Gender differences in academic motivation: evidence from the longitudinal study of university student

Abstract

An individual's motivational beliefs shape the choice of both educational and career paths. At the same time, previous studies indicated that men and women differ in academic motivation. However, the research to date has focused on cross-sectional design, rather than on longitudinal studies on gender differences in academic motivation. Our research aimed to examine gender differences in academic motivation employing the self-determination theory within longitudinal design. Students of a Russian research university participated in the study (N=316, 63% females). Participants were examined at the beginning of their study and before the graduation. According to the results, there was no significant effect of gender on intrinsic motivation during the first and fourth years of the university. However, women reported higher level of extrinsic motivation compared to men in both the first and fourth years of study. Specifically, the gender difference in introjected motivation was shown to be significant during the first and fourth years of study. At the same time, gender differences in external motivation were significant in the first year, but non-significant at the end of the study. To conclude, women tend to attain an outcome that is separable from learning itself. These results suggest that women involved in learning activities to comply with internal pressure from parents, teachers and society.