Motivation of undergraduate civil engineering students for higher levels of academic success

It is surmised that more than half of the civil engineering students at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine campus, fail to complete their degree in the three years prescribed for the completion of the program, suggesting there is need for an intervention strategy. Motivation though often overlooked as a measure of influencing academic success, is being revisited as the strategy to enable success, as it is the thrust behind the desire which drives an individual to achieve a goal. Before the strategy is determined a distinction between the source of motivation and the degree of its contribution must be understood. Determining the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors and how they are linked to the academic success of engineering students can provide the basis for the choice of an intervention strategy. Intrinsic motivation was determined as the most important motivational construct towards learning. Principal component analysis determined that the main motivational factors, towards learning present in students currently pursuing an engineering undergraduate degree for all years of study were Personal, Perfectionist, Parental/Family, Job/Career and Social Acceptance. Determining what drives students to their peak performance would assist with the facilitation and design of teaching methods to capture studentsÕ interests, promoting learning and understanding as best as possible and consequently, optimizing academic performance.