Achievement motivation amongst Rwandan secondary students. An empirical investigation of its internal and external nomological network

Achievement motivation refers to those cognitive-affective factors that are assumed to predict students’ behavioural engagement and academic achievement. Within the Western-borne literature, achievement motivation has been conceptualised as a multidimensional, multileveled concept that holds educational relevance. It is of educational relevance because it is assumed to predict behavioural engagement and academic performance. It is multidimensional because, according to expectancy-value theory, behavioural engagement is driven by one’s success expectations (“Can I do it?”), value perceptions (“Is it useful?”), and cost evaluations (“What does it require from me?”). It is multileveled since achievement motivation does not only determine behavioural engagement in specific contexts but also engagement and academic performance at the school subject-specific level. Given the current learning crises within many African countries, it is remarkable that achievement motivation has not been systematically studied within African contexts. Through a series of studies, this DPhil project examined the multidimensional and multileveled structure of achievement motivation as well as investigated its relations with classroom activities as well as behavioural engagement. Within the first study (n = 171, average age = 15.27; SD = 1.77), experiential descriptions of confidence and motivation were collected through open-ended questionnaires. The qualitative content analysis revealed that the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation adequately summarised students’ experience of confidence and motivation. The themes identified were subsequently translated into self-report scales to measures achievement motivation quantitatively. Within the second study (n = 769; average age = 15.01; SD = 1.57), the generalised internal/external frame of reference (GI/E) model was applied to explain expectancy, utility value, and cost beliefs across chemistry, English, Kinyarwanda, and mathematics through prior school grades. Multigroup structural equation modelling (SEM) of the cross-sectional data revealed that school type may moderate GI/E model relations. Amongst boarding schools, prior achievement predicted expectancy beliefs whereas amongst basic-education schools it predicted cost beliefs. In Rwanda, boarding schools are considered schools of excellence whereas basic-education schools are considered to be for those that fail academically. Within the third study (n = 446; average age = 15.33; SD = 1.59), the GI/E model was applied to average competence and cost states inferred through a latent trait/state model. Self-reported motivational states were lesson-specific and collected after English, Kinyarwanda, and mathematics lessons for 13 consecutive school days. The model hardly explained average states. Prior achievement only predicted expectancy traits within mathematics. Within the fourth study (n = 868; average age = 15.47; SD = 1.59), the effects of classroom activities (i.e., student-centred versus teacher-centred) on lesson-specific motivational states were examined. Latent trait/state modelling suggested motivational effects to vary across subjects. In mathematics, student-centred activities exerted mainly positive effects. In Kinyarwanda, teacher-dominant activities exerted mainly negative effects. In English, teacher explanations exerted especially positive effects. The effects of teacher explanations appeared to be mediated by a measure on perceived novelty. Within the fifth study (n = 188; average age = 15.1; SD = 1.62), the effects of both classroom activities and lesson-specific motivational states on situation-specific behavioural engagement, determined through external ratings, were examined. Three-level modelling revealed student-centred classroom activities did and motivational self-reports did not predict engagement. The latter may be due to the way the measures were operationalised. The project results are presented in the form of five manuscripts submitted to peer-reviewed journals. Overall, the present DPhil project revealed that the manifestation of achievement motivation is multidimensional but less nuanced, multileveled, but less interpersonally variable compared to the way it has been observed especially amongst Western populations. There is evidence that achievement, too, holds educational relevance within the Rwandan context. However, additional research is necessary to further explore relations between achievement motivation and particularly behavioural engagement.