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A cross -cultural comparison of achievement motivation among college students in South Africa

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A cross -cultural comparison of achievement motivation among college students in South Africa

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Content A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
by
Robert C. Murchison
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EDUCATION)
December 2003
Copyright 2003 Robert C. Murchison
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UMI Number: 3133312
Copyright 2003 by
Murchison, Robert C.
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90089-1695
This dissertation, written by
jZobert C. M tfrchiW n __________
under the direction o f h]]y dissertation committee, and
approved by all its members, has been presented to and
accepted by the D irector o f Graduate and Professional
Programs, in partial fulfillm ent o f the requirements fo r the
degree o f
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Director
Date TVr-pinLer 1 7 , 2 0 0 3
Dissertation Committee
Chair
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am more grateful than I can say for the
assistance of many people who have been there every
step of the way. In order to write this dissertation,
I had to learn about South Africa and its politically
repressed society. I would like to thank the
University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape
Town, and the University of Stellenbosch for opening
their doors to me to allow me to conduct this study.
A sincere thanks to God, for His love and support
throughout this whole process.
I would especially like to thank my Chair, Robert
Rueda, for his guidance and support in completing my
dissertation. Notable acknowledgement goes to the
members of my doctoral committee: Andrei Simic and
William Maxwell.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......................................... ii
LIST OF TABLES........................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES........................................viii
ABSTRACT ...............................................ix
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................ 1
Background of the Study............................ 1
Statement of the Problem........................... 1
History of South Africa ........................... 2
Education in South Africa ......................... 6
Relevance of Achievement Motivation Theory
to Status of Education in South Africa .... 9
Statement of the Problem ................... 10
Purpose of the Study...............................12
Research Questions ................................ 13
Significance of the Study.........................14
Delimitations ...................................... 16
Limitations.........................................17
Definitions.........................................18
Overview of the Study..............................19
2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.......................... 20
Educational Policy in South Africa .............. 21
Achievement Motivation ........................... 23
Cross-Cultural Studies ........................... 32
Summary........................................34
Relationship of Race to Achievement Motivation
Research Using South African Samples ........ 36
Relationship of Race to Achievement Motivation
Research Using American Samples .............. 39
Conclusions........................................4 6
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iv
3. METHODS..............................................49
Restatement of the Research Problem ............. 49
Research Approach ................................. 4 9
Design Variables .................................. 51
Subject Selection Methods ........................ 51
Instrumentation ................................... 56
Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS) ......... 56
Reliability and Validity of the
Achievement Motivation Scale ........... 58
The Perceptions of the Achievement
Motivation Questionnaire (TPAMQ) ....... 59
Reliability and Validity of the TPAMQ .... 60
Additional Instrumentation ................. 64
Data Analysis.......................................65
Descriptive Analyses ........................ 67
Inferential Analyses ........................ 67
4. FINDINGS.............................................69
Overview.............................................69
Perceived Levels of Achievement Motivation:
Universities ................................... 70
Levels of Achievement Motivation ................ 73
Perceived Levels of Achievement Motivation:
Racial Groups .................................. 73
Inferential Analyses: Perceived Strength of
Personal Achievement Motivation .............. 74
Inferential Analyses: Perceived Strength of
Coloureds' Achievement Motivation ........... 7 9
Inferential Analyses: Perceived Strength of
Africans' Achievement Motivation ............ 82
Inferential Analyses: Levels of Achievement
Motivation.......................................84
Supplemental Analyses ............................ 7 6
University of the Western Cape..............79
University of the Cape Town..................91
University of Stellenbosch .................93
Summary of Results.................................93
Relation of Findings to
Research Questions ....................... 93
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5. DISCUSSION...........................................97
Relation of Findings to Existing Literature . . . 100
Relation of Findings to Research Methodology . . 102
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................. 108
Conclusions........................................108
Recommendations................................... 110
SELECTED REFERENCES ................................... 118
APPENDICES
A. RESEARCH CONTEXT .................................. 125
Historical Backgrounds .......................... 125
University of the Western Cape............125
University of Cape Town....................12 6
University of Stellenbosch ................ 127
B. INSTRUMENTATION PACKET SENT TO STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE,
THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, AND THE
UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH ...................... 130
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vi
LIST OF TABLES
1. Racial Background and Setting of Sample ........ 57
2. Descriptive Statistics Observed for Pilot Test
of the Perceptions of Achievement Motivation
Questionnaire (TPAMQ) ............................ 62
3. Means and Standard Deviations Observed for
Ratings of the Strength of Personal Achievement
Motivation, Perceptions of Coloureds''
Achievement Motivation, and Perceptions of
Africans' Achievement Motivation: Cross-
Tabulated by Racial Group and by University .... 71
4. Group and Sample Means and Standard Deviations
Observed for Achievement Motivation Scale
Scores...............................................75
5. Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary
Findings: Ratings of the Strength of One's
Personal Level of Achievement Motivation ....... 77
6. Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary
Findings: Ratings of the Strength of
Coloureds'Level of Achievement Motivation.8 0
7. Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary
Findings: Ratings of the Strength of
Africans' Level of Achievement Motivation . 83
8. Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary
Findings: Achievement Motivation Scale Scores ..86
9. Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests
Conducted to Compare Coloured and African
Students Attending the University of the
Western Cape........................................90
10. Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests
Conducted to Compare Coloured and African
Students Attending the University of
Cape Town........................................... 92
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vii
11. Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests
Conducted to Compare Coloured and African
Students Attending the University of
Stellenbosch ....................................... 94
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viii
LIST OF FIGURES
1. Graph of Ratings of Personal Levels of
Achievement Motivation Plotted Across
Universities ....................................... 78
2. Graph of Ratings of Strength of
Coloureds' Achievement Motivation Levels
Plotted Across Universities ...................... 81
3. Graph of Ratings of Strength of African
Achievement Motivation Levels Plotted
Across Universities ............................... 85
4. Graphic Depiction of Actual Achievement
Levels Plotted Across Universities ............... 88
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ABSTRACT
The conducted research examined achievement
motivation in South African university students. As
rationale for the study, it was noted that despite the
strenuous efforts the country is making toward equity
and equality in all areas— including education— racial
conflict and tension continue to this day. However,
almost all groups agree that the solution to these
problems is education.
Given the barriers many experience in South Africa
in obtaining quality education, it was noted that one
factor which may help individuals to hurdle obstacles
is having high levels of achievement motivation.
Research was cited showing that achievement motivation
is repeatedly associated with both academic and career
success. The question was asked whether achievement
motivation levels may be different for Coloureds and
Africans given the different histories they have had
with respect to Apartheid and education during
Apartheid rule. In addition, research exists
indicating that amid racial conflicts, there is a
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X
tendency for racial groups to perceive one another
negatively. The question was also asked as to whether
Coloureds' and Africans' views of their respective
group's achievement motivation would be comparable to
their perceptions of the achievement motivation levels
of their own racial group.
To provide answers for these questions, Coloured
and African students at the University of the Western
Cape, the University of Cape Town, and the University
of Stellenbosch were asked to complete several
instruments. These instruments measured: levels of
achievement motivation, the degree of importance
students attached to success, the strategies students
used for academic success, students' perceived levels
of their own achievement motivation levels and their
own racial groups' achievement motivation levels, and
students' perceived levels of other racial groups'
achievement motivation levels.
The collected data showed some differences between
racial groups' degree of importance attached to school
success. It was found that with respect to personal
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xi
levels of achievement motivation, Africans rated theirs
significantly higher than they did Coloureds. Africans
also perceived the achievement motivations of their
entire group to be somewhat higher than Coloureds. The
findings were interpreted to indicate the different
problems with the cross-cultural measurement and the
static nature of construct.
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1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Achievement motivation, for the purpose of this
study, can be characterized as the extent to which
individuals desire and strive to achieve success in
school and, later, at their jobs or careers (Deci,
Vallerand, Pelletier & Ryan, 1997). The present study
investigated achievement orientation and its
relationship to sub-samples of South African college
students.
Statement of the Problem
In order to fully understand why such a study is
needed, it is helpful here to note:
(1) School achievement is a problem in South
Africa.
(2) There is not a lot known about orientations
to schooling.
Because this study takes place in South Africa, a
brief historical description of the unique political
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and social history will help orient the reader to the
research context.
History of South Africa
This study's examination of achievement
motivation as it varies by race in groups of South
African college students is grounded in the history of
South Africa and its racial diversity, tensions, and
conflict. South Africa, located at the southern tip
of the continent of Africa, has a population of 45.1
million people. It is slightly less than twice the
size of Texas and boasts of high sweeping plateaus,
towering mountains, deep valleys, and beautiful
beaches lining its long, fertile coast.
Racially diverse, South Africa is about 75.2%
African, 8.6% Coloured (mixed race),1 13.6% White, and
2.6% Indian. Most Whites, Coloureds, and Africans
(about 60% of each group) are Christians. However,
there is a Hindu minority to which about 60% of the
1 As used in this study, this term refers to South
African citizens of mixed African, Asian or European
descent, sometimes referred to as "mixed raced."
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Indians belong; of the remaining groups, most are
Muslims.
According to McLaughlin (1991), racial issues
have long been a part of South African history
starting with the first permanent European settlement
(The Dutch East India Company), which purchased slaves
from warring tribes. In a discussion of the
historical roots of South Africa as they relate to
race, McLaughlin notes that by 1777, a long series of
wars between White farmers (Boers) and the Xhosa
people began. By 1841, Britain replaced the Dutch,
accorded legal rights to free Africans and Coloureds,
and abolished slavery.
Leaving the Cape, the Boers moved into the
interior establishing the Republics of Orange Free
State and the Transvaal during the 1850s. Increasing
tensions over the years led the two Boer Republics to
declare war on Britain at the close of the nineteenth
century.
While Britain won the war, the growing
discoveries of the wealth of South Africa and the
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general racist views that characterized European
Whites in general, led to increasing suppression of
non-Whites and stronger calls for independence from
English rule and laws by Whites. Under the leadership
of J.C. Smuts, the policy of Apartheid (complete
segregation) was established during World War II and
maintained until the early 1990s when Apartheid
policies and laws were abolished. A multiparty,
multiracial transitional government was formed, and
the first elections opened to all races were held in
April of 1994.
However, while the abolishment of Apartheid may
have initiated a resolution of racial conflict between
Whites and Africans in South Africa, it is important
to realize that there has long been, and remains, a
good deal of tension and conflict between Africans and
Coloured peoples.
According to Gumisai (1997), people of mixed race
(or Coloureds) stated that the new government
discriminated against them. In particular, they have
noted that during the Apartheid era they were not
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considered White enough and now, under a legitimate
government, they are not considered African enough.
Gumisai (1997) reported that there was a growing
feeling among people of mixed race that the
discrimination they suffered under White regimes
before South Africa's all-race elections in 1994 gave
way to marginalization at the hands of a mainly
African administration. Gumisai also noted that there
was some evidence that Coloureds were left out of the
government's affirmative action policy, aimed at
providing opportunities to the formerly deprived
African majority who, overall, suffered stronger
oppression at the hands of Whites than did Coloured
peoples.
Feeling that development funding was going only
to the African community and that a post-Apartheid
land redistribution program did not favor Coloureds,
Gumisai (1997) stated that many Coloured felt that
affirmative action in South Africa amounted to little
more than an economic racial cleansing. Moreover, the
government also had problems regarding White South
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Africans. In this regard, Gumisai stated that a
Pretoria High Court ruled against the city council for
unfairly discriminating against mainly White
ratepayers by having a two-tiered system in which the
more affluent were expected to subsidize the poor.
What makes for yet more tension and difficulty in
this regard is the fact that statistical data
collected on neighborhoods indicates that Africans
were truly in need of maximal help. For example,
about 98% of Asian households, 7 6% of Coloured
households, and 98.4% of White households had tap
water in their homes, while only 27% of Africans have
tap water. In addition, while only 30.5% of African
households used electricity from a public supplier as
their main energy source, the corresponding
percentages among Coloureds and Asians were 7 6% and
98.5% respectively (Gumisai, 1997).
Education in South Africa
It can easily be seen that the historical
conflict, tensions, divisions, and discrimination that
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were and still are, to some extent, a part of South
Africa continue to have an impact on the country's
educational system. Indeed, education is often
considered to be one of the most devastating legacies
of Apartheid. As pointed out by Crouch (1996), the
system was under-funded and overcrowded; further, it
had extremely high student-teacher ratios, inadequate
teacher training, and insufficient resources.
Crouch (1996) stated that these terrible
conditions were not randomly distributed across race.
At the lower levels of society, poor educational
conditions and circumstances were far worse; and these
lower levels of society are usually African.
Specifically, Crouch noted that faulty and inadequate
education is at its highest level for Africans,
followed by Coloureds, and then Whites. Race and
socio-economic status are closely related.
Moreover, while literally billions of dollars
have been spent by the South African government on
education, the government quite literally does not
have the resources to meet the needs of African
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students (Richardson, 1996) . At institutions of
higher learning, the division of adequate education
along racial lines remains. For example, Marais
(1995) reported that predominately White-enrolled
universities had significantly more high-quality
educational resources than either predominately
Coloured or predominately African universities.
Thus, the effects of Apartheid have produced
inequalities in education based on race, and the
consequent reforms undertaken to alleviate these
effects have not remedied existing racially based
disadvantages. When one considers that South African
residents' degree of success at their jobs and/or in
their careers tend to be proportional to the amount
and quality of their education (Richardson, 1996) , a
key question that can be asked is: What factors are
there that can operate to help African students
overcome the racially based handicaps they are
experiencing?
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Relevance of Achievement Motivation Theory
to Status of Education in South Africa
Whenever the best efforts of government cannot
overcome systematic inequalities in education,
students often must rely on whatever inner qualities,
attributes, and characteristics they possess in order
to overcome these challenges. It is well established
that higher levels of achievement motivation can
increase the learning and academic success levels of
disadvantaged students (Anderman & Midgley, 1998;
Mealey, 1990) . In this regard, Burbridge (1991)
reports that students who experience racial
discrimination will sometimes respond to these
challenges by strengthening their desire and strivings
for success, rather than playing the victim and
accepting the abuse.
Applied to South Africa, this means that one way
in which Africans may attempt to overcome their
disadvantages with respect to education is through
increasing their achievement motivation levels. If
these differences do exist, this could well have
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success implications for Africans not only in school
but later on in their jobs and/or careers. Indeed,
achievement motivation may be a strong contributor to
remedying the effects of inequality and discrimination
in the country. It is this fact that makes research
into racially based differences in achievement
motivation an important area of study.
Statement of the Problem
The research problem was to determine whether
there exist differences in the achievement motivation
levels of samples of Coloured and African students
attending the University of the Western Cape, the
University of Cape Town, and the University of
Stellenbosch.
The University of the Western Cape introduced the
country's first non-racial, open admissions policy.
The once segregated college was transformed into an
important site for political mobilization and
pedagogical reform in South Africa. It now has
Africans as the largest group. Forty-nine percent of
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the student population and 60% of its staff are
African.
The University of Cape Town was one of the oldest
institutions of higher education in South Africa,
established primarily to prepare white males for
further educational training abroad (Mabokela, 1997).
The politically liberal university was known for its
strong commitment to improving academic freedom and
interracial relations. It is one of the leading
research universities in Africa, and according to
statistics for the academic year 2000 (UCT, 2001), 48%
of the population was African and 47% were female.
The University of Stellenbosch was an elite
university, primarily because of its acceptance of the
Apartheid system. It built a system to alleviate
students of Coloured and African descent. However,
the university has become embroiled in an impassioned
political debate, as a new generation of white leaders
is forging a vision of South Africa beyond Apartheid
and defining the white institution's place in a non
racist society. According to the registrations in the
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year 2000, 68.34% were White, 10.00% were Coloured,
19.76% were African, and 1.89% were Asian.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine
achievement motivation and perceptions of achievement
motivation in groups of South African university
students. In this regard, Goduka (1996) reported that
race is a real and important issue in higher education
in South Africa and that there is a clear need for
educators to maximize their understanding of this
issue if they are to provide unbiased, high-quality
education to all groups. Motivation, however, not
race, is the key focus of this study.
While there are many factors that could be
explored for associations regarding race issues,
achievement motivation is selected because existing
research has established that achievement motivation
in general is directly related to both the success of
college outcomes and to later career success (Neumann,
Finaly & Reichel, 1988). Thus, achievement motivation
is of assistance in helping students to maximize their
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education and their later career success. The fact
that the University of the Western Cape has
transitioned from an historically Coloured university
to a primarily African university provides the setting
for comparison of students' achievement motivation
levels with the more advantaged University of Cape
Town and the University of Stellenbosch.
Research Questions
This study's research problem can be
characterized as an attempt to answer the following
research questions:
1. What are students' measured levels of
achievement motivation?
2. Do students' perception of their own levels of
achievement motivation vary by student
characteristics?
3. Are there differences in how students perceive
other groups?
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Significance of the Study
The need to understand the racial divisions in
South Africa and their effects as related to helping
students of all races achieve academically and
professionally has already been addressed as an
important issue. However, this need for understanding
is significant not only for educational or even
personal reasons, but also because there is a growing
situation in South Africa that is starting to generate
serious trouble. In this regard, Gumisai (1997)
reports that there is increasing animosity between
Coloured and African communities, no doubt perpetuated
by a perception that Coloureds betrayed Africans in
their voting patterns during the elections in which
most Coloureds supported the National Party rather
than the African National Congress (ANC).
A relatively new development, according to James
(1999), is the emerging notion of a "Coloured
identity." This debate takes two forms. One form is
that Coloureds should be regarded as a separate racial
group and that, therefore, provision should be made
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for the Coloureds to exercise their rights as a racial
group. The second approach, which interestingly
enough, is espoused by political activists who regard
themselves as loyal members of the ANC, calls for the
acknowledgment that Coloured communities are, in fact,
different and that, therefore, mechanisms need to be
put in place whereby the fears, desires and hopes of
the Coloured community can be addressed.
To the extent that this study contributes to a
fuller understanding of how social and political
differences affect the achievement motivation levels
of South African college students, it can be
characterized as contributing to a better
understanding of the racial forces that are building
in the country. Therefore, the study can be said to
have not only conceptual and practical significance
for education but also to have strong sociological
importance.
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Delimitations
The boundaries beyond which this study did not
seek to generalize are as follows:
1. The study was limited solely to South African
students; the extent to which findings might
generalize to students in other countries cannot be
known on the basis of this study's findings.
2. The study was limited to university students.
Whether findings might generalize to South African
students at other educational levels cannot be
determined on the basis of the findings of this
research.
3. The study used one measure of achievement
motivation and one measure of perceptions of
achievement motivation. The extent to which findings
would be the same if different or more measures had
been used cannot be known on the basis of this study's
findings.
4. All comparisons that were made in the study
were limited to Coloured and African university
students. The extent to which findings would
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generalize to different racial comparison groups
(e.g., comparisons between Whites and Coloureds,
Whites and Africans, etc.) cannot be known on the
basis of this study's findings.
Limitations
The primary limitation of the study involved the
fact that all subjects participating in the research
must voluntarily participate; in other words, the
subjects could not be forced to return the survey
instruments assessing achievement motivation and
perceptions of achievement motivation that were
distributed to them. According to Kiess and
Bloomquist (1995), volunteers have characteristics
that are distinguishable from non-volunteers, e.g.,
they are more sociable, less conventional, and so
forth. It is, therefore, possible that the findings
of the study may only be generalizable to the
volunteering subset of the student populations from
which the sample was drawn.
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Definitions
Achievement Motivation - Achievement motivation
is conceptually defined as the desire to be a success
in school and/or in one's profession or career
(Neumann, Finaly & Reichel, 1988). Psychoemotional
and behavioral correlates of this desire include:
involvement, commitment, and effort. This term is
operationally defined and measured as students' total
score on the Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS).
Africans - This term is commonly used to refer to
South Africans of Khoi, San, and Bantu descent (James,
1999).
Apartheid - A political legislation that
systematically entrenched racial segregation at all
levels of society by the government of South Africa;
it began during World War II.
Coloureds - This term refers to South African
citizens of mixed African, Asian or European descent,
sometimes referred to as "mixed race" (James, 1999).
Whites - This term refers to South African
citizens of European descent, primarily British and
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19
Dutch, with the latter sometimes referred to as
"Afrikaaner" (James, 1999).
Overview of the Study
The first chapter of the study describes the
basic nature of the research. The second chapter
presents a review of the pertinent research and the
third chapter describes and discusses methods used to
analyze and collect data.
The fourth chapter presents the findings of all
of the analyses conducted on collected data; findings
are reported in narrative and, where appropriate for
purposes of increasing understanding, they are also
presented in the form of tables and graphs. The fifth
chapter presents a summary of the basic research, and
a delineation of the conclusions reached on the basis
of the study's findings. This chapter also presents a
list of recommendations for future research in the
area.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
This research examined levels of racially related
achievement motivation and perceptions of achievement
motivation in samples of South African college
students. So that the research may be understood
within the context of the existing knowledge base,
this chapter presents a comprehensive review of the
research as it relates to achievement motivation and
perceptions of achievement motivation in one's own and
other racial groups.
This review of the literature begins with a
discussion and review of the literature on South
Africa's educational policy and its relation to equity
issues. This is followed by an examination of
theoretical and conceptual notions of achievement
motivation as well as an examination of the empirical
research. This review of literature ends with a
series of conclusions formulated on the basis of the
reviewed research.
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21
Educational Policy in South Africa
Thabethe (1999) stated that the educational
policy in South Africa was not seen as independent of
sociopolitical theory and/or reality. Thus, part of
an educator's task is to work with government
officials to improve various conditions that continue
to operate, despite liberation, to oppress many
segments of South African society. Thabethe pointed
out that educational reform is one of the prevailing
components of current-day educational policy in South
Africa.
This study looked specifically at students at
three universities. These were: The University of
Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, and the
University of Stellenbosch. Therefore, the research
provides a context to examine educational policy as it
relates to higher education.
Regarding higher education policy, Antonio (1996)
noted that the intermingling of democracy and
education found in South Africa's policy was also
present at its higher educational levels. However, he
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22
points out that higher education, unlike many local or
regional schools, has another mandate that it must
meet, which is that it must be internationally
competitive.
In other words, educational policy at the post
secondary levels must do more than produce a pool of
knowledge and high levels of skills usable by the
country. It must also produce graduates with a
caliber of schooling that can be used to assist the
country in the context of global economic competition.
As Antonio (1996) puts it:
South Africa is part of the global economy and
the role of education, specifically higher
education, is crucial. South Africa needs to be
internationally competitive if it is to generate
the resources needed to meet the challenges of
democracy, development and delivery. (p. 1)
Antonio further noted that there was a debate in
South Africa regarding the nature of policy needed to
foster internationally competitive universities. He
felt that what was needed was a holistic approach, one
that places international competitiveness within the
broader framework of developments in higher education
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23
with the basic goal being to meet real educational
needs and provide all students with quality education.
Achievement Motivation
A motive, according to Deci and Ryan (1985) , is
an abstraction about the statement of an organism that
helps to account for or predict the organism's
behavior. In other words, motivation can be thought
of as any state or condition that causes a person to
produce or inhibit behavior, e.g., the condition of
hunger will motivate someone to eat.
Obviously, theoretical and conceptual approaches
to achievement motivation center on trying to
determine motives for achieving or accomplishing one
or more set(s) of goals, objectives or purposes (Deci,
Vallerand, Pelletier & Ryan, 1991). In the context of
education, achievement motivation focuses on the
motives that lead students to succeed both in school
and later in their jobs or in the careers for which
they were trained (Anderman & Midgley, 1998). Thus,
the focus of the conducted study can be said to center
upon what motivates South African students to achieve
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24
success in school and whether this motivation varies
by race.
This study examined South African students'
actual and perceived levels of achievement motivation.
While the study did not test any theory of achievement
motivation, it did draw on this conceptual framework,
and it is necessary to have some understanding of
current conceptual views of achievement motivation,
especially those views that have been related to
cross-cultural issues. In this regard, one of the
major views of achievement motivation has been that
students are motivated by the various goals they set
for academic and later career achievement and, in
turn, the goals set are shaped by students' levels of
self-esteem (Barbarin & Midgley, 1998).
The self-esteem concept is somewhat applicable to
diversity issues in that there is a good deal of
research which has established that students belonging
to discriminated groups have lower levels of self
esteem than do students belonging to groups that do
not suffer from discrimination (Papalia & Olds, 1995).
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25
They also found that the poor children had higher
self-esteem. In an effort to better understand the
dynamics of this model, Barbarin and Midgley (1998)
examined the classroom motivation experiences and
goals of African students in two studies.
In order to fully understand the nature of the
studies conducted by Barbarin and Midgley (1998), it
is first necessary to briefly review goal theory and
its relevance for achievement motivation. Goal theory
is a descriptive model of students' reasons for
achieving (Midgley, 1993) with their reasoning
processes said to be connected to goal formulation.
In this regard, students are said to be cognitively
oriented to either task goals or ability goals.
To the extent that students are oriented to tasks
goals, they are (according to Goal Theory, previously
described) focusing on their own progress in mastering
skills and knowledge. Students with an orientation
toward task goals believe that the purposes of
achievement are personal improvement and understanding
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26
and they view themselves as successful in terms of
whether they have achieved these two objectives.
On the other hand, students with an ability
toward goal orientation believe that the purpose for
achieving is to demonstrate ability to others, or to
conceal lack of ability from others. Their notion of
success is appearing competent in comparison to other
people. They define themselves as successful to the
extent that they achieve this purpose.
With respect to the relation of Goal Theory to
achievement motivation, several studies have compared
students with task goal orientations to students with
ability goal orientations (e.g., Anderman & Maehr,
1994; Ryan, Hicks & Midgley, 1997). These studies
indicated that task goals are associated with more
adaptive learning patterns producing more effective
coping patterns, greater willingness to seek help when
needed; more positive feelings about school, as well
as about oneself as a learner; and a stronger tendency
to engage in challenging tasks.
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27
With the foregoing kept in mind, Barbarin and
Midgley's (1998) research on classroom motivation and
goal orientations of African and White students can
now be examined. In the first study, an examination
of changes in the self-esteem, personal mastery goals,
and performance of 513 African and White students
during the transition from elementary to middle school
was said to reveal that self-esteem increased, but
mastery goals and grades declined. It was also found
that the self-esteem of youngsters who perceived low
neighborhood quality declined during the elementary
school year.
In addition, students who perceived an emphasis
on a mastery goal structure (mastery and understanding
in their middle-school classrooms) exhibited higher
self-esteem, personal mastery goals, and grade-point
averages over time than students who perceived a low
emphasis on mastery goals. Contrary to earlier
studies, African students did not experience more
negative changes than White students during the
transition (Barbarin & Midgley, 1998).
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28
In the second study, qualitative interviews were
used to examine the achievement goals of 24 African
sixth graders in a poor, urban middle school and their
perceptions of the classroom goal structure. Students
overwhelmingly expressed academic goals. They also
mentioned mastery goals, but rarely mentioned the goal
of out-performing others (relative ability goals).
Perceptions of task, autonomy, and evaluation
dimensions of the learning environment were assessed
to examine the classroom goal structure. Virtually
all students described classrooms in which there was
low-level academic work, a lack of opportunities to be
autonomous, and an emphasis on academic incentives
including the use of grades to control students. The
results were said to support Goal Theory with respect
to task and ability orientations; however, they are
also said to additionally highlight the importance of
providing an environment in middle schools that
emphasizes learning, understanding, and mastery.
Miller (1999) reported that setting both current
and future goals has been well established as at least
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29
partially explaining students' levels of achievement
motivation. In an effort to provide a cross-cultural
context to the theory, Miller investigated the
knowledge upon which plans for the future develop
using one Mexican female, one Cheyenne-Arapaho male,
and one Caucasian female. Data sources included:
interviews, historical data, autobiographical reports,
surveys tapping students' present-classroom goals,
cognitive engagement and self-regulation, and repeated
observations. These data supported that knowledge
about the future is represented as plans and that much
of this knowledge was the result of sociocultural
experiences related to each student's race and
culture.
Another current theory of achievement motivation
that has been looked at from a cross-cultural
perspective is attribution theory. This theory holds
that achievement strivings are the result of the types
and kinds of causes to which students attribute their
successes and failures (Weiner, 1985).
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30
To understand the studies discussed in this
section of the literature review, it is helpful to
first examine attribution theory and its relation to
motivation and achievement. As noted by Sears,
Freedman, and Peplau (1996), attribution theory
focuses on people's use of causal ascriptions or
explanations, their motivation to formulate causal
explanations, and their decisions as to which
particular cause is most important in formulated
explanations.
Attribution theory also studies bias in
attributional processes that prevent people from
arriving at accurate causal explanations. Sears et
al. (1996), note that the central issue in most
perceptions of causality is whether a person decides
to attribute a given act to internal states or
external forces. This is known as the "locus of
causality."
Another dimension of attributions, according to
Sears et al. (1996) is controllability. Perceptions
of controllability can vary with some causes being
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31
viewed as within the individual's control, and other
causes being seen as outside of the individual's
control. This is commonly the dimension of
attribution referred to as "locus of control."
Educators have, over the years, applied
attribution theory to students' perceptions of their
successes and failures with respect to school
performance (e.g., Graham, 1990; Weiner, 1985).
Specifically, attribution theory with respect to
motivation examines the reasons students provide for
both their successes and failures in school.
Regarding these reasons, Anderman and Midgley
(1998) point out that the theory holds that students
who believe that poor performance or failure in school
is caused by factors out of their control are unlikely
to have very high levels of achievement motivation as
they see no reason to hope for improvement. On the
other hand, if students believe that poor performance
or failure is due to factors that are within their
control, their achievement motivation is higher and
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32
they will persist in efforts to improve their
performance and success levels.
Cross-Cultural Studies
With this understanding of attribution theory in
mind, the cross-cultural studies can now be examined.
In this regard, Gentile (1998) examined attribution
theory under experimentally controlled achievement
situations in order to determine whether there were
differences in students' attributions (perception of
the causes of his or her own success or failure) as
well as persistence (determination) among (Caucasian)
American, Chinese-American, and Taiwanese college
students. Furthermore, personal interviews were
conducted to explore the relationships between
students' attributional and persistence styles and
their educational and family backgrounds.
A total of 285 college students (148 males and
137 females) were recruited to represent the American
(N = 62), the Chinese-American (N = 53), and the
Taiwanese students (N = 170). The study contained two
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33
phases: the experimental phase and the interview
phase. The experimental phase involved, in this
order: (a) outcome-manipulated treatment tasks aimed
at inducing either relatively good or poor
performance, (b) an attribution questionnaire (CDS
II), and (c) a difficult untimed task containing
unsolvable items. The second phase involved in-depth
interviews with 15 of the 285 participants (5 per
cultural group).
According to Gentile (1998), results suggested
that students across the three cultural groups were
successfully subjected to the manipulated treatment
effects for which they provided their causal
attributions. When the treatment effect was held
constant statistically, students from the three
cultures still differed significantly on their
perceived attributions. Follow-up contrasts showed
that the Taiwanese students demonstrated significantly
higher internal attributions than their Chinese-
American counterparts alone, and the combined group of
American heritage.
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34
Analyses of the persistence task showed that when
the effects of age, gender, and treatment were
statistically controlled, culture still significantly
distinguished students. Specifically, the combined
group of Chinese heritage persisted significantly
longer than their American counterparts. Finally,
various contrasts conducted between/among the cultural
groups revealed that the Chinese-Americans appeared
more similar to the Americans attribution-wise but
more akin to the Taiwanese persistence-wise.
Also, the interview data revealed that Chinese-
Americans seemed to hold an eclectic view between the
Americans and the Taiwanese regarding the roles of
ability and effort in one's ultimate success.
Therefore, the hypothesis that the Chinese-Americans
would demonstrate a pattern of attribution and
persistence resembling a mixture of American and
Chinese features was at least partially confirmed.
Summary
Based on the foregoing review, achievement
motivation can be understood as the extent to which
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35
individuals desire and strive to achieve success in
school and in their later job, career or profession.
Factors influencing their degree of achievement
motivation include the goals they have for both the
present and the future, their degree of self-esteem,
and the patterns they use to attribute causes for
their successes and failures.
Furthermore, the existing research on theoretical
notions of achievement motivation indicate that almost
every one of the factors contributing to motivation
levels can be affected by race experiences. The
strongest of these inputting factors are the nature of
individuals’ present and future goals, their levels of
self-esteem, and their patterns of attributing causes
for their successes and failures. What the literature
showed was that each of these factors can be affected
by racial issues.
1. Discrimination experiences can lower racial
groups' levels of self-esteem. However, it has also
been shown that minority races experience high self
perceptions .
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36
2. Discrimination experiences can operate, in
part, by depressing self-esteem to such levels that it
leads students to set their goals low and to prefer
extrinsic rather than personal mastery goals. This is
a deficit as high achievers tend to set personal
mastery goals.
3. Discriminatory experiences based on race tend
to create students who attribute successes to external
factors and failures to personal inner flaws. They
also make students less persistent in their strivings
for success.
Relationship of Race to Achievement
Motivation Research Using South African Samples
Unfortunately, there has been very little
research examining achievement motivation in cross-
cultural contexts, particularly in samples of South
African students. It is known that, in general,
students of all racial backgrounds have made some
achievement gains in education since the abolishment
of Apartheid laws and policies (van Aardt & van Wyck,
1996). It is further known that male and female South
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37
African students show some differences in their
achievement patterns and orientations (van Aardt & van
Wyck, 1996).
Regarding motivation to succeed in school and
beyond, Naidoo (1996), in a survey of 252 third-year
South African college students, found that they are
generally less dependent and more motivated to learn
than is generally assumed.
Regarding racial differences, Stones (1988)
compared the work ethic of 308 young South Africans of
the Eastern Cape during the time of Apartheid laws and
policy with that of an American sample. Findings were
said to reveal that South African Whites compared
favorably at the high-school level, but were
significantly less motivated at the college level.
The converse was true for Africans who were highly
motivated at the college level although not
necessarily at the high school level. The extent to
which these findings would be the same following the
abolishment of Apartheid is not known, however.
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38
In a study of motivation, Scott (1993) sought to
determine whether the motivational patterns of first-
year university students differed between courses of
varying difficulty levels, and the nature of the
interactions between self-efficacy, attributional
style, and academic achievement. A total of 509
students majoring in history, physical education,
mathematics, and private law at an independent, rural
South African university were surveyed.
A two-part subject-specific questionnaire was
developed by the researcher for each of the four
courses of study to assess how students in the
specific majors rated their self-efficacy, goal-
orientation, attributional choice and attributional
style. The results indicated a relationship between
motivational pattern and course difficulty, but not
between motivational variables and academic
achievement. Based on findings, it was concluded that
students needed to have a motivational pattern that is
more adaptive before they would accept the challenge
of a difficult course of study such as mathematics or
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39
private law. However, differences in motivational
patterns related to race differences were not
explored.
The failure to examine for racial comparisons in
motivational studies of South African students means
that the literature specifically related to the
population of interest offers little in the way of
understanding the relationship, if any, of race to
motivational achievement. However, there has been
some research accomplished on these issues in American
populations. Keeping in mind the notion that while
there are some similarities between America and South
Africa, there are also strong differences, this
research can be explored for insights into how the
racial-achievement motivation relationship might be
manifested in South African students. The next
section of this review examines this research.
Relationship of Race to Achievement
Motivation Research Using American Samples
Are differences in students' racial backgrounds
related to differences in achievement motivations
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40
and/or their perceptions of the achievement motivation
of racial groups that are different from their own?
Americans have, at least to some extent, studied this
question.
In one study, Whitehead and Smith (1990) found
that African-American and White undergraduate students
had different levels of motivation to learn which was
explained in terms of attributional differences.
Specifically, it was found that Whites tend to
attribute success to internal factors and failure to
external factors more than do African-Americans. This
is a style of attribution that is more likely to lead
to school and career success. It was stated that the
tendency of African-Americans to use a less-
achievement oriented attributional style was related
to socioeconomic oppression in American society and
its influence on cognitive and psychoemotional
factors.
Altonji (1990) examined motivation to succeed in
terms of college retention. The basic assumption was
that staying on at college following the first year
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41
indicated higher levels of achievement motivation.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of
the High School Class of 1972, Altonji found that
African-American males had a lower rate of return
after one year of college than White males (5.4%
versus 5.9%). It was noted that differences were not
explained by differences in the observed
characteristics of African-American and White males,
and it was suggested that disadvantaged status may
explain at least part of the findings.
Karen (1991) reported that consistently American
research shows that Whites tend to have higher levels
of achievement and achievement motivation than
minorities in society. Based on an examination of
enrollment patterns among African-Americans, women,
and working-class youth from 1960 to 1986, she did
note that changes were occurring. Specifically, it
was found that African-Americans and women gained
broad access to elite institutions as a result of
mobilization, while working-class youth did not.
Noting that political factors have benefited minority
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42
groups in American society, Karen feels that if the
trend continued, differences in
achievement/achievement motivation would will grow
smaller and smaller.
In an interesting study of motivation to achieve,
and its relationship to expecting that one will
achieve, Rotberg, Brown, and Ware (1987) explored the
relationship of socioeconomic status (SES), race,
gender, career self-efficacy, career interests, and
sex-role orientation to career-choice range in female-
male, and non-gender-dominated careers. One of the
purposes of the study was to determine the relation of
SES, race, sex-role orientation, gender, and career
interests to career self-efficacy.
Results indicated that career interest and career
self-efficacy expectations significantly predicted
range of perceived career options above and beyond the
contributions of the other dependent variables.
Similarly, career interest and sex-role orientation
predicted self-efficacy expectations. In other words,
racial differences did not make for differences in
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43
students' perceptions of whether or not they would
achieve in their careers.
Does college students' attendance make for
differences in their achievement levels? Allen (1986)
examined student academic performance, racial
attitudes, and college satisfaction with a national
sample of African-American students attending selected
predominantly White and historically African-American,
state-supported universities. The effect of student
background, campus experiences, and personality
orientation was investigated in relation to students'
socioeconomic status, high-school grade-point average
(GPA), involvement in and adjustment to campus life,
academic competitiveness of the college, race
relations on the campus, self-concept, and
occupational aspirations.
Data were obtained for 1,583 students from the
1981 and 1983 versions of the National Study of Black
College Students (housed at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor). Findings observed that,
overall, grades were significantly higher for males
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44
and students on African-American campuses, and
students with higher grades reported greater
satisfaction with and involvement in college life.
High-school GPA was the strongest predictor of
college grades for all subgroups except African-
American females on White campuses. Discrimination
was reported by African-American students at White
campuses. Based on findings, Allen concluded that:
Evidence suggests that college grades will be
highest where students are happier and more
satisfied with college life. (Allen, 1986, P. 1)
Finally, there is some evidence to suggest that
in American society, socioeconomic status may be far
more influential than race in terms of student
motivation to achieve academically. This was observed
in a study conducted by Burbridge (1991) as part of an
ongoing research project to assess differences in
educational attainment when controlling for race, sex,
and socioeconomic status.
The National Educational Longitudinal Survey 1988
(NELS) of 8th graders and a survey of 10th graders,
High School and Beyond 1980-82 (HSB), were utilized to
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45
obtain data that were then analyzed. This research
found that socioeconomic status determined educational
outcomes more than any other variable examined. It
was noted that results were in keeping with the
findings in previous research (Burbridge, 1991).
In addition, the study found that the school
performance of low socioeconomic status boys was not
as good as that of girls from low socioeconomic
backgrounds in the eighth grade sample. This finding
was consistent across racial groups. The finding did
not hold true in the high-school sample however. This
result was due in part to the fact that many low
performing boys may have dropped out, and those boys
who remained in school made considerable gains
relative to girls as they approached graduation. Boys
from higher socioeconomic homes did as well as or
better than girls in both data sets. Nevertheless,
girls expressed a greater interest in college,
especially girls from higher socioeconomic
backgrounds.
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African-American and Hispanic girls were more
likely to take advanced placement examinations. Thi
finding of preference was said to reflect the better
employment opportunities many boys have right after
high school. Many African-American young men, and
some Hispanic as well, expressed interest in the
military as an alternative to college. It is
important to keep in mind that it is reasonable to
expect differences by race, but there are other
important factors as well.
Conclusions
This chapter presented a review of existing
research on the contribution of race to achievement
motivation and perceptions of achievement motivation
The key question that needs to be asked here is
whether the existing literature indicates that race
may make for differences in achievement motivation
and/or perceptions of achievement motivation in
samples of South African students. Based on the
reviewed material, it can be concluded that there is
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47
really insufficient information to answer this
question in any definitive way.
Studies conducted on South African student
samples indicated that there may be some achievement
motivation differences between Whites and Africans,
but the research does not address the question of
differences between Africans and Coloureds. Studies
conducted on American samples indicate that there are
differences between racial minority groups and
majority groups in both achievement motivation and
perceptions of achievement motivation. However, the
history of racial conflict in America between these
groups is quite different than that of South Africa as
it relates to Coloureds and Africans. This
experience, rather than race, is more likely to create
differences in orientation to schooling.
For example, in America, minorities were
oppressed while the majority group was not. In South
Africa, both the Coloured minority and the African
majority were oppressed. The difference between the
oppression experienced by Coloureds versus Africans
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48
may be perhaps only in degree. Further, America's
laws and its constitution supported equality between
peoples, even though it was not practiced. In South
Africa, the law supported segregation. It seems
reasonable to conclude that the clear differences
between America and South Africa make it difficult to
determine the extent to which the findings observed
for American students would generalize to South
African students.
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49
CHAPTER 3
METHODS
Statement of the Research Problem
This study examined achievement motivation and
perceptions of achievement motivation in samples of
university students attending three South African
universities. Of interest was determining whether
differences in university and/or differences in racial
background significantly contributed to the variance
in actual and perceived achievement levels. This
chapter delineates and discusses all of the methods
and procedures that were used to collect and analyze
data.
Research Approach
The conducted research was descriptive in nature.
According to Best (1991), descriptive research can be
distinguished from other forms of research based on
the following characteristics:
Descriptive studies are non-experimental in that
they describe, not test, relationships between non-
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50
manipulated variables in a natural rather than
artificial lab setting. Since the events or
conditions have already occurred, the researcher
selects the relevant variables for an analysis of
their relationships.
In this study, achievement motivation levels,
perceptions of achievement motivation levels,
university of college attendance, and the race of
students were not manipulated by the researcher. This
is to say that subjects were not assigned to different
levels of some of these variables. However, the
researcher did organize and cross tabulate these
variables by categories and demographics in order to
take a more precise look at data.
All of the variables and procedures used in
descriptive research are described as accurately and
completely as possible so that the study can be
replicated by other researchers. In this chapter of
the study, these procedures and methods are
comprehensively described.
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51
Design Variables
The study has two independent variables. These
independent factors are: (a) university of attendance
with three options: Western Cape, Cape Town, and
Stellenbosch, and (b) students' racial backgrounds
restricted to either Coloureds or Africans.
There were four dependent measures: (1) ratings
of one's own personal level of achievement motivation;
(2) scores on the Achievement Motivation Survey
assessing perceived levels of achievement motivation;
(3) ratings of the achievement motivation levels of
one's own racial group (Coloured or African); and (4)
ratings of the achievement motivation levels of a
racial group (Coloured or African) other than one's
own.
Subject Selection Methods
The researcher obtained permission to conduct the
questionnaires at each university. For this study, a
random selection of sample was used. Each university
provided a list of instructors, lecture times, and
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52
locations. The Department of Economics was
specifically chosen for its strong enrollment in the
three universities. Two instructors were selected
from the Department of Economics at each university.
The researcher contacted the instructors and
coordinated the distribution of the questionnaires.
For the purpose of this study, the criterion for
subject participation was based on university
membership. Each student had to be enrolled in the
perspective courses to be eligible to participate in
the study. Approximately 64 Coloured and African
students were enrolled in the Economics classes at the
University of the Western Cape, 68 Coloured and
African students were enrolled in the Economics
classes at the University of Cape Town, and 55
Coloured and African students were enrolled in the
Economics classes at the University of Stellenbosch.
Selected subjects ranged from first to five-year
status at each university because there was no
university requirement that distinguished who could or
could not enroll in each class.
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53
According to Best (1991), in order for data to be
representative of the population from which it was
drawn, there should be at least a 60% return rate.
Therefore, several steps were taken to make sure that
at least 60% of the questionnaires were returned.
After the first distribution, the researcher
determined those students who had not yet returned
their questionnaires. This determination was made by
comparing the names on the returned questionnaires to
the list of names on the attendance sheets to which
the questionnaires were distributed.
A simple tally showed that 106 students had
returned their completed instruments after the first
distribution for a return rate of 106/187, or 56.68%.
These were the tests collected from each participating
class at each university. Thirty-six students from
the University of Cape Town, thirty-eight students
from the University of the Western Cape, and thirty-
two students from the University of Stellenbosch
returned completed instruments after the first
distribution. The frequencies of students returning
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54
their instruments after the first distribution varied
but not significantly.
Because the return rate was under 60%, a second
distribution, along with another instrumentation
packet, was given to those who had not returned their
questionnaires along with a letter attached telling
them how important it was that their input be
received. They were asked again to complete their
instruments and return them. According to Best
(1991), a second distribution will usually result in
at least a 60% return rate or greater.
The second distribution was returned by a total
of 74 additional students for an overall return rate
of 180/187 or 96.26%. Twenty-five students from the
University of Cape Town, twenty-nine students from the
University of the Western Cape, and twenty students
from the University of Stellenbosch returned completed
instruments following the second distribution, for a
total return rate of sixty-one students from the
University of Cape Town, sixty-seven students from the
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55
University of the Western Cape, and fifty-two students
from the University of Stellenbosch.
However, it must be noted here that the
instruments of all students who returned
questionnaires were not utilized. Rather, as to have
an overall sample that was counter-balanced for both
university and racial groups, all of the completed
instruments were then sorted, numbered and cross
tabulated by university and by racial group (Africans
and Coloureds) resulting in six groups.
From each of these groups, 2 0 students were
selected for a total of 120 students using a random
numbers table. Thus, 120 or 64.2% of those to whom
the survey was distributed comprised the actual sample
from which data were analyzed (Table 1).
An attempt was made to control for
confidentiality by including a note in the
instrumentation packets that informed students that
all data they returned would be kept strictly
confidential.
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56
Instrumentation
Three test instruments were used in the study.
These were: (1) the Achievement Motivation Scale
(Russell, 1969) ; (2) the researcher-designed
Perceptions of Achievement Motivation Questionnaire;
and (3) the researcher-designed Importance of
Strategies for Success Questionnaire. Each of these
instruments is discussed below (Appendix B).
Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS)
The AMS, developed by Russell (1969), is a
measure of motivation toward education. Specifically,
the instrument is designed to measure motivation
levels for secondary school and college students. The
test consists of 30 items which provide both an
overall measure or composite score as well as subscale
measures related to students. For the purposes of
this study, only the overall or global achievement
scale was used--school motivation, willingness to
compete, and achievement in reading, mathematics, and
language.
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57
Table 1
Racial Background and Setting of Sample
University Setting Africans Coloureds
University of the N=20 N=20
Western Cape
University of Cape Town N=20 N=20
University of N=20 N=20
Stellenbosch
Total N=60 n=60
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58
Reliability and Validity
of the Achievement Motivation Scale
Following the development of the AMS, Russell
(1969) computed a Pearson-moment correlation between
the AMS scores of two samples of 9th grade students
and their actual achievement levels as assessed by the
California Achievement Test. The resulting
correlations ranged from .604 to .718, which Russell
noted, strongly supports test validity. For the AMS,
Chronbach alpha is not reported. Since reliability
and validity were previously established for this test
measure, and it is not considered valid to run a
Chronbach alpha on the study sample, this statistic
was not computed for this test instrument.
In addition, Vallerand (1993) studied concurrent
and construct validities of the instruments using
samples of 107 male and 110 female junior college
students in Montreal (Canada) who completed the AMS
and other motivation assessments. Vallerand did not
describe the values of his findings, but reported that
his findings supported both the concurrent and
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59
construct validity of the AMS. Although the AMS has
been shown to have some validity, it is unknown how it
relates to the subjects of this study. However, the
AMS is reported by Powers & Rossman (1983) to have
strong reliability and to have been used in a wide
variety of studies including studies of achievement
motivation in college students of different racial and
cultural backgrounds.
The Perceptions of the Achievement
Motivation Questionnaire (TPAMQ)
In addition to measuring students' actual
achievement motivation levels, this study was
interested in their own assessments of theirs' and
other students' achievement motivation levels, and in
determining whether racial factors or differences in
which universities they attend contributed to their
perceptions. To examine these perceptions, the study
used the researcher-designed The Perceptions of
Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (TPAMQ).
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60
Reliability and Validity of the TPAMQ
Because the TPAMQ was a non-standardized
researcher-designed instrument, several steps were
taken to boost its reliability; and the validity is
not known. However, Gall and Borg (1996) have
recommended several steps for use in terms of
strengthening the validity and reliability of a
researcher-designed instrument. These steps were
followed.
With respect to the foregoing, the first step
taken was to ask a panel of four faculty experts from
the University of the Western Cape to review the first
draft of the TPAMQ and to make recommendations and
suggestions for improving its reliability and
validity.
These experts were recommended to the researcher
by the Department of Economics at the University of
the Western Cape for their professional background and
potential interest in the study. Experts' comments
were then incorporated into a second draft of the
instrument, which was given to a small sample (N = 12)
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61
of college students attending the University of the
Western Cape, the University of Cape Town, and the
University of Stellenbosch.
Descriptive statistics (means, standard
deviations, frequencies and percentages) were computed
for each rating. The findings observed for these
descriptive analyses are presented in Table 2. As can
be seen from examination of the table, almost all of
the students in the pilot sample found the test
instrument either "easy" or "very easy" to understand
and complete.
Because of the high ratings observed in this
pilot study, it was decided to leave the questionnaire
in its second draft form. In other words, observed
findings showed that all subjects selected either the
"easy" or the "very easy" categories indicating that
the test was not confusing to them in terms of the
nature of the ratings it requested.
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62
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics Observed for Pilot Test of The
Perceptions of Achievement Motivation Questionnaire
(TPAMQ)
Easy to Understand
Mean =4.42 S.D. = 0.67 Range = 6
RATING FREQUENCY PERCENT CUMULATIVE PCT.
Very Hard 0 0.00 0.00
Hard 0 0.00 0.00
Somewhat Easy 1 8.33 8.33
Easy 5 41.67 50.00
Very Easy 6 50.00 100.00
Easy to Complete
Mean =4.50 S.D. = 0.52 Range = 6
RATING FREQUENCY PERCENT CUMULATIVE PCT.
Very Hard 0 0.00 0.00
Hard 0 0. 00 0.00
Somewhat Easy 0 0.00 0.00
Easy 6 50.00 50.00
Very Easy 6 50.00 100.00
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63
In an effort to gain some insight into scale
reliability, a Chronbach Alpha was computed.
Chronbach's Alpha is the estimate of the average of
all split half estimates of reliability using the
formula (alpha = K * avgcor/ [1+(k—1) * avgcor]) where
k is the number of items and avgcor is the average
inter-item correlation coefficient). The observed
value was .72, the cut-off low for signaling
reliability. Thus, the instrument appears to have at
least some reliability. However, its non-standardized
nature, the observance of a minimally acceptable
Chronbach Alpha value, and the use of single item
measures could combine to make any findings observed
for the instrument somewhat tentative. Thus, at best,
the instrument should be considered to yield only a
preliminary look at achievement motivation
perceptions.
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64
Additional Instrumentation
In an effort to learn more about students' views
of success and their general motivation to succeed,
the researcher developed an additional instrument,
which was The Importance of Strategies for Success for
Students Questionnaire. After careful review of the
relevant literature, the researcher developed this
instrument by considering the factors reported to be
associated with academic success, such as the degree
of importance students placed on future success, the
number of hours per night students spent studying, the
number of days per week students attended class on a
regular basis, and the number of years students had
been studying (Alexander & Simmons, 1978; Gagne, 1970;
Levin & Allen, 1976; Sternberg & Wagner, 1986).
The desire was to conduct a series of
supplemental analyses in order to determine the degree
to which number of hours per night spent studying,
years of study, and number of days per week students
attended class on a regular basis could be used to
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65
predict the degree of importance students placed on
future success.
Data Analysis
The Perceptions of Achievement Motivation
Questionnaire was designed using a 5-point Likert-type
scale. Several statisticians state that Likert-type
scaling yields equal-interval data, thereby making
scale scores appropriate for use using parametric
statistics such as the Student t or the analysis of
variance (e.g., Lapin, 1990; Linton & Gallo, 1975).
The Likert-type scale used on the questionnaire
required that subjects rate perceived levels of
achievement motivation for several groups using the
following weights:
5 = Very Strong Achievement Motivation
4 = Strong Achievement Motivation
3 = Average Levels of Achievement Motivation
2 = Weak Achievement Motivation
1 = Very Weak Achievement Motivation
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66
The primary focus of the study was achievement
ratings of two of the listed groups, namely Coloured
South Africans and Africans. It should be recognized
here that these were, therefore, only single-item
measures, a fact that could decrease the
questionnaire's psychometric soundness. It should be
further noted that because these were single items, a
mean score was computed (using a statistical package)
by adding up the ratings for each group at each
university and dividing by their number. The mean
rating was calculated.
Ratings for each subject were collected for three
items of the TPAMQ. These consisted of each subject’s
rating of his/her own level of achievement motivation,
of Coloureds' levels of achievement motivation as a
group, and of Africans' levels of achievement
motivation as a group. It should be recognized here
that these were, therefore, only single-item measures,
a fact that could decrease the questionnaire's
psychometric soundness.
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67
Collected data were analyzed using both
descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Each
type of analysis is described and discussed below.
Descriptive Analyses
For both the AMS and the Perceptions of
Achievement Motivation Questionnaire, measures of
central tendency and variability as well as
frequencies and percentages were computed and
reported. These data were used to compile an overall
profile of the entire samples' achievement motivation
levels and their general perceptions of the
achievement motivation of other racial groups.
Inferential Analyses
ANOVAS. The study's research questions were
tested using the two-way analysis of variance
statistic, which simultaneously assessed whether
achievement motivation and/or perceptions of
achievement motivation significantly differed as a
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68
function of differences in students' college of choice
and/or differences in their racial background.
The analysis of variance was selected because (a)
it is amenable to the level of data measurement of the
dependent variables of the study (Lapin, 1990), (b) it
can be used to detect even small differences between
groups (Lapin, 1990), and (c) the statistic is robust
with respect to its underlying assumptions (Lapin,
1990; Linton & Gallo, 1975). In addition to
conducting a series of AISTOVAS, several t-test
comparisons were also conducted, and all of the
research questions formulated for testing in the study
were analyzed using the conventional .05 significance
level.
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69
CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS
Overview
This chapter presents the findings observed for
all conducted analyses. The first set of descriptive
analyses presents measures of central tendency and
variability observed for students': (a) ratings of
the strength of their own personal achievement
motivation; (b) ratings of the strength of Coloureds'
achievement motivation; (c) ratings of the strength of
Africans' achievement motivation; and (d) scores on
the Achievement Motivation Scale. The presented
ratings are cross-tabulated by racial group and by
university of attendance.
The second set of conducted analyses is
inferential in nature. These consist of several two-
way (2 x 3) analyses of variance performed on
students' ratings of the strength of their own
personal achievement motivation, the strength of
Coloureds' achievement motivation; the strength of
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70
Africans' achievement motivation, and on levels of
achievement motivation as assessed by the Achievement
Motivation Scale.
All findings are reported in narrative and, where
necessary for purposes of elucidation, also presented
in tabular form. Following the presentation of
findings, results are discussed.
Perceived Levels of Achievement
Motivation: Universities
The first set of descriptive analyses consisted
of tabulations of subjects' perceived ratings of the
strength of achievement motivation cross-tabulated by
the three universities attended: Western Cape, Cape
Town, and Stellenbosch. These ratings are presented
in Table 3 and, as can be seen from examination of the
table, once again ratings are relatively high across
the board.
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71
Table 3
Means and Standard Deviations Observed for Ratings of
the Strength of Personal Achievement Motivation,
Perceptions of Coloureds' Achievement Motivation, and
Perceptions of Africans' Achievement Motivation:
Cross-Tabulated by Racial Group and by University
Perceived Strength of Personal Achievement Motivation
Mean SD
Racial Group
Coloureds (N=60) 3.88 .72
Africans (N=60) 4.29 . 69
Whole Sample (N=120) 4.06 .71
University
Western Cape (N=40) 4.04 .700
Cape Town (N=4 0) 3.96 .765
Stellenbosch (N=40) 4.19 . 660
Whole Sample (N=120) 4 .06 .708
Perceived Strength of Coloureds' Achievement
___________________Motivation___________________
Mean SD
Racial Group
Coloureds (N=60) 4.35 .71
Africans (N=60) 4.00 .72
Whole Sample (N=120) 4.18 .71
University
Western Cape (N=40) 4.21 .745
Cape Town (N=4 0) 4.21 . 695
Stellenbosch (N=40) 4.10 .705
Whole Sample (N=120) 4.17 .715
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72
Table 3 (continued)
Perceived Strength of Africans' Achievement Motivation
Mean SD
Racial Group
Coloureds (N=60) 3.86 .73
Africans (N=60) 4.19 . 69
Whole Sample (N=120) 4.03 .71
University-
Western Cape (N=40) 3.83 . 635
Cape Town (N=4 0) 4.08 .750
Stellenbosch (N=40) 4.17 .740
Whole Sample (N=120) 4.03 .708
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73
Levels of Achievement Motivation
All subjects in the study completed Russell's
(1969) Achievement Motivation Scale. The descriptive
findings observed for these data, cross-tabulated by
racial group and by university, are presented in
Table 3. Scores on the AMS were free to vary from 0
to 30. Levels of achievement motivation were arrived
at with cut off scores of: 0-10 (low), 11-20
(medium), and 21+ (high). Review of the means
presented indicates that the achievement motivation of
the sample as a whole was relatively high. The
highest mean was observed for African students
attending the University of Stellnbosch (Mean = 24.5).
The lowest mean for Coloured students attending the
University of Cape Town was 22.77.
Perceived Levels of Achievement Motivation:
Racial Groups
The Perceptions of Achievement Motivation
Questionnaire required all subjects to rate, along a
5-point Likert-type scale: 5 = Very Strong
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74
Achievement Motivation; 4 = Strong Achievement
Motivation; 3 = Average Levels of Achievement
Motivation; 2 = Weak Achievement Motivation; and 1 =
Very Weak Achievement Motivation. The instrument was
designed so that the degree of perceived strength
increased with the numerical value of the rating.
Table 4 presented the means and standard
deviations observed for Coloureds, Africans, and the
sample as a whole. Group means show that, on the
average, the sample as a whole tended to perceive
achievement motivations as relatively strong for
themselves personally and for both Coloured and
African groups.
Inferential Analyses:
Perceived Strength of Personal
Achievement Motivation
The first inferential analysis conducted was a 2
x 3 analysis of variance performed on students'
ratings of the Achievement Motivation Scale, which
indicate perceived strength of the students'' own
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75
Table 4
Group and Sample Means and Standard Deviations
Observed for Achievement Motivation Scale Scores
GROUP MEAN SD
Western Cape Coloured (N=2 0) 22.88 3.14
Western Cape African (N=20) 22.65 3.57
Cape Town Coloured (N=20) 22.77 2.86
Cape Town African (N=20) 23.08 2.86
Stellenbosch Coloured (N=20) 24.12 2.37
Stellenbosch African (N=20) 24.50 2.57
Whole Sample (N=120) 23. 67 2 . 90
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76
personal achievement motivation levels. The cell and
marginal means, along with the ANOVA summary table is
presented in Table 5.
As can be seen from examination of the table, the
analysis revealed one significant effect, which was a
main effect for the Racial group variable (F=9.41;
df(1,150); pc.Ol). It was found that Africans
(Marginal Mean = 4.24) perceived the strength of their
personal levels of achievement motivation to be
significantly higher than did Coloureds (Marginal Mean
= 3.88). The observed main effect can be more fully
understood through a graphic depiction; this graph is
presented in Figure 1 which shows students' ratings by
racial group plotted across the three universities.
No significant differences were observed for the
university variable. In other words, perceptions of
the strength of one's personal achievement motivation
were roughly the same across the three universities
which subjects attended.
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77
Table 5
Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary Findings:
Ratings of the Strength of One's Personal Level of
Achievement Motivation
Cell and Marginal Means
Marginals University of
the Western
Cape
University of
Cape Town
University of
Stellenbosch
Coloured 3.88 3. 62 4.15
3.88 (N=2 0) (N=20) (N=2 0)
African 4 .19 4.31 4.23
4.24 (N=20) (N=20) (N=20)
Marginal 4.04 3. 96 4.19
(N=20) (N=2 0) (N=20)
ANOVA Summary Findings
Source SS DF MS F P
University (U) 1.44 2 0.72 1.41 .2474
Racial Group (R) 5 . 03 1 5 . 03 9. 87 . 0020
U X R 2.51 2 1.26 2 . 47 . 0883
Error 76.38 150 0.51
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78
.00
,50
,40
,30
,20
,10
,00
,90
,80
,70
.60
Western Cape Cape Town Stellenbosch
= Coloured = African
Figure 1
Graph of Ratings of Personal Levels of Achievement
Motivation Plotted Across Universities
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79
Inferential Analysis:
Perceived Strength of Coloureds'
Achievement Motivation
The next analysis conducted was a two-way
analysis of variance conducted on student ratings of
the strength of Coloureds' Achievement Motivation on
The Perception of Achievement Motivation Questionnaire
(TPAMQ). Table 6 presents the findings observed in
this analysis along with cell and marginal means.
Examination of this table shows that the analysis
revealed a main effect for the University variable (F
= 9.099; df(2,150); pc.Ol). The main effect showed
that students attending the University of Stellenbosch
(Marginal Mean = 4.10) perceived Coloureds'
Achievement Motivation significantly weaker in
strength than did either students at the University of
the Western Cape (Marginal Mean =4.21) or students at
the University of Cape Town (Marginal Mean = 4.21).
This main effect is graphically depicted in Figure 2.
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80
Table 6
Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary Findings:
Ratings of the Strength of Coloureds' Level of
Achievement Motivation
Cell and Marginal Means
Marginals University of
Western Cape
University of
Cape Town
University of
Stellenbosch
Coloured 4.35 4.42 4.27
4.35 (N=2 0) (N—20) (N=20)
African 4.08 4.00 . 92
4.00 (N=20) (N-2 0) (N-20)
Marginal 4.21 4.21 4.10
ANOVA Summary Findings
Source SS DF MS F P
University (U) 0.46 2 0.23 0.45 . 6389
Racial Group (R) 4.67 1 4.67 9.09 .0030
U X R 0.15 2 0.07 0.15 .8610
Error 77 . 04 150 0.51
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81
5,
4,
4,
4 ,
4,
4,
4.
3,
3,
3,
00
50
40
30
20
10
00
90
80
70
3. 60
Western Cape Cape Town Stellenbosch
Coloured = African
Figure 2
Graph of Ratings of Strength of Coloureds' Achievement
Motivation Levels Plotted Across Universities
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82
Inferential Analysis:
Perceived Strength of Africans'
Achievement Motivation
A 2 x 3 analysis of variance was also conducted
on subjects' ratings of the strength of Africans'
Achievement Motivation on The Perception of
Achievement Motivation Questionnaire (TPAMQ). The
analysis of variance summary findings, along with cell
and marginal means, observed for this analysis are
presented in Table 7. As can be seen from this table,
the analysis revealed a main effect for both the
Racial Group variable (F=3.31; df(1,150); p<.05) and
the University variable (F-8.64; df(2,150); pc.Ol).
For the Racial Group variable, marginal means
indicated that Africans (Marginal Mean = 4.19)
perceived the achievement motivation of Africans to be
significantly stronger than did Coloureds' perceptions
of the achievement motivation of Africans (Marginal
Mean = 3.86). With respect to the University
variable, Tukey's (a) test specific comparisons used
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83
Table 7
Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary Findings:
Ratings of the Strength of Africans' Level of
Achievement Motivation
Cell and Marginal Means
University of University of University of
Marginals the Western Cape Town Stellenbosch
Cape
Coloured
3.86
3.58
(N=20)
3.88
(N=20)
4.12
(N=2 0)
African
4.19
4.08
(N=2 0)
4.27
(N=2 0)
4.23
(N=20)
Marginal 3. 83 4. 08 4.17
ANOVA SUMMARY FINDINGS
Source SS DF MS F P
University (U) 3.32 2 1.66 3.31 .0392
Racial Group
(R)
4.33 1 4.33 8.64 .0038
U X R 1.01 2 0.51 1.01 .3668
Error 75.23 150 0.50
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84
to compare marginal means indicated that students
attending Stellenbosch (Marginal Mean = 4.17)
perceived Africans' achievement motivation levels to
be significantly stronger than did students attending
Western Cape (Marginal Mean = 3.83). Findings are
graphically depicted in Figure 3.
Inferential Analysis:
Levels of Achievement Motivation
The final analysis conducted was a two-way
analysis of variance performed on subjects'
Achievement Motivation Scale scores. Table 8 presents
the findings observed for this analysis along with
cell and marginal means. A significant main effect
was observed for the University variable (F = 4.06;
df(2,150); p<.05). Specific comparison tests
conducted on Marginal Means indicated that the
students at the University of Stellenbosch (Marginal
Mean = 24.31) had significantly higher levels of
Achievement Motivation than did the students who
attended either the University of the Western Cape
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85
5.
4.
4,
4.
4.
4,
4
3.
3,
3
3.
00
50
40
30
20
10
00
90
80
70
60
Western Cape Cape Town Stellenbosch
Coloured African
Figure 3. Graph of Ratings of Strength of African
Achievement Motivation Levels Plotted Across
Universities
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86
Table 8
Cell and Marginal Means and ANOVA Summary Findings:
Achievement Motivation Scale Scores
Cell and Marginal Means
University of University of University of
Marginals the Western Cape Town Stellenbosch
Cape
Coloured 22.88 22.77 24.12
23.26 (N=20) (N=20) (N=20)
African 22. 85 23.08 24.50
23.47 (N=2 0) (N=20) (N=2 0)
Marginal 22.87 22.92 24 .31
ANOVA SUMMARY FINDINGS
Source SS DF MS
University (U) 69.35 2 34.67 4.06 .0191
Racial Group 1.85 1 1.85 0.22 .6419
(R)
U X R 1.32 2 0.66 0.08 .9256
Error 1279.65 150 .050
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87
(Marginal Mean = 22.87) or the University of Cape Town
(Marginal Mean = 22.92). The findings observed for
this analysis are graphically depicted in Figure 4.
Supplemental Analyses
In an effort to obtain at least some additional
insight into students' achievement motivation, three
items on The Importance of Strategies for Success for
Students Questionnaire were analyzed for racial
differences for students at each of the three
universities. The comparisons made on all three items
for students who were attending the University of the
Western Cape were between Coloureds and Africans as
were the comparisons made for students attending the
University of Cape Town, and the University of
Stellenbosch.
All of the foregoing comparisons were made using
a series of non-parametric t-tests. The items
selected for analysis reguired students to provide
information on the number of hours they spent studying
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88
24.5
24 .4
24.3
24.2
24.1
24.0
23.9
23.8
23.7
23.6
23.5
23.4
23.3
23.2
23.1
23.0
22.9
22.8
22.7
22.6
22.5
Western Cape Cape Town Stellenbosch
= Coloured = African
Figure 4. Graphic Depiction of Actual Achievement
Levels Plotted Across Universities
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89
each night, the number of days per week they spent
attending class, and the number of years they had been
attending the university. All observed findings are
reported separately for each university.
University of the Western Cape
The final series of non-parametric t-tests
conducted were performed to compare Coloured and
African students attending the University of the
Western Cape on each of the three items on The
Importance of Strategies for Success for Students
Questionnaire. The findings observed for these
analyses were previously presented. One of the
findings was significant.
The significant finding was for the item
assessing the number of hours per night spent
studying. Specifically, it was found that Africans
spent more hours studying per night than did
Coloureds, a possible indicator of higher achievement
motivation levels. Table 9 presents the
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90
Table 9
Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests Conducted
to Compare Coloured and African Students Attending the
University of the Western Cape
Number of Hours Spent Studying Per Night
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured
African
43
57
.83 876.5 20
.15 1143.0 20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
917 . 0 876.5 -2.5256 .0115 .006
Number of Days Per Week Spent Attending Class
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured 47.10 942.0 20
African 53.90 1078.0 20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
1080.0 942.0 -1.4331 .1518 .076
Number of Years Attending University
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured 51.05 1021.0 20
African 49.95 999.0 20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
1222.0 999.0 -0.2042 .8382 .419
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91
non-parametric t-tests for the University of the
Western Cape.
University of Cape Town
Table 10 presents the findings observed for the
non-parametric t-tests conducted to compare Coloured
and African students attending the University of Cape
Town.
Because there was no basis in the literature for
predicting specific differences between these groups
in terms of time spent studying, attending class, or
going to a university, only two-tailed values of t
were considered appropriate in terms of stating
findings to be significant. With this kept in mind,
it can be noted that none of the conducted tests were
significant.
However, it can be noted that the item "Number of
hours spent studying per night" is very close to the
.05 alpha level of significance indicating a possible
trend in the direction of Coloureds spending more
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92
Table 10
Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests Conducted
to Compare Coloured and African Students Attending the
University of Cape Town
Number of Hours Spent Studying Per Night
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured 55.65 1113.0 20
African 45.35 907.0 20
U Wilcox Z 2-tailed p' 1-tailed p
993.0 907.0 -1.9455 .0517 .026
Number of Days Per Week Spent Attending Class
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured 47.40 948.0 20
African 53. 60 1072.0 20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
1095.0 948.0 1.3409 .1800 .090
Number of Years Attending University
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured 51.50 1030.0 20
African 49.50 990.0 20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
1199.5 990.0 -0.3604 .7186 .359
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93
hours per night studying than Africans— a possible
indication of higher achievement motivation.
University of Stellenbosch
Table 11 presents the findings observed for the
non-parametric t-tests conducted on all three items on
The Importance of Strategies for Success for Students
Questionnaire. Comparisons were made between Coloured
and African students attending the University of
Stellenbosch. As can be seen from examination of this
table, African students did not significantly differ
from Coloured students in terms of the number of hours
per night spent studying, the number of days per week
spent attending class, or the number of years they had
been attending the university.
Summary of Results
Relation of Findings to
Research Questions
Regarding the study's tested research questions,
it can be remembered here that examination of the
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94
Table 11
Findings Observed for Non-Parametric T-Tests Conducted
to Compare Coloured and African Students Attending the
University of Stellenbosch
Number of Hours Spent Studying Per Night
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured
African
53.38
47. 63
1067.5
952.5
20
20
U Wilcox z 2-tailed p 1-■tailed p
1106.5 952.5 -1.0671 .2859 .143
Number of Days Per Week Spent Attending Class
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured
African
50.95
50.05
1019.0
1001.0
20
20
U
1227.0
Wilcox z
1001.0 -0.2321
2-tailed p
.8165
1-tailed p
.408
Number of Years Attending University
Groups Mean Ranks Sum of Ranks Cases
Coloured
African
53.38
47.63
1067.5
952.5
20
20
U Wilcox Z 2-tailed p 1-tailed p
1106.5 952.5 -1.0337 .3013 .150
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95
reviewed literature indicated that there had been very
little cross-cultural research on achievement
motivation. It was further noted that the research
conducted in American society was suspect in terms of
generalization because South Africa and America have a
number of historical, legal and sociopolitical
differences with respect to racial bias and prejudice.
The first tested research question asked: What
are students' measured levels of achievement
motivation? While achievement motivation levels did
not differ as a function of race, they did differ as a
function of the universities that students were
attending with significantly higher levels of
achievement motivation being found in students
attending Stellenbosch.
The remaining research questions tested in this
study were: whether students' perception of their own
levels of achievement motivation vary by student
characteristics, and whether there differences are in
how students perceive other groups?
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96
Findings revealed that Africans tended to
perceive their personal achievement motivation levels
and the achievement motivation levels of their racial
group to be significantly higher than the levels of
the other racial group. Coloureds, on the other hand,
perceived their personal achievement levels and that
of their group to be roughly similar to those of
Africans. It should, however, be noted that no group
in the study perceived another racial group to have
low achievement motivation; rather it was just a
matter of who was viewed as having the highest levels.
This could also be a measurement issue.
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97
CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
One possible reason for the higher levels of
achievement motivation at the University of
Stellenbosch may be attributed to environment. The
University of Stellenbosch is the oldest and most well
established university in South Africa standards of
education.
Moreover, the university put forth strong efforts
to recruit Coloured and African students of the finest
academic quality for the university. In other words,
most students who went to this college, regardless of
their racial background, tended to be students who had
already evidenced strong levels of educational
achievement and who were very highly motivated to
succeed. Therefore, this is an implication that
environment is a factor in determining one's level of
achievement motivation.
A key question that can be asked here is why
Africans would tend to view themselves as having
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98
somewhat higher levels of achievement motivation than
Coloureds? The answer may lie in the sociopolitical
realities of South Africa. In this regard, it should
be remembered that the African population constitutes
the group most in need in South African society,
because about 98% of Asian households, 76% of Coloured
households and 98.4% of White households have tap-
water in their homes, while only 27% of Africans have
tap-water (Gumisai, 1997).
Similarly, Africans also constitute the largest
percentages of South Africans having no electricity in
their homes. They have a lower level of education
than White and Coloured groups and are just,
generally, in greater need. In order to succeed when
one’s circumstances are most desperate, one needs to
be very highly motivated as he or she must overcome
many obstacles. In this regard, Lindgren and Harvey
(1994), noted that having high levels of achievement
motivation is not independent of one's concept of
self. Perhaps there is a need for Africans that
succeed and do well, to develop and maintain a very
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99
strong concept of themselves as achievers and this is
reflected in the somewhat higher levels of achievement
motivation they perceive in themselves.
According to the self-esteem concept, a favorable
self-image is the key to success (Papalia & Olds,
1995). This self-image can be adversely affected by
discrimination. However, contrary to this
perspective, the African students had higher levels of
achievement motivation. These results are consistent
with the findings of the studies of Soares and Soares
(cited in Papalia & Olds, 1995) and Trowbridge and
Trowbridge (cited in Papalia & Olds, 1995, ) where
minority-group children had higher self-concepts than
their middle-class, primarily White, peers.
Goal Theory presents another explanation for the
African students having a higher level of achievement
motivation. In this study, the subjects are all
college students. They are in school to further their
education and in hopes of a promising future. Already
enrolled in esteemed academic institutions with
demanding standards of education, opportunity for
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100
autonomy, and academic incentives, the subjects are
already highly motivated. Furthermore, the African
students may have to be more motivated than the other
students in order to overcome the added problems of
discrimination and achieve their goals.
Relation of Findings to
Existing Literature
Based on the literature review, this study
defined achievement motivation as the desire to do
what it takes to be successful in school and career
(Mealey, 1990). The reviewed research indicated that
achievement motivation can be moderated by such
factors as having conflict and tension within a
country based on race (Burbridge, 1991) which was said
to lead to the question of whether South African
college students may experience different levels of
achievement motivation depending upon whether they are
Africans or Coloured. However, the findings observed
for the actual measure of achievement motivation
showed no differences as a function of racial group.
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101
In other words, both Coloureds and Africans tended to
have roughly the same high levels of achievement
motivation.
Another point made in the existing research was
that when there exists racial conflict between
peoples, there is a tendency for people to perceive
one another negatively (Lindgren & Harvey, 1994).
Based on this point, the study asked the question as
to whether Africans and Coloureds would have a fair or
correct perspective of one another's degree of
achievement motivation. What was found was that
Africans tended to perceive their personal and group
levels of achievement motivation as being higher than
Coloureds. However, this does not seem to show
negative feelings when one considers that Africans
viewed both theirs and Coloureds' achievement
motivation as quite high; they merely saw themselves
and their group as striving to achieve a bit more.
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102
Relation of Findings to
Research Methodology
In any study, the question must be asked as to
whether the findings of the study may be attributable
to methodological or statistical artifact. Regarding
this study, one of the predominant concerns must be
the fact that the study's measure of perceived
achievement motivation levels was not a standardized
instrument.
Although steps were taken to improve the
likelihood that the instrument was psychometrically
sound without all of the strenuous testing that goes
into a standardized test, it really cannot be known as
to whether acceptable levels of reliability and
validity were reached. For this reason, it is
probably wise to consider the findings of this study
as exploratory in nature. Only after the study has
been replicated using some form of standardized
measure can strong confidence fully be placed in
findings.
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103
Two other problems are the descriptive nature of
the study and its use of what constituted a basically
a volunteer sample. Because of the descriptive nature
of the research, none of the statements or conclusions
made regarding the variables of interest (racial
groups, achievement motivation, and so forth) can be
considered to be causal in nature.
Rather, the most that can be said is that there
appears to be some association between the variables
examined. Thus, more strenuous research will be
necessary before statements, conclusions, and any
generalizations made in this study can be considered
in any causal context. This fact also adds to the
notion that findings, at best, constitute a basically
preliminary look at achievement motivation among
certain racial groups in South Africa.
Similarly, the use of a volunteer sample stands
as a limitation on findings. Given that volunteers
and non-volunteers have many different
characteristics, it remains possible that this study's
findings are applicable only to those Coloured and
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104
African groups that have the basic personality
profiles of volunteers, e.g., conventional,
scientifically minded, etc.
This leads to the chapter on Conclusions and
Recommendations, where the researcher makes
recommendations based on findings for future studies.
As mentioned earlier, this study was "exploratory" in
nature. The researcher is hopeful that this study
will spurn the interest of its readers and encourage
future studies of this population.
The rationale for this study was based on two
lines of existing research. First, research indicated
that achievement motivation can be moderated by such
factors as having conflict arid tension within a
country (Burbridge, 1991), leading to speculation as
to whether South African college students may
experience different levels of achievement motivation
as a function of different experiences in a socially
conflicted society.
Second, it was noted that conflict between
peoples leads to a tendency for them to perceive one
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105
another negatively (Lindgren & Harvey, 1994). This
fact raised the question of whether Africans and
Coloureds would have a fair or correct perspective of
one another's degree of achievement motivation.
The study was said to be significant because of
the profound need to understand the divisions in South
Africa and their effect on helping students of all
races to achieve academically and professionally.
Moreover, it was noted that increasing tension and
conflict between Coloured and African communities were
related to the research in that to the extent this
study contributes to a fuller understanding of how
racial differences affect the achievement motivation
levels of South African college students, it will also
contribute to a fuller understanding of the racial
forces that are building in the country.
The specific research focus of the study was to
determine whether there exist actual and/or perceived
differences in the achievement motivation levels of
samples of Coloured and African students attending The
University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape
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106
Town, and the University of Stellenbosch. To this
end, distributions of the study's measure of
achievement motivation along with a researcher-
designed questionnaire developed to assess perceptions
of racial group's achievement motivation, were sent to
a sample of Coloured and African students attending
the Universities of Western Cape, Cape Town, and
Stellenbosch.
Completed questionnaires were returned to the
investigator who then analyzed responses both
descriptively and inferentially. The findings
observed for the conducted analyses can be summarized
as follows:
1. Africans perceived the strength of their
personal levels of achievement motivation to be
significantly higher than did Coloureds.
2. Africans perceived the achievement motivation
of Africans to be significantly stronger than did
Coloureds.
3. Students attending the University of
Stellenbosch perceived the strength of Coloureds'
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107
Achievement Motivation significantly weaker than did
either students at the University of the Western Cape
or students at the University of Cape Town.
4. Students' attending Stellenbosch perceived
Africans' achievement motivation levels to be
significantly stronger than did students attending
Western Cape.
5. Students at the University of Stellenbosch had
significantly higher levels of Achievement Motivation
than did the students who attended either the
University of the Western Cape or the University of
Cape Town.
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108
CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusions
This study aimed at answering three research
questions. The first of these was: What are
students' measured levels of achievement motivation?
It can be concluded that levels of achievement
motivation do not appear to differ as a function of
differences in students' racial background but that
they do appear to differ in relation to the university
students attend. The study's second research question
was: Do students' perception of their own levels of
achievement motivation vary by student
characteristics?
The answer to this question is that while views
of one's own personal achievement motivation were not
subject to differences as a function of the university
students attended, it was found that Africans
perceived the strength of their personal levels of
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109
achievement motivation to be significantly higher than
did Coloureds.
It is concluded here that Africans' perceptions
of themselves as having very high achievement
motivation levels are most likely due to the fact
that, to even get to college, they have had to
overcome many, many deprivations and obstacles
requiring a repeated renewal of their desire to
achieve. Thus, it is like that they have made strong
achievement aspirations a central part of their self-
concept .
It is further concluded that the foregoing is
also likely to explain the findings regarding the
study's third research question which was: Are there
differences in how students perceive other groups?
The findings of this study did not show that
Coloureds' perceived Africans' achievement motivation
levels to be different from their own while Africans
did perceive themselves to have slightly higher
achievement motives than Coloureds. It is likely that
their struggle to overcome the strongest deprivations
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110
in South Africa shaped a few of them as having a
slightly higher level of achievement motivation than
those of other groups such as Coloureds who also had
to overcome much but just not as much. This is
probably why perceptions of Coloureds' achievement
levels, despite being lower than those of Africans,
were still very strong.
Recommendations
Schunk (2000) presents the learner-centered
psychological principles— developed by the American
Psychological Association (APA). The APA principles
represent a comprehensive framework for learning and
the learner factors that impact achievement. This
study only looked at a small part. The principles are
grouped into four categories. These categories are
cognitive and metacognitive factors, motivational and
affective factors, developmental and social factors,
and individual differences. These factors are defined
as follows:
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Ill
Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors
1. Nature of the learning process. The
learning of complex subject matter is most
effective when it is an intentional process
of constructing meaning from information and
experience.
2. Goals of the learning process. The
successful learner, over time and with
support and instructional guidance, can
create meaningful, coherent representations
of knowledge.
3. Construction of knowledge. The successful
learner can link new information with
existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
4. Strategic thinking. The successful learner
can create and use a repertoire of thinking
and reasoning strategies to achieve complex
learning goals.
5. Thinking about thinking. Higher-order
strategies for selecting and monitoring
mental operations facilitate creative and
critical thinking.
6. Context of learning. Learning is influenced
by environmental factors, including culture,
technology, and instructional practices.
Motivational and Affective Factors
7. Motivational and emotional influences on
learning. What and how much is learned is
influenced by the learner's motivation.
Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced
by the individual's emotional states,
beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of
thinking.
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112
8. Intrinsic motivation to learn. The
learner's creativity, higher-order thinking,
and natural curiosity all contribute to
motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation
is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty
and difficulty, tasks that are relevant to
personal interests, and tasks that provide
for personal choice and control.
9. Effects of motivation on effort.
Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills
require extended learner effort and guided
practice. Without learners' motivation to
learn, the willingness to exert this effort
is unlikely without coercion.
Development and Social Factors
10. Developmental influences on learning. As
individuals develop, there are different
opportunities and constraints for learning.
Learning is most effective when differential
development within and across physical,
intellectual, emotional, and social domains
is taken into account.
11. Social influences on learning. Learning is
influenced by social interactions,
interpersonal relations, and communication
with others.
Individual Differences Factors
12. Individual differences in learning.
Learners have different strategies,
approaches, and capabilities for learning
that are a function of prior experience and
heredity.
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113
13. Learning and diversity. Learning is most
effective when differences in learners'
linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds
are taken into account.
14. Standards and assessment. Setting
appropriately high and challenging standards
and assessing the learner as well as
learning progress— including diagnostic,
process, and outcome assessment— are
integral parts of the learning process.
(Schunk, 2000, p. 320)
According to the learner-centered principles,
learning and motivation are influenced by many
factors, some of which include environmental factors,
cultural and social backgrounds, and intrinsic
gualities of an individual, to name a few. This study
did not consider all of these factors. It is
recommended that future studies utilize a broader
framework, such as the APA learner-centered principles
to develop a more comprehensive and thorough
examination of achievement motivation.
A key guestion that can be asked here is what are
the implications of the findings of this study for
South Africa's educational policy? Current educational
policy in the country has been discussed by The
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114
Education Policy Unit (1998) as consisting of a joint
project of the National Education Coordinating
Committee (NECC), and the University of the
Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.
One of the points noted by the Education Policy
Unit (1998) is that a major constraint on the
implementation of the country's broad and equitable
education policies has been that of scarce resources.
Government agencies charged with the responsibilities
of budgeting, prioritizing, and planning educational
growth in various areas have repeatedly found their
plans subverted by a lack of funds from the Department
of Finance. This has left schools in a crisis which
is to say that even with getting a good foundation for
college work, as well as getting a good education,
college is still difficult for many. Given these
facts, it seems reasonable to state that students are
going to have to rely more on their own inner
achievement motivation if they are to overcome the
obstacles to getting the kind of education that leads
to success.
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115
In other words, understanding the factors that
make for strong levels of achievement motivation is
becoming increasingly important to helping students to
obtain an education because of the many barriers in
their path. It is therefore recommended here that
future researchers make research in the area a
priority. Questions that should be answered consist
of: What makes some students have high levels of
achievement motivation while others do not? What can
educators do to boost students' levels of achievement
motivation?
With respect to research in the area, it is also
recommended that future researchers attempt to
replicate this study using more valid, multiple
measures and situate the study in sociocultural
factors. Further, researchers may wish to design
studies that allow for some further insight into the
connection between perceptions of achievement
motivation (both in one's own racial group and other
racial groups) and levels of achievement motivation.
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116
To what extent do perceptions shape or contribute to
actual levels?
Another way in which ongoing research may provide
a fuller understanding of achievement motivation might
be to conduct a longitudinal study of its development
as children progress through the lower levels of the
school system. In this regard, it can be noted that
quantitative delivery of educational opportunities,
especially for the poorest families, and qualitative
advance in education effectiveness, are severely
threatened by budget considerations. This is said to
be linked to a serious lack of capacity in many areas
of provincial administration to manage resources and,
in particular, personnel provisioning and funding.
A final recommendation for future researchers is
to examine if there is a connection between
achievement motivation and what the Education Policy
Unit calls "resilient schools." These are schools that
consistently turn out successful well-educated
students despite the profound obstacles to their doing
so. Do such schools inculcate in students a strong
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117
level to succeed? And if they do so, how do they go
about this? What programs, projects, and so forth work
best? It is research such as this, and that described
earlier, which will be able to see both Coloured and
African students through this difficult time of
transition, allowing them to succeed despite all
obstacles.
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118
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APPENDIX A
RESEARCH CONTEXT
Historical Backgrounds
University of the Western Cape
In terms of discussing the educational policy of
South Africa, it must first be noted that the real
heart of this policy began in 1982 when the University
of the Western Cape officially opposed the use of
racial criteria guiding admissions to tertiary
education in South Africa. By introducing the
country’s first non-racial, open-admissions policy,
the once segregated college (designated under
Apartheid for the education of Coloureds or people of
mixed descent) was transformed into an important site
for political mobilization and pedagogical reform in
South Africa. It now has Africans as the largest
group(49%) of the student population, and 60% of its
staff are African.
Indeed, the University of the Western Cape (UWC)
is somewhat of a microcosm of the country's efforts to
free itself from the shackles of Apartheid. What
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126
needs to be recognized here is that, as pointed out by
Anstey (1992), the University of the Western Cape
expressed the future of South African educational
policy embracing the notions of affordable and
equitable education for all long before the end of
Apartheid. As such it is a model for all universities
in South Africa.
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town, originally known as
the University of the Cape of Good Hope when it was
created in 1829, was formally established as a
university in 1918. It was one of the oldest
institutions of higher education in South Africa. It
is an English-language university established
primarily to prepare White males for further
educational training abroad (Mabokela, 1997). The
politically liberal university was known for its
strong commitment to improving academic freedom and
interracial relations. It is one of the leading
research universities in Africa, and it now has a
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127
diverse student population. According to statistics
for the academic year 2000 (University of Cape Town,
2001a), 48% of the student population was African and
47% was female.
University of Stellenbosch
The University of Stellenbosch, founded in 1847,
has long been known as the cradle of Afrikaaner
nationalism (Scully, 1986) . Like the University of
Cape Town, the mission of this Afrikaans-language
university was to prepare White males for further
education overseas. The elite university, primarily
because of its acceptance of the Apartheid system, had
built a system to alleviate students of Coloured and
African descent. However, according to Scully (1986),
the university became embroiled in an impassioned
political debate, as a new generation of White leaders
forged a vision of South Africa beyond Apartheid and
defined the White institution's place in a non-racist
society.
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128
Stellenbosch, the country's oldest town, has from
very early, on had a significant involvement in the
history of education in South Africa. In 1866 under
the New Education Act the local public school was
reorganized as a first-class public school, also to be
known as the Stellenbosch Gymnasium. In 1873 the
then-Board of Examiners was replaced by the Examining
University of the Cape of Good Hope. This new
university set steadily increasing standards, thereby
creating a demand for more advanced teaching. To help
meet the new demand, the Stellenbosch Gymnasium in
1874, under the Higher Education Act, set up its own
professorial division.
Buildings and departments were added over the
years. In 1887, the jubilee year of Queen Victoria's
reign, Her Majesty consented to the name of the
College being changed to The Victoria College of
Stellenbosch. Victoria College became an independent
university in 1916, with all its privileges and
duties, as the result of the Union Parliament. The
number of registered students at the College in the
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129
last year before its promotion to university status
was 503. In the same year the teaching staff
consisted of 40 members; 22 of them being professors
and 18 lecturers.
The University Act, replacing the Victoria
College by the University of Stellenbosch, came into
effect on April 2, 1918. In the decades since then,
the University of Stellenbosch, in response to new
needs that arose in regard to the training of
students, has been involved in a constant process of
establishing new and adapting existing faculties,
departments and other academic entities. Thousands
have studied at Stellenbosch and gone on from there to
make a valuable contribution in practical life.
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130
APPENDIX B
INSTRUMENTATION PACKET SENT TO STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE,
THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN,
AND THE UNIVERSITY OF STELLENBOSCH
Section I
Importance of Strategies for Success Survey
The purpose of this survey is to determine how you
think certain academic strategies and achievement
motivation levels contribute to future success. Please
complete this survey and return it to your instructor.
Your answers will be used for research purposes only,
and will not become part of your permanent record.
Date _________________________
School ________________________
Circle One (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior)
Age ____________________
Sex: Male ( ) Female ( )
As a South African, your race is
(i.e., Zulu, Afrikaaner, Xhosa, Sotho, etc.) _________
(For example: Coloured, Afrikaaner, African) _________
How frequently do you participate in activities that
include other races and/or cultures? (Circle one.)
Extremely Frequently
Quite Frequently
Slightly Frequently
Neutral
Slightly Infrequently
Quite Infrequently
Extremely Infrequently
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131
1. How many hours a night would you estimate you
study?
Between 0-2 ; 2-4 ; 4-6 ____; 6-8 ___; 8-10
More than 10 hours a week (how many? ___)
2. On average, how many hours a week do you spend on
academic development (e.g., study groups, tutors,
workshops, talking to professors, etc.)? _________
3. On average, how many days a week do you attend
classes on a regular basis?
4 days a week _____
3 days a week _____
2 days a week _____
1 day a week _____
Occasionally _____
Never
4. Do you keep a diary or write on a calendar your
short-term and long-term goals throughout each
school term? ___ Yes No
If yes, what are your short-term and long-term
goals?
5. On average, do you feel "motivated" throughout the
semester?
Beginning _____
Middle _____
End _____
Occasionally _____
Never
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132
6. On average, how soon after lectures do you review
your notes?
4 days a week _____
3 days a week _____
2 days a week _____
1 day a week _____
Occasionally _____
Never
7. After obtaining your degree from the University, do
you plan on continuing with (check one):
Master's degree _____
Doctorate degree_______________
Employment _____
Combination of the above _____
8. On average, how many days do you miss class per
month due to illness or other personal reasons?
9. Why did you select your particular career
orientation for success?
10.How much help did you receive from the following
personnel in choosing and planning an occupation
for success?
Very Very
None Little Some Much Much
Counselors ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Teachers ___ ___ ___
Administrators ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
Others ___ __ ___ ___ ___
(specify)____________________
11.Please rate the value of the program of studies
using the scale provided below.
4 = Very Valuable
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133
3 = Valuable
2 = Little Value
1 = Worthless
0 = Didn't Take
Liberal Arts
Mathematics
Engineering
Pre-Law
Pre-Medicine
Social Science
Biological Sciences
Humanities
Music
English
Afrikaans
other languages (specify)
Art
Business (specify)_
12,Are all these classes available (major/specialties)
at your University?
Yes _
No ___ If no, which ones?___________________
13.What is the University's reputation with this
program of studies? Circle one: Excellent, Very
Good, Good, Satisfactory, I Don't Know.
14.How long have you been attending this University?
Year(s)_________________ Semester(s)________________
For each item, circle the letter(s) that best
describes how important the characteristic, skill,
service, status, or relationship is for future success
using the scale provided below:
Neutral (N)
Not Important (NI)
Slightly Important (SI)
Important (I)
Very Important (VI)
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134
1. Do you put pressure on yourself N Ni si
to succeed?
2. Do you have a routine/regular N NI SI
study schedule?
3. Does the improvement of academic N NI SI
achievement improve your self-esteem?
4. Do you judge yourself harshly N NI SI I
towards failure?
5. Do you take advantage of the N NI SI
academic advisement office or
counseling department?
6. Are you organized in your N NI SI
planning and follow-through on
your goals?
7. Does the offer a successful N NI SI
degree completion program that
includes job placement
services, alumni support for job
positions, etc.?
8. Success is important for N NI SI
personal growth.
9. Do you consider your family to N NI SI
be partners in making university
attendance available?
10. How would you rate the N NI SI
University?
11. Is this University your first N NI SI
choice of a University
in South Africa?
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I VI
: vi
: vi
VI
: vi
: vi
: vi
VI
: vi
: vi
VI
135
Circle the number that you agree or disagree with for
each statement:
3 = Extremely
2 = Quite
1 = Somewhat
0 = Neutral
1. I believe that this University equips their
graduates with an education that will help them
succeed in the work force.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
2. Once I receive my degree, I know that I am assured
of a job in the field of my studies.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
3. Financial services have been available and
provided to me in order for me to attend this
University.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
4. Besides my tuition costs, the financial support I
have received is also being used for books,
housing, transportation, etc.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
5. My decision to get a degree here was due to my
family's social class.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
6. It was a family decision for me to attend this
University and earn a degree.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
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136
7. The family participated in selecting the academic
field in which I have majored.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
8. While attending here, I have experienced a
shortage of school materials (e.g., books, paper,
pens, etc.).
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
9. Academic achievement is related to race, income,
gender, and other differences.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
10. Women should participate on an equal basis with
men in terms of access to education.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
11. Women should not participate on an equal basis
with men in the educational processes for
employment development.
Agree Disagree
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.
Confidential: No information you submitted will be
identified with you or with the school.
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137
Section II
The Achievement Motivation Scale
In the place provided, please answer each statement
listed below with either "yes" or "no."
1. Students should set their goals only as high as
they can easily reach.
2. Does it bother you if another student makes
better grades than you do?
3. Would you rather be a leader in a small school
than to be just another student in a large school?
4. Does failure discourage you from trying as hard
the next time?
5. You should select your friends from among those
whose goals are generally as high as your own.
6. Would you like to take a school subject in
which no tests were to be given?
7. Do you often compare your work with the work of
others?
8. Are you usually on time with written
assignments?
9. Do you believe "Win or lose, who cares?"
10. Do you try to make better grades than other
students in your classes?
11. Rewards should be given regardless of effort to
achievement.
12. Would you, or do you, enjoy being one of the
class leaders?
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138
___13. The person who makes the highest grade on a
test is to receive an award. Would you stay home from
a social event or an athletic contest to study?
14. Do you stick to an assignment until it is
completed even though it is dull and boring to you?
15. If you lost several times consecutively, would
you quit trying?
16. Would you prefer to enroll in a course in which
no grades are to be given?
17. Would you ever enter a contest with other
students knowing you had a very slight chance of
winning?
18. Do you think that school letters should be
given for high grades as well as for football and
basketball?
19. If you had to choose between taking part in a
contest or being one of the judges, would you choose
to be a judge?
20. Do you think that you enjoy trying to do well
in your school subjects more than other students in
your classes?
21. Would you prefer to sit in the back of the
class?
22. Rewards earned are worth more than those which
come without effort.
23. The more people who seek the same goal you are
trying to achieve, the harder you work to achieve it.
24. What parents expect of their children is more
important than what the child wants for himself.
25. Your friend stopped running when it became
evident that he was losing the race. Would you have
stopped running in this situation?
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139
___26. Do you tell your parents about your successes?
27. Do you tell your parents about your failures?
_28. When someone is being praised, do you wish you
were?
29. When someone else is praised, does it cause you
to give less effort?
30. Is there someone you enjoy beating in a contest
or in school grades? If yes, who? ___________________
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140
Section III
The Perceptions of Achievement Motivation
Questionnaire
NAME: (Optional)____________________________
SEX : Male Female
COLLEGE:
AGE:
This study is interested in South African college
students' degree of achievement motivation where
achievement motivation is defined as the desire to be
successful in school and career. The researcher is
also interested in how students feel about the
achievement motivation of various groups and subgroups
in South Africa. To the best of your ability please
answer each of the questions below:
1. Circle the one response that best describes
your personal level of achievement motivation (Very
Strong, Strong, Average, Weak, Very Weak).
2. Circle the one response that best describes
the degree of importance you place on achievement
motivation for success in college (Very Important,
Important, Somewhat Important, Not Very Important).
3. Circle the one response that best describes
the degree of importance you place on achievement
motivation for success in your career (Very Important,
Important, Somewhat Important, Not Very Important).
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141
4. Circle the one response that best describes
the degree of importance you place on achievement
motivation for success in life in general (Very
Important, Important, Somewhat Important, Not Very
Important).
Please use the scale provided below to rate your
perceptions of each listed group’s level of
achievement motivation.
5 = Very Strong Achievement Motivation
4 = Strong Achievement Motivation
3 = Average Levels of Achievement Motivation
2 = Weak Achievement Motivation
1 = Very Weak Achievement Motivation
South African Women
South African Men
Young South Africans
Middle-Aged South Africans
Older and Elderly South Africans
Africans
Coloured South Africans
White South Africans
Unemployed South Africans
South Africans with low incomes
South Africans with average incomes
South Africans with high incomes
South Africans with good incomes
South Africans with moderate incomes
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Asset Metadata

Creator Murchison, Robert C. (author)

Core Title A cross -cultural comparison of achievement motivation among college students in South Africa

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, higher,OAI-PMH Harvest,sociology, ethnic and racial studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Rueda, Robert (committee chair), Maxwell, William (committee member), Simic, Andrei (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-490404

Unique identifier UC11335887

Identifier 3133312.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-490404 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3133312.pdf

Dmrecord 490404

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Murchison, Robert C.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA