Intrinsic motivation, academic engagement and academic achievement of senior high school students in a government funded university In Luzon, SY 2017-2018 / Sheila S. Maranan

Thesis (Master of Arts in Education major in Guidance and Counselling) -- Ateneo de Manila University, December 2018

This study was intended to report on the relationships and differences that exist between intrinsic motivation, academic engagement and academic achievement of senior high school students across the academic strands and examine whether intrinsic motivation and academic engagement positively predict the students' academic achievement. Anchored on self-determination theory (SDT), this descriptive correlational study assessed the level of intrinsic motivation utilizing the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory from SDT while academic engagement was measured using the researcher-designed questionnaire. Academic achievement scores were based on the self-reported grades of the respondents. The statistical analyses employed in this study include; Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient, Welch's ANOVA and Regression Analysis. There was a total of432 participants in this study (n=432). Analyses revealed that university students were intrinsically motivated, academically engaged and obtained high academic grades. Measure of relationship showed a moderate positive correlation between intrinsic motivation and academic engagement as well as between intrinsic motivation and academic achievement.

Meanwhile, a strong positive correlation was found between academic engagement and academic achievement. This implies that intrinsically motivated students are bound to be more engaged in their classroom activities which ultimately results to higher academic grades. Accordingly, intrinsic motivation and academic engagement were also found to positively predict the students' academic achievement. This study thus demonstrated a positive unidirectional predictive relationship between intrinsic motivation, academic engagement and academic achievement. Significant differences on the students' level of intrinsic motivation and academic engagement across the academic strands were also evident in this study. This can be attributed to curricular variations since mean comparisons were grounded on the different academic strands. Students from ABM (Accountancy, Business and Management) consistently scored higher in intrinsic motivation, academic engagement and academic achievement compared to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and HUMSS (Humanities and Social Sciences) strands. Thus, school administrators, teachers and school counselors should develop a collection of strategies that optimize and cultivate students' intrinsic motivation and academic engagement. School counselors should also make every effort to promote and maintain positive relationships between students, teachers and guidance personnel in order to maximize their impact on student motivation, engagement and academic success.