustration, demotivating teaching styles, and performance-approach classroom goal structures (Moè & Katz,
 2020). These approaches result in decreased student engagement, reduced student choice, unclear
expectations, and unreasonable pressure. While blame should not be placed on teachers.

 Shifts in Social Contexts - These physical distance in students’ relational worlds with teachers and peers can
greatly influence student motivation as well. Due to social isolation, opportunities for relatedness support
from instructors and peers were absent. Students with higher levels of extraversion endorsed higher levels of
interest in learning (Smith et al., 2021).

 Shifts in Future-Oriented Motivations - The pandemic has disrupted not only educational systems but also
economies. As students navigate the educational pipeline and endorse motivation for specific academic and
career pathways, it is important to consider how the pandemic may have influenced their outlook and future
goals (Usher et al., 2021). Particularly for postsecondary students who may have been graduating and
entering a workforce severely weakened by pervasive unemployment, students may have felt helpless
towards bleak financial prospects (Gruber et al., 2021).
- SDT likens this general kind of helplessness to amotivation, or the lack of motivation. Without a positive
outlook for the future, students may not perceive a relationship between their present actions and later
outcomes and thereby disengage and grow apathetic towards educational pursuits (Jung, 2018)

Reference:

Fong, Carlton J. (2022). Academic Motivation in a Pandemic Context: A Conceptual Review of Prominent Theories and
an Integrative Model.

(You can follow the author on twitter! @carlton_fong !!)