Propósitos y Representaciones E ne.– Jun. 2015, Vol. 3, N° 1: pp. 233-263. ISSN 2307-7999 http://dx.doi.org/10.20511/pyr2015.v3n1.72 e-ISSN 2310-4635 ARTÍCULOS DE INVESTIGACIÓN Academic self-concept and motivation in young talents of a private university in Tarapoto Autoconcepto académico y motivación académica en jóvenes talento de una universidad privada de Tarapoto Renzo F. Carranza1a* & Effer E. Apaza1b 1Universidad Peruana Unión, San Martín, Perú. aPsychologist. Professor in the School of Health Sciences at the Universidad Peruana Unión. International speaker and writer of several popular science articles. bStatistical Engineering from the Universidad Nacional del Altiplano. Professor in the School of Engineering and Ar- chitecture at Universidad Peruana Unión. Received: 15-12-14 Approved: 30-04-15 *Correspondencia Citar Como: Email: [email protected] Carranza, R., & Apaza, E. (2015). Academic self-concept and motivation in young talents of a private university in Tarapo- to. Propósitos y Representaciones, 3(1), 233-263. doi: http:// dx.doi.org/10.20511/pyr2015.v3n1.72 © Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Desarrollo, 2015. Este artículo se distribuye bajo licencia CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Internacional (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). AcAdemic Self-concept And motivAtion in Young tAlentS of A privAte univerSitY in tArApoto Summary The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between academic self-concept and academic motivation in young talents (Scholarship 18) at a Private University in Tarapoto city, Peru. The sample was obtained through a probabislitic sampling and there were 92 young talents, being 47.8% male and 52.2% female between 17 and 22 years old. I used a descriptive, correlational and non-experimental design. The sample was evaluated using the AF5 Self-concept Scale (García and Musitu) academic section that consists of 6 items, and the Academic Motivation Scale that consists of 28 items. The psychometric properties of the instruments indicated that they are valid and reliable. Data were processed in SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 20.0. The results show that there is a direct and highly significant relationship between academic self-concept and academic motivation in young talents (r = .301**, p<.004), which indicates the higher the academic self-concept, the greater the academic motivation. Keywords: Young talent, academic self-concept, academic motivation. Resumen El objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar la relación entre el autoconcepto académico y la motivación académica en jóvenes talento (Beca 18) de una universidad privada de Tarapoto. La muestra se obtuvo por un muestreo probabilístico, y se tuvo como participantes a 92 jóvenes talento, siendo el 47,8% de sexo masculino y el 52,2% de sexo femenino entre 17 y 22 años. Se utilizó un diseño no experimental de tipo descriptivo correlacional. Se evaluó la muestra con la Escala de Autoconcepto AF5 de García y Musitu, sección académico y compuesta por 6 ítems, y la Escala de Motivación Académica, conformada por 28 ítems. Las propiedades psicométricas de los instrumentos indicaron que son válidos y confiables. Los datos fueron procesados en el paquete estadístico SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciencies) versión 20.0. Los resultados evidencian que existe una relación directa y altamente significativa entre autoconcepto académico y motivación académica en los jóvenes talento (r = .301**, p<.004), lo que indica que, a mayor autoconcepto académico, mayor será la motivación académica. Palabras clave: Jóvenes talento, autoconcepto académico, motivación académica. 250 Propósitos y Representaciones. Vol. 3, Nº 1 Renzo F. CaRRanza & eFFeR e. apaza Introduction At present, in the education field, academic motivation is considered as one of the topics of gravest concern, due to the levels of academic failure worldwide. One of the main causes of academic dropout is lack of motivation. According to the statistics worldwide, of 1.369.803 students enrolled in the 2008-2009 school period, 20% of them drop out of high school; regarding college education, the outlook turns even more lugubrious. According to the research works carried out by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) show that the academic dropout rate in countries like the USA reaches 35%; the reality with respect to this topic is also alarming in Spain, since the dropout rate is over 20%, while in Italy 60% of students give up their careers” (OECD, 2008; cited by Logros Perú, 2008). On the other hand, during the year 2014 nationwide, it has been reported that 27,2% of the school population has dropped out due to lack of interest; consequently, every year in Peru, more than USD 100 million are lost due to college dropouts (Plasencia, 2008; cited by Logros, 2008). In fact, Peru is not out of touch with that reality. Although teachers constantly keep updated and trained, reality with students is quite different, since the academic performance is not what is expected. The hardest evidence that concerns teachers who are committed to the development of the country, are the results of the PISA test of the year 2011, in which Peru ranked 63, however in the last test, we ranked last in all education categories –mathematics, sciences and reading comprehension- (Bois, 2013). In such sense, an increasing challenge of the educational institutions is directly related to competitiveness (Barato, 1985), since a significant number of students say that they have difficulties to study and they waste time and do not know what to do to meet the academic requirements appropriately (Rodríguez, 2009). Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola 251 AcAdemic Self-concept And motivAtion in Young tAlentS of A privAte univerSitY in tArApoto Competitiveness is related to the academic education and this to the motivation of the individual. The academic motivation is a general process by which a behavior is generated and leaded to the achievement of a goal and in this process cognitive and affective variables are involved and it comprises elements such as self-esteem, self-concept, among others (Alcalay & Antonijevi, 1987). Vega and Capa (2009) say that, currently, one of the problems that society is interested in and worried about is the self-concept and the high rate of apathy in the first years of college, which are immersed in the college environment and interfere in the academic performance and adaptability, among other factors. And within this group, the interest in studying the self-concept derived from the idea that other people who perceive themselves in a positive way, see the world in the same way, unlike the others, who perceive themselves in a negative way. For that reason, when we talk about self-concept, we put emphasis on the individual behaviors, since all of them are related to the personal social, emotional, motivational and intellectual terms (Alfaro, 2009; González & Tourón, 2004). Based on the foregoing, it is stated that emotional problems, instead of being a support for self-fulfillment and academic education, they could complicate the outlook (Hurtado, 2000; Schmidt, 2010). Among the factors favoring the personal and academic development in college students stand out self-concept and academic motivation. Method Design and Type of Research. The research corresponds to a non-experimental cross-sectional correlational design since it was intended to find the relationship between academic self- concept and academic motivation in college students of a Private University in Tarapoto (Hernández, Fernández & Baptista, 2010). 252 Propósitos y Representaciones. Vol. 3, Nº 1 Renzo F. CaRRanza & eFFeR e. apaza Participants They were 92 young talents (Scholarship 18) from a private university in Tarapoto; 27 college students from the Systems Engineering program and 65 from the Environmental Engineering program. a. Inclusion Criteria • Students enrolled in the 2014-I academic semester. • Students aged over 16 and under 30. • Students awarded a scholarship by the State (Scholarship 18). b. Exclusion Criteria • Not being under psychological treatment. • No grant holders. • Students aged over 30. Instruments To carry out the academic self-concept assessment, the Self-concept AF5 Scale of García Musitu created by Musitu, García and Gutiérrez, published in 1999 was applied, an academic self-concept dimension which consists of 6 items. It is worth mentioning that the scale has shown an appropriate validity and reliability in several studies (Sandoval, 2009, Alfaro, 2010 & Bartra and Guerra, 2013), as well as in this study (Alfa de Cronbach .867). On the other hand, to measure the academic motivation, the Academic Motivation Scale (EME) created by Nuñez et al. (2005) was used and it consists of 28 items. It has shown appropriate validity and reliability (Alfa de Cronbach .839, KMO .765). It is worth mentioning that in order to validate the instruments, the experts ‘opinions was requested and they evaluated coherence, clarity, conciseness, competence, fulfillment of goals, replicability and relevance of the items presented in the instrument. Regarding the statistical justification, a pilot test Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola 253 AcAdemic Self-concept And motivAtion in Young tAlentS of A privAte univerSitY in tArApoto was performed before the collection of data in order to obtain information that helps to improve the validity and reliability of the instrument and to detect problems in the validity of construction and content. Procedure To collect data, an access authorization document, which establishes the commitment to collaborating in the study to be performed, was submitted. Students of both genders, between 17 and 22 years old, participated and collaborated. Once the individuals were identified, the Academic Self- Concept Scale and the Academic Motivation Scale were applied to each individual and group. Furthermore, the data collection method was the survey and in instruments, demographic data such as gender, age, origin, religion and cycle of study was included. For the data analysis, Descriptive Statistical Techniques and correlational techniques were used at a significance level of p<.05. To process data and make the corresponding analyses, the Statistical Software for Windows SPSS was used. Results Descriptive Analysis of the Academic Motivation Variable its Dimensions. Regarding the percentage of the academic motivation dimensions, Table 1 shows that young talents have an average level in external regulation dimensions (40.2%, introjected regulation (47.8%), stimulating experiences motivation (47.8%) and high levels in knowledge motivation dimensions (42.4%) and achievement motivation (34.8%) unlike the amotivation dimension where a low level is reported (43.4%) and identified regulation (54.3%). 254 Propósitos y Representaciones. Vol. 3, Nº 1 Renzo F. CaRRanza & eFFeR e. apaza Table 1. Descriptive Analysis of the Academic Motivation Variable and its Dimensions. Academic motivation Category Frequency Percentage dimensions Low 40 43.5 % Average 38 41.3 % Amotivation High 14 15.2 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 18 19.6 % Average 37 40.2 % External regulation High 37 40.2 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 20 21.7 % Average 44 47.8 % Introjected regulation High 28 30.4 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 50 54.3 % Average 15 16.3 % Identified regulation High 27 29.3 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 34 37.0 % Average 19 20.7 % Knowledge motivation High 39 42.4 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 40 43.5 % Average 20 21.7 % Achievement motivation High 32 34.8 % Total 92 100.0 % Low 26 28.3 % Average 44 47.8 % Stimulating experience motivation High 22 23.9 % Total 92 100.0 % Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola 255 AcAdemic Self-concept And motivAtion in Young tAlentS of A privAte univerSitY in tArApoto Regarding the academic self-concept, Table 2 shows that 53.3% of young talents have an average level of academic self-concept, 15.2% of them have a high level, unlike 31.5% of them have a low level of academic self-concept. Table 2. Academic Self-concept Levels. Categories Frequency Percentage Academic self-concept Low 29 31.5 % Average 49 53.3 % High 14 15.2 % Total 92 100.0 % In Table 3 the most predominant percentage among the age groups according to the academic self-concept and the socio-demographic variables is located in the very average level: feminine gender 28.3%, 33.7%, from 17 to18 years old, regarding the professional academic school, Environmental Engineering 35.9% and according to the religion, Adventist 30.4%. 256 Propósitos y Representaciones. Vol. 3, Nº 1 Renzo F. CaRRanza & eFFeR e. apaza Table 3. Self-concept Levels and its Dimensions, according to Socio-demographic Variables. Academic self-concept Low Average High Total Gender Masculine 16 17.4% 23 25.0% 5 5.4% 44 47.8% Feminine 13 14.1% 26 28.3% 9 9.8% 48 52.2% Age 17-18 16 17.4% 31 33.7% 6 6.5% 53 57.6% 19-20 10 10.9% 14 15.2% 8 8.7% 32 34.8% 21-22 3 3.3% 4 4.3% 0 0.0% 7 7.6% Academic Environmental 19 20.7% 33 35.9% 13 14.1% 65 70.7% Professional School Engineering Systems 10 10.9% 16 17.4% 1 1.1% 27 29.3% Engineering Religion Adventist 25 27.2% 28 30.4% 6 6.5% 59 64.1% Evangelical 0 0.0% 4 4.3% 1 1.1% 5 5.4% Catholic 2 2.2% 16 17.4% 5 5.4% 23 25.0% Other 2 2.2% 1 1.1% 2 2.2% 5 5.4% Total 29 31.5% 49 53.3% 14 5.2% 92 100.0% Among the age groups according to the academic motivation and socio- demographic variables, the following groups are located in the average level: feminine gender 28.3%, 33.7% from 17 to 18 years old, regarding the academic professional school, environmental engineering 35.9% and according to religion, Adventist 31.5%, see Table 4. Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola 257 AcAdemic Self-concept And motivAtion in Young tAlentS of A privAte univerSitY in tArApoto Table 4. Academic Motivation Levels according to Socio-demographic Variables Motivation Low Average High Total Gender Masculine 9 9.8% 22 23.9% 13 14.1% 44 47.8% Feminine 14 15.2% 26 28.3% 8 8.7% 48 52.2% 17-18 14 15.2% 31 33.7% 8 8.7% 53 57.6% Age 19-20 7 7.6% 14 15.2% 11 12.0% 32 34.8% 21-22 2 2.2% 3 3.3% 2 2.2% 7 7.6% Academic Environmental 16 17.4% 33 35.9% 16 17.4% 65 70.7% Professional Engineering School Systems 7 7.6% 15 16.3% 5 5.4% 27 29.3% Engineering Religion Adventist 16 17.4% 29 31.5% 14 15.2% 59 64.1% Evangelical 2 2.2% 3 3.3% 0 0.0% 5 5.4% Catholic 5 5.4% 11 12.0% 7 7.6% 23 25.0% Other 0 0.0% 5 5.4% 0 0.0% 5 5.4% Total 23 25.0% 48 52.2% 21 22.8% 92 100.0% Relationship between Self-Concept and Motivation Dimensions- Table 5 shows that there is a reverse and highly significant correlation between amotivation dimension and academic self-concept dimension (r = -.317**; p= .00), which indicates that the lower the academic self-concept, the higher the lack of motivation. However, it is observed that there is a 258 Propósitos y Representaciones. Vol. 3, Nº 1