UNDERSTANDING STUDENT MOTIVATION: DIFFRENCES BETWEEN GENERAL AND GIFTED STUDENT POPULATIONS

Authors: Dorotea Vrbanović Lisac, Nikola Marangunić, Slavica Šimić, Ines Radanović

Paper categorization: Original scientific paper

DOI: https://doi.org/10.38003/sv.74.2.4

Paper: UNDERSTANDING STUDENT MOTIVATION: DIFFRENCES BETWEEN GENERAL AND GIFTED STUDENT POPULATIONS

Abstract:

The study investigated motivation differences between general and potentially gifted students and among genders within these groups. The study used teacher assessments to assess motivation, focusing on task commitment as part of the motivation domain. The study occurred during the 2021/2022 school year in Croatia and involved assessing 1602 students, 442 of whom were identified as potentially gifted. The findings revealed that potentially gifted students showed higher overall motivation scores, especially in using additional knowledge sources and consistently completing tasks. Gender differences indicated that female students were significantly more motivated than male students within the general population, while no difference was observed for the potentially gifted population. The study further reveals a strong correlation between motivation and achievement across multiple fields in the general population, and a moderate correlation in the gifted population. The study highlights the need for tailored motivational strategies and the importance of teacher perceptions in shaping educational outcomes.

Keywords:

academic achievement, gender differences, natural sciences, task commitment, teacher assessments