Student Motivation in Distance Learning in Public Management From the Perspective of Self-Determination

Abstract

The Psychology Self-Determination Theory seeks to explain the motivation of individuals based on intrinsic factors that guide the action of the subjects. In the teaching environment, this theory contributes to explain the factors that influence the academic performance. In this context, this work aims to assess the factors that influence the level of motivation of students in a distance learning course in public management of a Brazilian public higher education institution, in the light of the Theory of Self-Determination. The application of factor analysis using the Academic Motivation Scale was used, with adaptations to distance learning, in a sample of 188 students. The results show that the factors related to the pleasure of discovering new things, of expanding one's own knowledge and self-overcoming the experience of stimuli, are influencers of the students' intrinsic motivation. Factors related to the belief that university education will increase professional competence, the individual test of success in studies and the possibility of obtaining a prestigious job in the future, are the main elements that extrinsically influence distance learning students.

Keywords: Theory of self-determination. Student motivation. Distance learning.