The direct and indirect effect of motivation for learning on students' approaches to learning through the perceptions of workload and task complexity

• Published in: Higher education research and development Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 135 - 150
• Main Authors: Kyndt, Eva, Dochy, Filip, Struyven, Katrien, Cascallar, Eduardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.04.2011
• Subjects: approaches to learning; Attitude Measures; Cognitive style; College Students; Difficulty Level; Higher education; Learning Motivation; Learning Strategies; perceptions; Personal Autonomy; Self Determination; self-determination theory; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Student workload; task complexity; University students; workload
• ISSN: 0729-4360; 1469-8366
• DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2010.501329

The present study investigates the direct and indirect influence of motivation for learning, as understood by the self-determination theory, on students' approaches to learning. Concerning the direct influence of motivation, results show that autonomous motivation is positively related to a deep approach to learning and negatively to a surface approach. Motivation also has an indirect effect on students' approaches to learning through the perceptions of workload and task complexity, in particular through the perception of a lack of information. The greater the extent to which students are autonomously motivated, the less they perceive that they have a lack of information and the less they are inclined to adopt a surface approach to learning.