ادراکات دانشجویان دوره کارشناسی کسب و کار انگیزش برای یادگیری : شواهد تجربی از پاکستان

Motivation to learn is considered imperative to students' academic achievement in higher education. Current research explains the role and impact of personality, peers, faculty, family, and learning aids on business students' motivation to learn. Qualitative data through interviews from faculty is collected which forms the basis of a questionnaire, alongside rigorous literature review. Further, a random sample of 531 undergraduate business students enrolled in a Pakistani university is selected. The role and impact of identified variables on motivation to learn has been presented and explained through qualitative and quantitative measures. Results of the study indicate that all the variables used in this research are validated and considered important to stimulate undergraduate business students' motivation to learn. Research answering the business students' motivation to learn from developing country's perspective is absent where current study intends to fill this knowledge gap.

One of the major achievements during university years is successful completion of degree program where the student has enrolled and it is considered possible through student motivation in learning (Leach and Zepke, 2009). However, the dropout rates are alarming as in UK it has been estimated that almost 100,000 full-time and part-time students enrolled in university do not complete their degree programme and dropout (National Audit Office, 2007). This is true in case of developing world as on average, 25 percent of degree students do not complete their degrees in Pakistan and drop-out during first year at the university. The major reason behind this dropout is their inability to meet the ‘attendance requirement’ that demands basic motivation to learn (Seema and Maryam, 2011). Learning and motivation of higher degree students has been studied extensively and it is believed that ‘true learners’ are individuals having a sense of ‘belongingness’ and engagement with class room activities and they are mostly involved in performing some ‘purposeful’ activities (Krause and Coates, 2008, P.493). These ‘true learners’ remain highly motivated throughout the degree programme as their motivation to learn is major predictor of their intent to complete degrees with enhanced learning (Vansteenkiste, Sierens, Soenens, Luyckx, & Lens, 2009). Another hallmark of ‘true learners is their goal orientation; they are motivated to set and achieve their goals in academic settings (Frymier, 2007). Frisby and Myers (2008) also highlighted some traits of ‘True learners’ as having a great habit of cooperation with their peers, accept assignments happily, and keep a great attitude toward class participation. Student motivation and satisfaction has been highly valued in business education (LeBlanc and Nguyan, 1999). It has been observed that undergraduates lack the engagement and motivation to learn during the course of study (Rynes, Trank, Lawson, & Ilies, 2003). Lack of motivation and engagement in business students has been due to factors like large class sizes, less individual attention paid to the students, and lesser focus on student motivation and learning in higher education (McIntyre and Munson, 2008). This lack of motivation damages the ‘spirit’ of being the true learners and knowledge producers which are the desirable characteristics of business students in higher education settings. Students' motivation to learn has been studied by many researchers over the years but most of studies expressed the views of students from developed nations (Hiller & Hietapelto, 2001; Levy, 2007; Vaill, 2007). The students' focus on surface learning rather than deep learning and an overwhelming focus on achieving merely the grades instead of stressing on academic learning has been due to lack of motivation to learn (Hiller and Hietapelto, 2001). It is strongly believed that our knowledge concerning the development of various factors that instill motivation to learn amongst business students has been limited and must be probed further (Debnath, Tandon, & Pointer, 2007). Despite the huge literature available investigating student motivation to learn, studies in the western world are on the way probing this phenomenon (Adcroft, 2010). This entails that some research must be conducted to understand better the reasons that trigger student motivation to learn, especially in business education. Thorough literature review, faculty interviews, and focus group sessions with students supported the idea that this construct needs to be investigated. There are studies found which explain the construct of ‘student motivation to learn’ from developed country's perspective but still need further detail-oriented studies to better understand the factors contributing toward student motivation to learn. It is also evident that research focusing on the Asian region is limited and hard to find as per the authors' access and understanding of literature in higher education. However, there have been same learning challenges to both the students; from western as well as Asian world (Rogers and Lopez, 2002). Given the observation of phenomenon that undergraduate students lack motivation to learn, an increasing trend toward business education and absence of literature motivated the research team to conduct this study. Thorough literature review, focus group sessions with students, and faculty interviews directed the research team to focus on meeting the following research objectives; a To recognize and quantify the impact of five identified variables on students' motivation to learn among undergraduate business students. b To recommend strategies that increase learning motivation among undergraduate business students from developing countries. The remainder of this article will be presented in four major sections. Literature review will discuss the traditional and modern literature in students' motivation to learn and debates this critical issue from multiple perspectives. Methodology section discusses the qualitative and quantitative methods employed for the purpose of this research. Findings section presents the results of this research and leads to conclusion section where a debate has been developed based on the findings of this study. Finally, some recommendations and then areas of future research have been discussed.

The current scientific inquiry specifically contributes toward academic literature in business & management education with regard to enhancing student motivation to learn. The results reveal positive influences of learners' personality on motivation to learn in business education. The results have been in line with the studies conducted by Abouserie (2009) where the intrinsic motivation was a strong driver of learner's personality; contributing positively toward learning and academic achievement. This study found that students' motivation to learn increases when they are out of stress, think creatively, and have better control over mind that verifies the findings of study conducted by Abouserie (2009). However, some methodological fancy of previous academic work highly neglected the notion of recommending some thoughtful insights which can improve student learning in business education. Given the challenges like little student engagement, lack of learner's motivation in class room settings and lesser focus on deeper learning by business students, this study is very useful to increase business undergraduates' motivation. Based on the results, some recommendations have been proposed to enhance student motivation to learn. Peers have a positive role to play in motivating students and it is highly recommended that problem-based work needs to be promoted through group projects and assignments. This problem based learning has been well documented through the work of Savin-Baden (2000). Well trained, and self-motivated faculty and staff, need to devote counseling time which will minimize the confusions and ultimately, motivating students to learn. Faculty must be willing to help, knowledgeable about the subject matter and friendly enough to discuss the academic problems of students which will keep students interested and motivated (Granitz et al., 2009). It is generally considered that parents' role in higher education settings is minimal and they just have to provide financial support. But results of this study indicate that role of family is more enriched and a closer observation of semester-based assessments and guidance in other academic matters will encourage students to learn (Moore, 2000). Results of this study also indicate that students are motivated when they perceive that instructor is fair while grading the courses. Hence, proper grading schema must be introduced and justified by the faculty which will definitely enhance the intrinsic motivation and interest of undergraduate students (Levy, 2007). The results of study suggest that students are motivated when they feel that course is of practical relevance and is innovative. Hence, course design must be in a way which demands greater interactions amongst participants and encourage them to actively involved with each other (Vansteenkiste et al., 2004). The results regarding personality of learner suggest that intrinsic motivation amongst students is key to success but only for those who are better able to manage stress and have control over mind. To make this happen, faculty must play a significant role in grooming the students' personalities and once the instructors are approachable and willing to help; this will minimize stress and ultimately will lead to enhanced motivation to learn (Mandernach, 2009). Results reveal that learning facilities like; availability of discussion rooms, library, and spacious lecture halls are considered pivotal in igniting the spirit to learn amongst business school students. The academic work assigned to students must be backed up by all the academic facilities that can aid in performing in a better way (Kraithman and Burnett, 2005). One of the major limitations of this research is that data collected from a single business school and has limited generalizability. This was neither the objective of current research and this limitation is justified through the work of Douglas, Douglas, and Barnes (2006) where a single business school was selected to conduct a study pertaining to higher education. Although, this research added important insights regarding motivating students to learn but future studies are highly recommended to extend this piece of work to other disciplines. The results concerning ‘role of faculty’ showed some multidimensional links in this study. The faculty members are found to minimize the level of stress among business students, shape their personalities, and influence the roles played by peers and family in business school settings. This can be probed further in future studies as what impact does faculty members can have on business students' motivation to learn? Another future area of concern can be a comparison of student motivation in public and private sector institutions of higher learning where the results are expected to be interesting.