An Examination of Motivation and Engagement of Students Studying at Different Intensities

With respect to contributions to the larger body of literature, motivation has been an important area of educational research for many years, but with more online courses being offered there has also been a move in focus towards engagement with the course in a way that was not so necessary with classroom teaching. This research is interested in examining whether the different forms of internal or external drive may relate to the students’ subsequent engagement in their course. 

With respect to the contributions to the Open University, the changing nature of student enrolment to that of younger more high intensity study students, this research could better inform the institution of the characteristics of this type of student and allow observations to be made as to whether provision should change to meet their needs. 

This research aims to consider interactions between motivation and engagement of distance learning students enrolled at different study intensities, with possible explanations for engagement behaviours. 

The research questions under examination are: 

RQ1: Is there a difference in the motivational forces of students studying at different intensities? 

RQ2: Is there a difference in the engagement activities of students studying at different intensities? 

RQ3: Is there a relationship between motivational forces and engagement activities? 

RQ4: What explanations are given for different engagement behaviours?