The nursing students' motivation towards their studies is a question of energy, such as processes starting, sustaining and directing their study behavior. This paper focuses on Swedish nursing students' own assessment of their motivation towards their studies during their three year academic education. Notable is that the students' interest and commitment vary during their education. It is therefore interesting to systematically study the students' own experience of how motivated they felt.
Motivation can be seen either as an intrinsic or an extrinsic factor. Enjoying learning for its own sake or positive feedback on learning outcomes are examples of intrinsic motivation. Accordingly there is a built-in pleasure for the activity itself. Intrinsically motivated students have a driving force to learn, perform, and a wish to succeed. Attaining consequences (for example a desired grade) or avoiding punishment (for example from parents) outside oneself briefly explains extrinsic motivation. Extrinsically motivated student will perform for attaining a desired grade or some other external reward [1].
Intrinsic motivation has been found to be an important factor in children's education [2]. There are strong degrees of continuity in individuals' academic intrinsic motivation, during education in elementary and high school years [3]. According to Gottfried and her colleagues this academic intrinsic motivation will not so easily be changed in adolescence.
In a study of self-efficacy, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations as predictors for students' engage or not in academic work were found that self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation were correlated to academic identification, and were predictors to meaningful cognitive engagement. Furthermore extrinsic motivation was found to be a predictor to shallow cognitive engagement in learning tasks [4].
Another important theory about motivation is goal theory, which was initially divided in two achievement goals. The first one, mastery goals, focused on development of competence and tasks and is related to learning outcomes. The second one, performance goals, dealt with relative competence in relation to others and is a more self-centered goal [5]. In longitudinal studies it was shown that active learning goals were more likely to sustain motivation than performance goals, ability-linked goals and normative goals and that outcome goals (wanting a good grade) were equally related to learning goals and ability goals in contrast to performance avoidance goals (avoidance of failure) [6]. Students enrolled in master level studies were found to have high achieving tendencies and academic abilities in their first semester, which support achievement motivation theory [7]. Learning outcomes and self-centered goals are not enough bases for study motivation, the value of the acquired competence in the future should be added as a motivation factor [8]. In a study of motivation among first-year nursing students, goals and the future time perspective theories were combined. This study found that the students could be motivated by the present studies leading to the future utilities as registered nurses and that both the present and the future might be regulated internally or externally. These four dimensions of a goal have different influence on motivation. Internally regulated students were more task-oriented and more interested in the course and performed well. Externally regulated students used more avoidance ego goals, were less excited and performed worse. Students, who also find the courses useful for the future, not only for the training, were more excited, more motivated for their study and reached better result than did the students who found the courses just relevant for training. Type of utility did not effect approach and avoidance ego goals [9].
It was found that nursing students were motivated by the desire to help others and to do something useful. Despite the fact that nearly half of them did not choose nursing studies as there first choice [10]. Caring for others was found to be a main motivator for female nursing students choosing nursing education, but power and empowerment of self and others are the dominating factors for their choice [11]. Male nursing students' choice of nursing education depends on the fact that they consider that the nursing profession offers job security, opportunity and flexibility [12] as well as the desire to care for others [13].
The road to a bachelor's degree in nursing might be filled with both possibilities and obstacles. A study found that eight out of 76 students did not complete their studies despite the fact that they had been motivated towards nursing studies. Besides personal reasons such as sickness; the students dropped out on account of study results. Missed examinations in theoretical as well as in practical subjects reduced the motivation to make efforts in continuing their nursing studies [14]. Similar results, such as academic difficulties, wrong career choice and personal and social problems, were found in a study where exit-interviews were accomplished when nursing students terminate their nursing education ahead of time [15].
How nursing students who complete their nursing education are motivated towards their studies during the entire program is not studied, particularly not in a Swedish context. One can presume that the individual student's interest and motivation towards their studies vary during their education and thereby need different support from tutorials and teachers in different phases of their studies. Therefore, it is of importance to study the students' self rated motivation and explanations to the degree of motivation during their three year nursing education.
The aim of the study was to analyze how nursing students estimate their degree of motivation at different semesters during their education and identify reasons for the motivated grade.