Development of Academic Motivation of Undergraduates by Means of Research-Oriented Learning
Abstract
The relevance of the study lies in the need to develop the academic motivation of undergraduates (master’s students) of the “Teacher Education” field of study, as well as the insufficient use of the developmental motivational potential of research-oriented learning in educational practice. The purpose of this study is to identify the mechanisms and pedagogical conditions that influence the research-oriented learning on the development of various types of academic motivation among undergraduates.To reach the purpose of the study the following research tasks were solved: identification of the specific characteristics of undergraduates’ motivation to learn (using the example of the field of study “Teacher Education”); identification of the essential features of research-oriented learning that objectively ensure its motivational potential in the process of training the undergraduate students; theoretical validation and experimental verification of the effectiveness of specially created pedagogical conditions that contribute to strengthening the potential of research-oriented learning as a means of developing the undergraduate students’ academic motivation. A combination of theoretical (study and analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature, comparison, generalization, interpretation), empirical (questionnaires and pedagogical experiments), and mathematical and statistical research methods were used to address these tasks.The content and essence of the “educational motivation” concept, the features of the educational motivation of the learning activities of modern undergraduates (of the “Teacher Education” field of study) are defined by composition, orientation, and dynamic properties. The developmental possibilities of research-oriented learning are theoretically and empirically substantiated in the formation of internal and external motivation for the educational activities of undergraduates. Organizational and didactic conditions that contribute to strengthening its motivational potential are identified. The results of the study can be used by higher education teachers to increase the educational process productivity.