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The role of goal-related autonomous motivation, effort and progress in the transition to university

European Journal of Psychology of Education volume 27, pages 591–604 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which autonomous motivation, effort and progress relating to current educational goals predict success in dealing with the challenging transition to university. Our study included two measurement points: (1) before the entrance examination, at which point participants (n = 280) documented ratings of their autonomous motivation, effort and progress regarding their educational goals; and (2) after receiving the results of the examination, at which time their success or failure of passing the entrance examination was checked by referring to the university archives. The results of the path model showed that when young adults pursued their educational goals for autonomous reasons, they invested special effort in their goal, and this led to a high level of goal progress. Goal progress, in turn, predicted their successfully passing the university's entrance examination.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, P. O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylän yliopisto, Finland

    Kati Vasalampi & Jari-Erik Nurmi

  2. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, 00250, Helsinki, Finland

    Markku Jokisaari

  3. Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 4, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Katariina Salmela-Aro

Authors
  1. Kati Vasalampi
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  2. Jari-Erik Nurmi
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  3. Markku Jokisaari
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  4. Katariina Salmela-Aro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kati Vasalampi.

Additional information

Kati Vasalampi. University of Jyväskylä, Department of Psychology, P. O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylän yliopisto, Finland. E-mail: kati.vasalampi@jyu.fi

Current themes of research:

Educational transitions. Motivation. School well-being.

Most relevant articles:

Vasalampi, K., Salmela-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2009). Adolescents' self-concordance, school engagement and burnout predict their educational trajectories. European Psychologist, 14, 332–341. doi:10.1027/1016-9040.14.4.332.

Vasalampi, K., Salmela-Aro, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2010). Education-related goal appraisals and self-esteem during the transition to secondary education: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 34, 481–490. doi:10.1177/0165025409359888.

Jari-Erik Nurmi. University of Jyväskylä, Department of Psychology, P. O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylän yliopisto, Finland. E-mail: jari-erik.j.nurmi@jyu.fi

Current themes of research:

Teacher-child relationships. Motivation and learning. Personal goals and life transitions. Methods for investigating developmental dynamics.

Most relevant articles:

Georgiou, G., Hirvonen, R., Liao, C.-H., Manolitsis, G., Parrila, R., & Nurmi., J-E. (2011). The role of achievement strategies on literacy acquisition across languages, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 130–141.

Lerkkanen, M.-K., Kiuru, N., Pakarinen, E., Viljaranta, J., Poikkeus, A.-M., Rasku-Puttonen, H., Siekkinen, M., & Nurmi, J.-E. (in press). The role of teaching practices in the development of children's interest in reading and mathematics in kindergarten. Contemporary Educational Psychology.

Nurmi, J.-E., Salmela-Aro, K., & Aunola, K. (2009). Personal goal appraisals vary across both individuals and goal contents. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 498–503.

Pakarinen, E., Kiuru, N., Lerkkanen, M.-K., Poikkeus, A.-M., Ahonen, T., & Nurmi, J-E. (2011). Instructional support predicts children's task avoidance in kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 376–386.

Silinskas, G., Leppänen, U., Aunola, K., Parrila, R., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2010). Predictors of mothers' and fathers' teaching of reading and mathematics during kindergarten and Grade 1. Learning and Instruction, 20, 61–71.

Markku Jokisaari. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, 00250 Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: markku.jokisaari@ttl.fi

Current themes of research:

Newcomer adjustment. Social networks. Work transitions. Working relationships.

Katariina Salmela-Aro. University of Helsinki, Collegium for Advanced Studies, P. O. Box 4, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. E-mail: katariina.salmela-aro@helsinki.fi

Current themes of research:

Motivation. Engagement. Burnout. Transitions. Interventions.

Most relevant articles:

Parker, P., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2011). Developmental processes in school burnout: A comparison of major developmental models. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 244–248.

Pyhältö, K., Pietarinen, J., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2011). Teacher-working-environment fit as a framework for burnout experienced by Finnish teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 1101–1110.

Salmela-Aro, K., & Ubadyaya, K. (2012). Schoolwork engagement inventory—energy, dedication and absorption (EDA). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 1, 60–67.

Salmela-Aro, K., Mutanen, P., & Vuori, J. (2012). Promoting career preparedness and intrinsic work-goal motivation: RCT intervention. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 67–75.

Tuominen-Soini, H., Salmela-Aro, K., & Niemivirta, M. (2011). Stability and change in achievement goal orientations: A person-centered approach. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 82–100.

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Vasalampi, K., Nurmi, JE., Jokisaari, M. et al. The role of goal-related autonomous motivation, effort and progress in the transition to university. Eur J Psychol Educ 27, 591–604 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0098-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0098-x

Keywords

  • Autonomous motivation
  • Educational goal
  • Educational transition
  • Goal effort
  • Goal progress