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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-MOTIVATION AND STUDENT ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYERI COUNTY

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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-MOTIVATION AND

STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC
SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NYERI COUNTY
Lucy Wanjira Mwangi1 Prof. Kisilu Kitainge2 & Dr. Esther Nyabuto3
Department Educational Psychology, School of Education
University of Eldoret, Kenya

Abstract
Apart from instructional materials and infrastructure, self-motivation is an important
factor that can impact student performance. While instructional materials and
infrastructure are essential components of a conducive learning environment, they are not
sufficient in themselves to guarantee academic success. Self-motivation is crucial
because it drives students to set goals, develop a growth mindset, and persist in the face
of challenges. When students are motivated, they are more likely to engage in their
learning, take responsibility for their own progress, and seek out resources and
opportunities to improve their performance. There was therefore need for a study to be
conducted to establish the factors that affect their performance in Nyeri County. The
purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Self Esteem and student
academic performance. The study was anchored on The Marsh/Shavelson model self-
concept. The study employed Ex-post facto research design. The study targeted students
from public secondary schools in Nyeri County. Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formula was
used to calculate the sample size of the students while Purposive sampling was used to
select 25 teacher counselors making a total of 409 respondents. Data was collected using
questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. The quantitative data from
the questionnaire was first be subjected to preliminary processing through validation,
coding and tabulation in readiness for analysis with the help of the statistical package for
social science (SPSS) to analyze data. Descriptive statistics was presented using
frequencies and percentages. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was employed to determine
relationship that exists between the independent (Self-motivation) variables and
dependent variable (student academic performance). In addition, regression analysis was
employed to test the relationships in the study. Qualitative data was transcribed,
thematically classified and arranged before they are reported in narrations and quotations
according to research objectives. Major findings from the study indicated that there was a

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significant positive correlation between Self-esteem and student academic performance (r

= .800; p = .000) showing a strong correlation between Self-esteem and student academic
performance. This study therefore, recommended that there is need for the teachers and
education stakeholders in the ministry of education and beyond should give great
attention to student self-concept as it affects student academic performance in schools
and that schools should promote self-advocacy skills. Strong advocacy skills lead to
greater self-confidence. It is also important to for the teachers to understand student
background. Schools should design effective feedback mechanism to encourage students
to compare present performance against a goal and also against previous performance.

Keywords: Self-Motivation, Student Academic performance, Public Secondary Schools,

Nyeri

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Introduction
Eccles in Matovu (2018) explained self-motivation as a general view about oneself across
various sets of specific domains and perception according to self-knowledge and
evaluation of values through one’s experiences related to his/her environment. It can be
synthesized from the definitions proposed by the former researchers above that self-
motivation is how one perceives him/herself which include his/her own knowledge and
evaluation of his/her own self. In the academic context, self-concept’s terminology is
specified into a more narrowed one, which is called Academic Self-Concept. Academic
Self-Concept, according to Bong and Skaavik (2013), indicates one’s ability of self-
perceiving within a certain academic area. The definition is supported by Wigfield and
Karpathian, (2011) academic self-motivation refers to individual’s knowledge and
perceptions about themselves in academic achievement situations. This view is echoed by
some researchers that academic self-motivation refers to one’s self-evaluation regarding
specific academic areas and how students feel about themselves as learners (Trautwein,
2006; Guay, 2013; Harter, 2018, as cited in Matovu (2012). Baran and Maskan (2011)
suggest that environmental factors are essential in the development of academic self-
concept. They believed that the academic self-motivation influences the learning process,
and thus the learner’s achievement. This implies that the students’ self-motivation
influence the students’ academic achievement, in this case the academic achievement of
Literary subjects.
This view is also surported by Maskan (2011) that students with high academic self-
motivation invest more efforts in their learning, persevere in the face of difficulties and
act out of pleasure and choice. For instance, Omotayo (2011) found a significant
relationship between self-motivation and academic performance among high school
students in Ghana and found a significant relationship between academic self-motivation
and academic performance. Kumari (2013) conducted a study on Self-motivation and
Academic Performance of Students at the Higher Secondary Level. She took a sample of
321 students in different categories of schools following different systems of education at
the higher secondary level participated. The findings of the study conducted revealed that
students belonging to central board schools were better in their self-motivation and
academic performance when compared to students from other boards. They also
established that there was a significant and positive relationship between self-motivation
and academic performance of students at the higher secondary level.

Further, Kumari (2013) in her study of study habits and academic performance of
students belonging to upper and lower levels of intelligence found that there was
significant correlation between study habits and academic performance of highly
intelligent males and females. Isaac et al (2011) conducted a study on Relationship
between Self-motivation and Performance of Senior Secondary Students in Port Harcourt
Metropolis. The results of the tests indicated that academic Self-motivation is
significantly related to General Academic Performance and General Academic Self-
concept. The main implication of the findings of this study is that self-motivation and
General Academic performance of students are so strongly related that a change in self-
motivation facilitates a change in performance and therefore the study recommended that
educational programme designers and developers, teachers, parents and students should
make self-motivation development of students an educational aim as important as

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academic performance. In Kenya, Sitienei and Nyamwange (2013) revealed a significant

relationship between self-motivation and academic performance of secondary school
students.

Therefore, it is more pressing for the individuals/ students to have high academic
performance (Joshi & Srivastava, 2009). Additionally, academic performance is a major
indicator of quality education, which is considered the key to economic and industrial
growth and ultimately individual development (Karanja & Bowen, 2012). Therefore,
academic performance is an important factor in national education because it is normally
seen as an indicator of whether the education in a country is successful or not. In short,
academic performance is important because it is considered to promote success in life
(Coetzee, 2011). The relationship between Self-motivation and students can be measured
in terms of self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-motivation.

The term self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall subjective sense of personal
worth or value. In other words, self-esteem may be defined as how much you appreciate
and like yourself regardless of the circumstances. The correlations between self-esteem as
a component of self-motivation and student performance indicate that high self-esteem
leads to good performance (Mugambi, 2010). However, high self-esteem is partly the
result of good school performance. Efforts to boost the self-esteem of students have been
shown to improve academic performance and may sometimes be counterproductive.
Haven (2015) says that self-esteem has become a household word. Teachers, parents,
therapists, and others have focused efforts on boosting self-esteem, on the assumption
that positive self-esteem will cause many positive outcomes and benefits-an assumption
that is critically important in predicting student academic performance. Appraisal of the
effects of self-esteem is however, dependent on several factors including learning
environment.

2.0 Literature review

Motivation and performance at school are closely interrelated. At any stage of
comprehensive schooling, adaptive motivation is considered a critical precursor for a
successful academic performance, while higher performance is expected to strengthen
students’ achievement motivation (Koenka, 2020; Vu et al., 2021). Indeed, numerous
studies over several decades have found positive links between specific aspects of
students’ motivation to learn and their academic performance (for meta-analyses and
reviews, see Hansford and Hattie, 1982; Valentine et al., 2004; Huang, 2011;
Korpershoek et al., 2019; Hattie et al., 2020; Vu et al., 2021). Despite substantial
empirical support for the positive association between aspects of achievement motivation
and performance, there is considerable variability in the findings on the strength of the
links. In some cases, the motivation–performance links appear surprisingly weak (e.g.,
Hansford and Hattie, 1982; Valentine et al., 2004; Huang, 2011; Hattie et al., 2020),
even though there are some exceptions with single studies showing strong relationships
(e.g., Trigueros et al., 2020).
Indeed, some studies did not find any substantial association between aspects of
achievement motivation and performance at school (e.g., see such studies listed in meta-
analyses by Valentine et al., 2004; Korpershoek et al., 2019). Moreover, the findings of

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several studies challenge the conceptualization of the motivation– achievement link as a

linear continuum (Roeser et al., 1999; Korhonen et al., 2014; Parhiala et al., 2018;
Widlund et al., 2018). Specifically, some subgroups of students with reduced
achievement motivation had no apparent problems in academic performance and vice
versa, for some students, low performance was not necessarily accompanied by reduced
motivation (Faezeh, & Masoumeh, 2013; Korhonen et al., 2014; Parhiala et al., 2018;
Widlund et al., 2018). These findings suggest that some non-linear conceptualization of
the motivation–performance association may be necessary to better describe the
variations in empirical data.

In other words, it is important to understand how the relation between achievement

motivation and performance at school may play out differently for different students. For
some of them, motivation to learn may be substantially linked to their learning results,
while for others performance may diverge from their achievement motivation. These
interindividual differences may become particularly salient in middle school, when
motivation to learn and school performance drop substantially, especially among low
performing, anxious, socioeconomically vulnerable students (Eccles et al., 1993; Eccles
and Roeser, 2009). The concept of motivation is considered as a crucial factor that affects
human behavior and performance (Kian et al. 2014; Turan 2015).
Especially educational researchers and practitioners express that motivation is one of the
most important factors in student performance and in ensuring continuious performance
(Alkış 2015; Aluçdibi and Ekici 2012; Guay et al. 2010; Pintrich 2013; Pintrich and
Schunk 2012). Lin (2012) describes motivation as intrinsic desires which are already
present in the individual or which are reflected in the individual while acquiring new
information and learning. There are, however, in the literature other definitions of
motivation; the latter word was derived from the word “movere” that means moving in
Latin (Seiler et al. 2012). Küçüközkan (2015) defined motivation as the sum of the efforts
made for mobilizing the individual towards one or more particular goals and for ensuring
the continuity of this movement, whereas according to Waterman (2015) it is a force
representing the internal factors initiating the movements that should be performed to
fulfill a need and the external factors that encourage this behavior. Actions usually
generate intrinsic results as personal experiences which have a meaning for the individual
(Erdoğan 2013).
Motivation is a stimulus that encourages and energizes people to do certain activities and
has physiological, cognitive and affective dimensions (Abu Karsh, 2018; Akinbadewa &
Sofowora, 2020; Al-Husban, 2020; Basarmak & Hamutoglu, 2020; Benek & Akcay,
2019; Dweck, 1986; Hamid, Salleh, & Laxman, 2020; Kim et al., 2019; Rogayan Jr,
2019; Suren & Kandemir, 2020; Turunen, 2019). It is seen that making students have
positive affective characteristics in today’s school settings can eliminate almost 1 in 4 of
the variance, which is the measure of the difference in learning levels (Sünbül, 2004;
Yılmaz & Sünbül, 2002). Correll (1992), in his article examining affective factors in
learning, states that learning cannot be explained solely based on cognitive processes.
While emphasizing the importance of active participation in learning for learners to
develop the best solutions to problems, he points out the importance of motivation in this
whole process.

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Motivation is multi-faceted and, by the researchers, it may be used in different meanings

such as affect, cognition, motivated behavior, process, inner force, attitudinal complex
mong others (Dörnyei, 1998). Motivation, as well as learner autonomy, is also believed to
be one of the main determinants of success and failure (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2012;
Thronbury, 2016) and it is defined as the power that “determines human behavior by
energizing it’’ (Dörnyei, 1998). A study underlining the importance of intrinsic
motivation indicated that students will learn a topic more easily if they are willing to
apprehend and grasp this topic (Çelen 2010). The behaviors which originate from
external sources, such as rewards, punishment, and social support, are behaviors which
are linked with the result of the individual’s action (Erdoğan 2013). Some actions which
are considered to be important for the students by teachers and parents are triggered by
extrinsic motivation, and, therefore, they do not draw the intrinsic attention of individuals
(Deci and Ryan 2016).

If individuals cannot establish a connection between their actions and the results of their
actions there is no experience of motivation (Reeve 2014). In this case, individuals
cannot make an association with the impact of their actions or the impact of their
surroundings, and, thus, they cannot be motivated either intrinsically or extrinsically.
Therefore, the individual who believes that his actions will not provide a benefit for him
does not take any action and falls into the state of a motivation (Tahiroğlu and Aktepe
2015). Apart from these motivation types, there are in the literature additional
motivational components that give clues about the nature of the motivation of the
individuals. Some of these components are directly related to the academic performance
of the individuals; these are intrinsic goal orientation, extrinsic goal orientation and the
value of the subject, control of learning beliefs, self-sufficiency and test anxiety (Aktan
and Tezci 2013; Bates et al. 2016).
Motivation is one of the most important sources of power that determines the direction,
intensity and determination of student behavior in learning-teaching process. Motivation
is both an attractive and a hindering subject. It is interesting because it is behind almost
everything a person does (Gottfried, 1990). Motivation has been widely studied in
education and in other fields. Motivation is a complex psychological phenomenon;
therefore, the absence of one major overarching definition or theory of motivation should
not be surprising (Collins & Amabile, 1999; Gokbel & Alqurashi, 2018; Isaksen,
Treffinger, & Dorval, 2011; Kara, 2020; Keskin, Akcay, & Kapici, 2020; Zimmerman,
2008).
Researchers have explored motivation from various theoretical perspectives, such as
behavioral (Skinner, 1978), social (Bandura, 1997), cognitive, and humanistic
standpoints. There are different levels (low to high) and types (intrinsic, extrinsic, and
amotivation) of motivation. Intrinsic motivation refers to a desire to engage in a task
derived from individual's interest or pure pleasure, whereas extrinsic motivation refers
that individuals engage in tasks due to external reinforcements or rewards, such as
wealth, power, fame, and popularity (Alan, 2019; Trevino & DeFreitas, 2014). Moreover,
according to SDT, academic engagement is a manifestation of academic motivation in
terms of participation in learning activities or academic tasks, which is influenced by to
what extent students perceive that academic activities meet their psychological needs.

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Motivated, especially intrinsically, students tend to engage in such activities that satisfy
their needs (Sünbül, Kesici, & Bozgeyikli, 2003a). Learning theorists acknowledge the
positive effects of students’ interest in, wishes about learning on their success in learning
process. The variables that enable students to engage in learning with interest and
enthusiasm could be explained by two concepts called “learning motivation” and
“academic motivation” (Anderman & Midgley, 1997; Eccles & Roeser, 2009). Academic
motivation is defined by a student’s desire (as reflected in approach, persistence, and
level of interest) regarding academic subjects when the student’s competence is judged
against a standard of performance or excellence (McClelland, et al., 1953; Omiles et al.,
2019; Olowo et al., 2020; Serhan, 2019).

Academic motivation is a broad term incorporating many concepts studied by scholars to

include self-efficacy, determination, resilience, etc. (Alharthi, 2020; Altakhyneh &
Abumusa, 2020; Cayvaz, Akcay, & Kapici, 2020; Finogenow, 2017). Moreover, these
components are composed of three sub-components which are: Value that can be affected
by the value of the subject and the intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation; expectation
that can be affected by the control of learning beliefs, self-sufficiency and performance;
and thrill that can be affected by test anxiety and student’s self-esteem level (Liu and Lin
2010). Motivation is a prerequisite for learning showed that the literature is mostly
focused on the factors that make individuals to act and to pursue these actions (Liu et al.
2016). In particular, the studies underlining the importance of motivation as a factor that
facilitates the learning performances of the individuals (Karagüven 2012; Kaya 2013;
Wolters and Rosenthal 2010) have argued that learning performance and effectiveness
may vary according to motivators such as interest, desire and need (Tahiroğlu and Aktepe
2015).
Silverstone (2003) noted that positive self-esteem does not prevent children from
smoking, drinking, taking drugs, or engaging in early sex. If anything, high self- esteem
fosters experimentation, which may increase early sexual activity or drinking, but in
general effects of self-esteem are negligible. One important exception is that positive
self-esteem reduces the chances of bulimia in females. This shows that self-esteem
whether high or low may not prevent misbehaviour among students. Viktor (2012)
highlights that the benefits of positive self-esteem fall into two categories: enhanced
initiative and pleasant feelings. We have not found evidence that boosting selfesteem (by
therapeutic interventions or school programs) causes benefits.

In view of the heterogeneity of positive self-esteem, indiscriminate praise might just as

easily promote narcissism, with its less desirable consequences. Instead, we recommend
using praise to boost self-esteem as a reward for socially desirable behaviour and self-
improvement. Academic motivation and engagement are claimed to be influencing
factors on college students' various outcomes (Allen et al., 2008; Chen & Lu, 2015;
Roksa & Whitley, 2017; Trolian et al., 2016). Academic motivation is defined as the
students' desire or interest in engaging with learning and their school experience
(Hulleman, et al., 2016). Research has consistently found that academically motivated
students tend to perceive school and learning as valuable, like to learn, and enjoy
learning-related activities (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002; Larsen & Puck, 2020; Zimmerman,
2000, 2008). Studies have identified lack of motivation as a primary reason for

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underachievement (Scheel, Madabhushi, & Backhaus, 2009; Wigfield, Lutz, & Wagner,
2005). It is expected that a student who wants to move to a better status than his/her
status will have a higher motivation in academic settings.

Therefore, it is expected that students who are at the center of education and training
activities will reach a better status in their profession, that is, their achievement and
motivation in their careers will increase. Highly motivated students are expected to make
more effort to increase their academic and social achievement in their learning process.
Thus, it is desirable for students to have a high career and academic motivation in terms
of university education. Career can be seen as a professional process that a person makes
and develops initially by spending the majority of productive years in his life and
generally begins with education and continues until the end of his working life.
In this sense, a person’s career means not only his/her job, but also his/her education in
order to realize his/her expectations, goals, feelings and desires regarding the job role
assigned to him/her in the teaching process and in the workplace, and thus progress with
his/her knowledge, skills, abilities and desire to work (Leung, 2008; Leung, Hou, & Li,
2011). Career refers to the devotion of a person to a specialization or the gradual progress
of a person in his/her job and the degree of achievement in life (Stahl & Björkman,
2006). Career choice is one of the most important tasks that make up the transition from
school to further education or work.
The last few years at university are particularly important in this regard, as it is the time
when a young person faces the challenge of exploring more career opportunities,
evaluating different alternatives, and ultimately making a decision (Savickas & Porfeli,
2012). In the process of career construction, the individuals’ tendencies with regard to
their careers are important. In addition to these tendencies, an individual’s career goals,
attitude, decidedness, and psychological response to future are also important. Career
decidedness includes the individual’s career goals (Carson & Bedeian, 1994).

Douglas (2010), notes that teachers and parents favor the smartest or the cleverest
students in schools. All the others feel like failures. Douglas (2019) continues to say that
the so-called curve grading system is wrong. Equally wrong is the idea of segregating
students into different classrooms according; to their aptitude and performance. Grades
should be based on the ability to master course, discipline applied in study habits and the
development of a high level self-esteem that will enable the students to go on to further
performances. A student, who fails even once and is not given adequate support by the
teacher, may develop negative self-esteem and may not try again.
A teacher should never tell a student that he/she is stupid or dump. Instead, he should
challenge him/her to do his/her best in academic work. “Career decidedness” which
refers to an individual’s degree of confidence in pursuing a particular career direction
(Restubog, Florentino, & Garcia, 2010), has become an increasingly important
employment and academic future issue for college students (Gordon, 1998; Restubog,
Florentino, & Garcia, 2010). Studies reveal that those who make decisions about their
career more determinedly are more likely to gain longer-term employment and
meaningful career opportunities in their chosen professional field (Hirschi, 2011).
It was found that students who have strong career decidedness and academic motivation
have high life satisfaction (Restubog, Florentino, & Garcia, 2010). According to Kelly

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(2009), the interaction of cognitive, motivational environmental factors during the

process of career is of great importance. Kelly (2009) focuses on three variables based on
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. These are individual’s perception and expectation of
competence in his/her job, personal goals and expectations regarding the results of the
job. It is stated that the complexity of making decisions about career increases with
increasing age (Gati & Saka, 2001). As individuals get older, career choices are
influenced and shaped by their own developmental stages, current environmental
conditions and internal dynamics (Howard & Walsh, 2011).
During the course of the career process, two factors, internal and external, can be
mentioned that direct the individual. Internal factors include emotions, thoughts,
achievements, psychological power, selfrealization, taking responsibility, participation,
status and fields of interest. External factors include social background, family,
environment, education and socio-economic phenomena of the individual contribute to
the formation of internal reactions and motivations. All these affect individuals internally
and externally and guide individuals’ career decisions (Avram, Burtaverde & Zanfirescu,
2019; Day & Allen, 2004). A review of the related literature reveals that there was a
significant relationship among university students’ career expectation, decidedness,
motivation and achievement. Ulaş-Kılıç (2018) found significant relationships between
academic motivation and career determination. In the literature, Parker, Bindl and Strauss
(2010) argue that proactive motivation is important in individuals’ academic career and
performance.
The motivation was defined as an inner condition that guides and upholds behavior, and
it was inevitable that a strong correlation is present between motivation and learning.
Furthermore, motivated students with regards to a specific topic are eager to join
activities they believe will help them develop such asking for assistance whenever they
do not comprehend a certain aspect of the topic and paying attention to others'
instructions. Sikhwari (2014) stated that students who lack motivation in learning tend to
be indifferent in creating efforts in learning. There is also a tendency for them to be
unorganized with the learning material and maybe unresponsive in lessons. According to
Gesinde (2010), the urge to achieve differs from one person to the other. He also states
that individuals who have role models in their early years that are high achievers tend to
gain an excellent desire for accomplishments compared to those who have low achievers
for role models, who tend to foster a desire for accomplishment barely. In Qassim
University, exploratory research on the impact of the perceived self-efficacy on its
students' academic adjustment. A sample of 150 students enrolled in the institution of the
academic year 2016 - 2017. Results showed that the statistical relationship between the
emotional dimension and the academic adjustment dimensions was not significant.
However, a significant relationship was found in fortitude, cognitive dimension,
perseverance, and the general perceived self-efficacy and the academic dimension
(Yadak, 2017).
with low performance? Do the profiles of academic functioning identified in the Finnish
and US samples also characterize students in countries with different educational
systems/levels of academic performance (It is important to consider that the countries
represented in these existing studies have generally high performance, e.g., (OECD,
2019)

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These questions require further exploration of the heterogeneity in academic performance

and motivation from a person-oriented perspective. Moreover, it is essential to
understand the correlates of different patterns of academic performance and motivation.
Rather little is known about the students who comprise these identified profiles. Most
existing person-oriented studies only looked at the gender composition of identified
subgroups, with very scarce findings on socio-economic background of students within
these specific patterns of motivation and performance.

3.0 Methodology
The study employed Ex-post facto research design. The study targeted students from
public secondary schools in Nyeri County. Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formula was used
to calculate the sample size of the students while Purposive sampling was used to select
25 teacher counselors making a total of 409 respondents. Data was collected using
questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis. The quantitative data from
the questionnaire was first be subjected to preliminary processing through validation,
coding and tabulation in readiness for analysis with the help of the statistical package for
social science (SPSS) to analyze data. Descriptive statistics was presented using
frequencies and percentages. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was employed to determine
relationship that exists between the independent (Self-esteem, self-motivation, self-
efficacy) variables and dependent variable (student academic performance). In addition,
regression analysis was employed to test the relationships in the study. Qualitative data
was transcribed, thematically classified and arranged before they are reported in
narrations and quotations according to research objectives

4.0 Results

4.1 Relationship between Self-Motivation and Student Academic Performance

The second objective of the study was to establish the relationship between self-
motivation and student academic performance in public secondary schools in Nyeri
County. To achieve this, the respondents were requested to indicate their degree of
agreement on a five-point Likert scale items in the questionnaire on the relationship
between Self-esteem and student academic performance. The responses of the study
participants were tabulated and the outcome of the analyzed information is presented in
Table 1.

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Table 1: Relationship between Self-Motivation and Student Academic Performance

Statement SD D UD A SA
F % F % F % F % F %
I am highly
motivated in 77 22.3 126 36.4 2 .6 88 25.4 53 15.3
my studies
Everyone else
seems much
more confident 19 5.5 48 13.9 21 6.1 169 48.8 89 25.7
and contented
than me.
If I really try‚ I
overcome most
45 13.0 23 6.6 19 5.5 173 50.0 86 24.9
of my
problems.
I like being
29 8.4 26 7.5 13 3.8 169 48.8 109 31.5
creative
I always work
15 4.3 25 7.2 17 4.9 194 56.1 95 27.5
hard in school
I have
confidence that
17 4.9 53 15.3 17 4.9 172 49.7 87 25.1
I will do well in
academics
If a task is
difficult‚ that
just makes me 30 8.7 73 21.1 0 0.0 152 43.9 91 26.3
all the more
determined.
I have faith in
my teachers as 91 26.3 34 9.8 0 0.0 76 22.0 145 41.9
support system
Whenever I
don’t perform
well I will
always 46 13.3 67 19.4 17 4.9 146 42.2 70 20.2
motivate
myself and
move on

Source (Field Data, 2021)

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Table 1 shows that 36.4% of the respondents disagreed with the statement that they are highly
motivated in their studies, 25.4% of the respondents agreed with the statement and 22.3% of the
respondents strongly disagreed with the statement, while 15.3% of the respondents strongly
agreed with the statement. The study found out that majority (58.7%) of the respondents reported
that they are highly motivated in their studies. This imply that more than 42% of the students are
not well motivated. Similarly, Sar, Avcu, and Isiklar (2010) studied undergraduate students’
level of self-motivation and found some important differences at the level of students’ self-
motivation based on students’ genders and departments. However, Verma and Kumari (2016)
investigated the effects of self-motivation on academic performance of elementary school
students and did not find any significant difference in students’ self-motivation in term of
gender. Moreover, Tripathy and Srivastava (2012) studied the effects of academic achievements
on the level of self-motivation also found no difference in students’ self-motivation in terms of
students’ gender but the researchers found that there was a relationship between students’
academic achievements and self-motivation.
On the statement that everyone else seems much more confident and contented than them,
169(48.8%) respondents agreed with the statement, 89(25.7%) study participants were strongly
in agreement with the statement, 48(13.9%) participants were in disagreement and 21(6.1%)
participants were neutral while 19(5.5%) participants were strongly in disagreement with the
statement. The study found out that majority (74.5%) of the study respondents acknowledged
that everyone else seems much more confident and contented than them. This implied that self-
confidence of about 25% of the students was very low. In a study by Tuncel (2015) on the
relationship between self-confidence and learning Turkish as a foreign language. The study
found a relation between self-confidence and learning and the study showed that high self-
confidence affected the learning positively and low self-confidence effected learning negatively.
Similarly, in Cologne Laboratory, Fischer and Sliwka (2018) through experimentally studying
the causal effects of external factors based changes on the motivation for learning, found that
confidence in someone’s ability to learn stimulates someone for learning
Similarly, 173(50.0%) respondents agreed with the statement that if they really try‚ they
overcome most of their problems, 86(24.9%) participants were strongly in agreement with the
statement, 45(13.0%) participants were strongly in disagreement with the statement and
23(6.6%) respondents disagreed with the statement while 19(5.5%) respondents were undecided
on the statement. From the responses, it emerged that majority (74.9%) of the study respondents
believed if they really try‚ they overcome most of their problems. Abu Bakar et al. (2010)
examined the relationships between university students’ achievement motivation, attitude and
academic performance in Malaysia. The objective of their study was to ascertain the
relationships between achievement motivation, attitude and students’ academic achievement.
The findings of their work revealed a positive significant correlation between students’ attitude
towards learning and achievement motivation. The study also revealed that students’ attitude and
academic achievement were correlated positively.
Additionally, 169(48.8%) respondents agreed on the statement that they like being creative,
109(31.5%) respondents strongly agreed, 29(8.4%) participants strongly disagreed with the
statement and 26(7.5%) participants disagreed with the statement while 13(3.8%) respondents
were undecided on the statement. As shown by the responses, it emerged that majority (80.3%)
of the study’ respondents believed that they like being creative.
In the same vein, 194(56.1%) respondents agreed with the statement that they always work hard
in school, 95(27.5%) respondents strongly agreed with the statement and 40(11.5%) respondents

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were in disagreement with the statement while 17(4.9%) respondents were undecided on the
statement. From the responses, it was found out that majority (86.3%) of the students always
work hard in school. This implied that some of the gifted students do not see the reason to work
so hard. Interestingly a study by Kowsky, (2019) found out that gifted students may end up
failing because while their peers were learning how to plan ahead, study for tests, and stay
organized, the gifted students were coasting by on their areas of intellectual strength. During that
time on academic cruise control, they actually missed out on the very experiences that build self-
management skills. Finishing assignments quickly and having little actual homework means not
learning to manage your time and prioritize; memorizing facts upon hearing them means not
learning to take notes or organize information; never having to study means missing out on
learning active study strategies; and never having to write down assignments or take anything
home means never learning how to plan ahead
On the statement that they have confidence that they will do well in academics, 172(49.7%)
respondents agreed with the statement, 87(25.1%) respondents strongly agreed with the
statement and 70 (20.2%) respondents were in disagreement with the statement while 17(4.9%)
respondents were undecided. It seems therefore that majority (74.8%) of the students reported
that they have confidence that they will do well in academics. This finding is supported by a
study on the evidence for how individual student judge their confidence strengthens the initial
insight that confidence may be important to both students and teachers. It is clear that self-
confidence is a robust and stable psychological construct (Kleitman and Stankov 2017; Stankov,
Pallier, et al. 2012). Further it is clearly discernible in children as young as 9 years of age
(Kleitman and Moscrop 2010) and derives from a range of cues and inferences (Mitchum and
Kelley 2010).
The study further found out that 152(43.9%) respondents agreed with the statement that if a task
is difficult‚ instead it makes them more determined, 91(26.3%) respondents strongly agreed
while 103(29.8%) respondents were in disagreement with the statement. As shown from the
responses, it can be shown that majority (70.2%) of the respondents believed that if a task is
difficult‚ instead it makes them more determined. This finding is similar to studies conducted
that showed that achievement student support and motivation energizes and directs behavior
towards academic achievement and therefore is known to be an important determinant of
academic success (e.g., Robbins et al., 2004; Hattie, 2009; Plante et al., 2013; Wigfield et al.,
2016).
In addition, the responses showed that 145(41.9%) of the respondents strongly agreed with the
statement that they have faith in their teachers as support system, 91(26.3%) respondents
strongly disagreed with the statement and 76(22.0%) respondents agreed with the statement
while 34(9.8%) respondents disagreed with the statement. The study findings suggested that
majority (63.9%) of the study participants were of the view that they have faith in their teachers
as support system.
Moreover, 146(42.2%) respondents agreed with the statement that whenever they don’t perform
well, they will always motivate themselves and move on, 70(20.2%) respondents strongly agreed
with the statement, 67(19.4%) respondents disagreed with the statement and 46(13.3%)
respondents strongly disagreed while 17(4.9%) respondents were undecided on the statement. As
shown by the responses, the study findings suggested majority (62.4%) of the study participants
noted that whenever they don’t perform well, they will always motivate themselves and move
on. This implies that more than 38% of the students may give up after failing to achieve one of
their goals. According to Picton, C., Kahu, E. R., and Nelson, K. (2018), motivation is an

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orientation towards learning. Therefore, it impacts how likely a student is either to give up or
push forward, and how thoughtful their reflection on their learning will be. The deeper the
motivation for pursuing an activity, the more likely that the student will not accept easy answers
to complex questions.

4.2 Relationship between Self-Motivation and Student Academic Performance

The hypothesis of this research stated that there is no significant relationship between Self-
Motivation and student academic performance. This hypothesis was similarly tested through the
use of Pearson correlation analysis. The outcomes of the analyzed information is presented in
Table 2.

Table 2: Correlation Coefficient between Self-Motivation and Student Academic

Performance
student academic performance
Self-Motivation r = .732**
p = .000
n = 346
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Table 2 shows that there was a significant positive correlation between self-motivation and
students’ academic performance (r = .732; p = .000). At 95% confidence level, the r value for
self-motivation was .732 which implies a strong correlation. In this case the positive values
implied a positive correlation where enhanced self-motivation lead to improvement in students’
academic performance. Therefore, the hypothesis which stated that there is no significant
relationship between Self-motivation and students’ academic performance was rejected. This
shows that self-motivation affects academic performance. This implies that self-motivation has a
positive effect on students’ academic performance. The study shows that self-motivation
contributes to students’ academic performance in Nyeri County.
On interviewing teacher counsellors, one of the participants P8 said;
“One of the reasons why some students feel demotivated is that they believe that teachers
do not award them marks fairly. This demoralizes a student and later on loses hope and
tends to develop negative attitudes towards the teacher and eventually fail in that specific
subject”.

She further advised that;

“The best way to reinstate motivation to such student is for that particular teacher to
build a good working relationship and understanding, not with that student but all the
students”.

These two statements suggest that low student motivation exists in schools and results in low
student performance. Statement suggests that appropriate control mechanisms can mitigate the
effects of demotivation. Studies (e.g., Linnenbrink-Garcia et al., 2018; Muenks et al., 2018;
Steinmayr et al., 2018) and several meta-analyses (e.g., Robbins et al., 2004; Möller et al., 2009;
Hulleman et al., 2010; Huang, 2011) support the hypothesis of social cognitive motivation
models that students’ motivational beliefs are significantly related to their academic
achievement.

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5.0 Conclusion and recommendation

From the study, it was found out that there was a significant positive correlation between self-
motivation and students’ academic performance (r = .732; p = .000). At 95% confidence level,
the r value for self-motivation was .732 which implies a strong correlation. This implies that
self-motivation had a positive effect on students’ academic performance which indicated that
self-motivation contributes to students’ academic performance in Nyeri County. The study
therefore recommended that schools should promote self-advocacy skills. Strong advocacy skills
lead to greater self-confidence. This can be achieved by; having a teacher counselor or school
mental health psychotherapist individually with a student about his or her learning needs to
increase awareness of that student’s strengths and weaknesses. Identify ways in which students
should approach their teacher or other school staff to communicate their needs, provide follow-
up sessions where the student can report back on the results of his or her initial attempts at
communication.

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