Balancing Individual and Situational Interests Among Learners: A Case Study

Abstract

Motivation is a priority for academic learning and success. However, motivation has frequently been ignored by educators although it is a crucial part of their responsibility. Several studies were conducted to investigate motivation among learners but there is very little empirical data available on specific components of motivation in learning. This study aims to explore learners' individual and situational interest in their motivation to learn using quantitative survey methods. The result will show how learners' individual interest and situational interest influence their learning motivation, also the relationship between individual and situational interest for learning motivation. A sample of 181 participants among undergraduates at one Malaysian public university responded to the survey. The instrument used is a 5 Likert-scale survey and is rooted from Schiefele (2009) and Pintirch & De Groot (1990). The survey contains 4 sections where section A has items on demographic profile while section B has 12 items on situational interest and section C has 12 items on individual interest. The data is analyzed using SPSS collected data is presented in terms of mean scores to answer the research questions. Overall results show that the motivating variable has a potentiating effect on students' learning during the teaching and learning process and is useful for educators who work with students.