The Effect of Instructors’ Enthusiasm on University Students’ Level of Achievement Motivation

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze university students’level of achievement motivation in terms of instructor enthusiasm and some variables such as gender, grade level, academic achievement, course attendance, and the dependence of students’ course attendance upon the instructor’s enthusiasm. The study was conducted with 334 university students. In order to collect the necessary data forthe study, “Instructor EnthusiasmAssessment Form”, “Achievement Motivation Scale” and “Student Personal Information Form” were used. To analyze the data, independent samples t-test, one-way variance analysis and Tukey test were administered. The results of the study revealed that the students who perceived high instructor enthusiasm had a significantly higher level of achievement motivation when compared to the students who perceived low instructor enthusiasm. The level of achievement motivation was significantly higher among female students than males. The students who regularly attended classes had significantly higher levels of achievement motivation than the absentees. The students who stated that their regular attendance depended on the instructors’ enthusiasm had significantly higherlevels of achievement motivation when compared to the students stating that theirregular attendance did not depend on the instructors’ enthusiasm. The achievement motivations levels were significantly higher among the students with high academic achievement than those with low academic achievement. The students with higher grade levels had significantly higher levels of achievement motivation than those with lower grade levels.