The Relationship between Motivational Pattern, Conceptual Level of the Course, and Academic Achievement.

This study sought to determine whether the motivational patterns of first-year university students differed between courses of varying difficulty levels, and the nature of the interactions between self-efficacy, attributional style, and academic achievement. A total of 509 students majoring in history, physical education, mathematics, and private law at an independent, rural South African university were surveyed. A two-part subject-specific questionnaire was developed for each of the four courses of study to assess how students in the specific majors rated their self-efficacy, goal-orientation, attributional choice, and attributional style. The results indicated a relationship between motivational pattern and course difficulty, but not between motivational variables and academic achievement. Based on the results, it would seem that students need to have an adaptive motivational pattern before they would accept the challenge of a difficult course of study such as mathematics or private law. (Contains 28 references.) (MDM)