External Factors that Affect Students Motivation in their Academic Performance

A Thesis Proposal presented to the Department of Legal Management

Faculty of Arts and Letters

University of Santo Tomas

In Partial Fulfillment in the course of

Bachelor of Arts in

Legal Management

Ogayon, Julienne Celine G.

Ravanilla, Nikki T.

Uylengco, Angelica Leila

3LM2

May 2017
 CHAPTER 1

The Problem and its Background

I. Introduction

Motivation in literal terms is the desire to do things. It is the difference between staying and bed

all day or doing something productive. It's the crucial element in setting and attaining goalsand

research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. Motivation

also according to the Merriam-Webster is a condition of being eager to act or work, it is a force

that causes someone to do something. Motivation has always shown a positive influence in

studying techniques, academic performance, adjustments in a working environment and also to

the well-being in students in domains of education. It has always been a key factor in everyone's

lives. Motivation in particular to students is important. Many believe that simply sending your

child to school is what all it takes to ensure that the child learns but that is simply not the case.

Students are one of the key assets in a school. The performance of a student is very important in

producing best people who will someday be leader and manpower for the country and will be

responsible for its development. Thus a student's motivation to learn can greatly influence their

academic performance. Our study shows that there can be influence by outside factors in a

students motivation an example of these factors are Learning disabilities , Family, School size,

Teachers, Inadequate facilities and Physical health. In our society with its growing number of

population jobs are getting lesser and harder to find. Academic achievement is one of the major

factors considered by employers in hiring workers especially for the fresh graduates. Thus,
students have to put the greatest effort in their study to obtain good grades. I think that is why

when we were young we were always told that education is very important that it is the key to

our success. That we must study hard to get good grades and stay in school, so that when we get

older and graduate, it will help us in getting jobs easier. Staffolani and Bratti, (2002) who

observed that the measurement of students previous educational outcomes are the most

important indicators of students future achievement; this refers that the higher the previous

appearance, the better will the students academic performance in future endeavors be.

One factor that affects a students motivation in achieving good performance in school is family.

Study shows that the family environment and socioeconomic status influences a students

academic performance. Parents who lack participation in their childs life both at home and at

school show a decrease on a child's performance. Children who don't receive help with their

homework and or aren't taught the value of education also tend to do more poorly than children

who do receive academic support in the home according to the APA (American Psychological

Association). Family environment at home can also relate on a students behavior will be in

school. Another factor is the teachers, Mays (1946) greatly emphasized the importance of having

qualified teachers in the field of teaching, and said that success of any program and of the student

is conditioned by the ability of the teacher to teach. If the teacher does not catch the attention of

the student, the more the students may not be attentive in class resulting to them being absent,

cutting the class or always being late. Also students may tend to get lazy when they find the

subject not relevant enough to their course so teachers are constantly on the search for methods

and instructional materials that will make learning meaningful for the students to attend their

class. Which we can connect to another factor which is inadequate facilities. Learning facilities
helps the teachers in getting their students attention not only that but it also helps the students

understand easier the lessons.

Learning disabilities is also one of the factors although it cannot be prevented but it can be

overcome. According to the HealthyChildren.org 15 percent of children have learning disabilities

speaking to an excerpt is the best way to help the child in overcoming its disability. School size

or the number of students in a class, also affects a students motivation if the class is too big the

student will have a hard time concentrating and focusing. Also the studies show that with that

many students the teacher finds it hard to give attention to each student. Children with health

problems, such as cancer, that require them to miss a lot of school often lag behind their peers

academically Physical or health is also one of the key factors in a students academic

performance.

According to the buildon.org In the United States, 1.2 million high schools students drop out

before graduating and that nearly 900 million people worldwide cannot read or write. In the

Philippines the countrys literacy data collected through the national census. Results from the

National Statistics Offices 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) show that 97.5% of

the 71.5 million individuals who are 10 years old and older were literate or could read and write

an increase from the 2000 CPH record of 92.3%. Literacy Coordinating Council OIC Dina

Ocampo in a speech during the 2014 National Literacy Conference and Awards said that It is

through literacy that one is empowered to interact in his community and realizes his worth, what

he can do and eventually make him do things that contribute in sustainable development of his

society, This is how important one's education is that students should be motivated to do good

in their academic performance.

 This research is initially an attempt to identify the acceptable external factors in accordance with

our sources and own analysis coming from our survey as distributed randomly for evaluation.

Also, this being an effort to conduct our investigation from general experiences on the impact of

external factors that affect students motivation to their good performance, hence in pursuance of

promoting its quality thereof to recommend or facilitate ways capable in increasing their

motivation to enhance their overall consistent academic performance.

Considering that the result of our study will lead to a conclusion that the quality of our

motivation has the capacity to either be strengthened or weakened by external factors that affect

our academic performance. The more we learn this issue, the more we understand that it is

important to assess ourselves with the factors that influence our persistence in learning tasks and

interest in courses, because motivation increases our initiation and persistence in activities.

Learners are more likely to begin a task they actually want to do, they are more likely to continue

working at it until we completed it, even if we are occasionally interrupted or frustrated in the

process.

II. Objectives of the Study

A students academic performance in their school is very important. They are people who will

someday be leader and manpower for the country and will be responsible for the country's

development. Thus a students motivation to learn can greatly influence their academic

performance. Students motivation in having a great academic performance is not only

 influenced by their own gifts and skills given by nature there are many factors that are involved

in attaining these achievement. This study aims to provide and explain these different factors. In

this study these different factors like learning disabilities, family, school size, school

instructors/professors, inadequate facilities and physical health are provided, explained and

explored. In obtaining these information various studies, research, questionnaires and interview

from students are conducted.

III. Theoretical Framework

Motivation

Motivation is a theoretical construct used to explain behavior. It gives the reasons for people's

actions, desires, and needs. Motivation can also be defined as one's direction to behavior, or what

causes a person to want to repeat a behavior and vice versa. A motive is what prompts the person

to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior.

Motivation can be conceived of as a cycle in which thoughts influence behaviors, behaviors

drive performance, performance affects thoughts, and the cycle begins again. Each stage of the

cycle is composed of many dimensions including attitudes, beliefs, intentions, effort, and

withdrawal which can all affect the motivation that an individual experiences. Most

psychological theories hold that motivation exists purely within the individual, but socio-cultural

theories express motivation as an outcome of participation in actions and activities within the

cultural context of social groups.

Motivation in Education
Motivation is of particular interest to educational psychologists because of the crucial role it

plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the

specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation

studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and how they behave

towards subject matter.

It can:

1. Direct behavior toward particular goals

2. Lead to increased effort and energy
3. Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
4. Enhance cognitive processing
5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing
6. Lead to improved performance.

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation,

which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

If teachers decided to extrinsically reward productive student behaviors, they may find it difficult

to extricate themselves from that path. Consequently, student dependency on extrinsic rewards

represents one of the greatest detractors from their use in the classroom.

Academic motivation orientation may also be tied with one's ability to detect and process errors.

Fisher, Nanayakkara, and Marshall conducted neuroscience research on children's motivation

orientation, neurological indicators of error monitoring (the process of detecting an error), and

academic achievement. Their research suggests that students with high intrinsic motivation

attribute performance to personal control and that their error-monitoring system is more strongly

engaged by performance errors. They also found that motivation orientation and academic

achievement were related to the strength in which their error-monitoring system was engaged.
 Academic Performance

Academic achievement or (academic) performance is the outcome of education the extent to

which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.

Academic achievement is commonly measured by examinations or continuous assessment but

there is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most important

procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts.

IV. Conceptual Framework or Research Paradigm

This conceptual framework was formulated through the information gathered through our

research in written documents, through the internet and also through the information given to us

by the respondents.

University of Santo Tomas,

Espana Manila

Current students in the

different colleges in school
yearfactors
External 2016-2017
that affect
students motivation in their
academic performance

Observations according to
the answers in the survey
conducted to selected
students
Conclusion

Implication for programs by

the university or each college
to help students get
motivated
 V. Statement of the Problem

This research is aimed to find out the different external factors that affect students motivation in

their academic performance, particularly the students of the University of Santo Tomas during

the school year 2016-2017.

Especially, this study sought to answer the following questions:

1) What are the top three external factors that affect the students motivation

in their academic performance?

2) How do these external factors affect students motivation in their academic

performance?
3) What are the ways on how students deal with these external factors?

VI. Hypothesis

Null:
External factors do not affect the motivation of the students in their academic performance.

Alternative:
External factors do have affect the motivation of the students in their academic performance.

VII. Significance of the Study

This study shall be beneficial to the academe, the parents, the guidance counselors and also

to the researchers.

The Academe
This aims to help the academe especially the instructors to be able to

understand better the students and the different situations they have.
Parents
To be able for the parents to know the different factors that may be affecting

their child and also to help the parents understand their children on what the
 student may be going through to be able to strengthen the relationship and

understanding between the students and their parents.

Guidance Counselors
The guidance counselors will benefit from this research as they will be able to

recognize better the different conditions that most students have in the present

and this will also aid them to know the target programs they may conduct to

help the students to have more motivation towards their academic activities.
Researchers
The researchers will be able to know and understand the different external

factors that may be affecting their own classmates as they may be able to help

them by understanding their behavior and give ways on how to be motivated

in school.

VIII. Scope and Limitations

The scope of our investigation will primarily cover the effect of external factors that affect the

motivation of millennial students within the University of Santo Tomas, most likely showing

their cognitive and metacognitive abilities as salient factors affecting success and persistence in

their engagement to their course study. Essentially, the concept of interest is reviewed in our

research because interest is a motivational characteristic composed of intrinsic-feeling and value

related-valences. Wherefore interest is important for the complexity of text comprehension and

engagement to the academic subject. This is an approach to the emphasis of our study on

Student-Related and Teacher-Related External Factors affecting their motivation in their

academic performance.

We only set limitations with:

School-Related Factors since our research will only be conducted only for Thomasians. And;
 Family-Related Factors- as the issue about this, is dramatically and critically personal, provided,

that the evaluation would be critical because students opinion will be distinct from one another

depending on their situation.

IX. Definition of Terms

The following items are defined conceptually/operationally for the better understanding of the

study.

1. Motivation
2. Academic performance
3. UST
4. Thomasians
5. Behavior
6. Performance

REFERENCES:

Pardee, R. L. (1990). Motivation Theories of Maslow, Herzberg, McGregor & McClelland. A

Literature Review of Selected Theories Dealing with Job Satisfaction and Motivation.

Rueda, Richard; Moll, Luis C. (1994). "Chapter 7: A Sociocultural Perspective on Motivation".

In O'Neill, Jr., Harold F.; Drillings, Michael. Motivation: Theory and Research. Hillsdale, NJ:

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. ISBN 0-8058-1286-5.

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Fisher, K.; Marshall, M.; Nanayakkara, A. (2009). "Motivational orientation, error monitoring,

and academic performance in middle childhood: A behavioral and electrophysiological

investigation". Mind, Brain, and Education. 3: 5663.

Annie Ward; Howard W. Stoker; Mildred Murray-Ward (1996), "Achievement and Ability Tests -

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