Features of motivation of educational activity of teenagers

Nurgaliyeva Madina Master's student, Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University A05A3H3, Kazakhstan, g. Almaty, ul. Seifullina, 452/3, kv. 38 nmadina1808@gmail.com Bulatbayeva Aigul Abdimazhitovna Doctor of Pedagogy Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University 041605, Kazakhstan, Almatinskaya oblast', g. Talgar, ul. Pugacheva, 4A a.bulatbaeva@yandex.ru Esenova Kamchat Augazhievna Doctor of Philosophy Senior Lecturer, Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University 050000, Kazakhstan, Almatinskaya oblast', pos. Algabas, ul. Fariza Ongarsynova, 186/2 kamchat_esenova@mail.ru

Ramazanova Samal Amirgalievna Senior Lecturer, Department of Pedagogy and Educational Management, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University 050000, Kazakhstan, g. Almaty, ul. Mamyr 4, 312 s.ramazanovakz@gmail.com

Introduction

One of the central and important problems of modern pedagogical psychology is the question of the formation of the success of educational and cognitive activity, which directly depends on the level of motivation.   The relevance of this topic is determined by the updated content of education, new requirements for the formation of cognitive processes in schoolchildren, interactive teaching methods, as well as the gradual transition of modern Kazakh education to a competence-based concept.

The transition to distance learning in 2020 helped the government to look at the quality of the Kazakh school education system from the other side. Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who delivered a message to the people of Kazakhstan on September 1, 2020, stressed the importance and obligation of the transition to the Concept of Continuing Education, which will increase the level of literacy of citizens.  The President of Kazakhstan also noted the importance of self-education and self-study, which depend on the level of educational motivation and contribute to the formation of the success of educational and cognitive activity.  In addition, it is worth noting that this concept addresses the issue of motivation of schoolchildren, which affects the success and effectiveness of students' educational activities, since due to the long stay of Kazakhstani schoolchildren in distance learning, the level of motivation has significantly decreased, and the motives of educational activities have changed. In his Message, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the need to develop systematic measures aimed at ensuring equal opportunities for all children, which would allow children of Kazakhstan to receive a quality education regardless of their place of residence and language of instruction ^[1].

   The key to achieving success in learning is motivational factors, which are an incentive for a teenager to achieve high results. According to the research of most scientists, the purposeful formation of educational motivation in adolescents takes much more effort and investment than the formation of activity^[2]. After analyzing the works devoted to the issues of motivation in learning, we came to the conclusion that there are many motives that affect the effectiveness of learning. First of all, attention should be paid to the age characteristics of the student. However, it is worth noting that low academic performance and inefficiency of academic success is primarily associated with the level of motivation for learning and individual characteristics of the motives of educational activity realized by students, which is most clearly manifested in adolescence and is an urgent problem in modern pedagogy and psychology.

Materials and methods

 Kazakh scientist A.K. Ryspaeva considers the issue of the success of educational activities as a category of pedagogy. In his work, the author reveals the role of the success of the educational and cognitive activity of high school students in the educational environment of the school, and also describes a number of conditions for its improvement. There are a number of factors that influence the motivational sphere of students' activities in the educational process, which are important aspects in improving the quality of education of the school and the country^[3].

Many psychologists have studied the motivational sphere of a person's personality, as evidenced by the variety of definitions given to the concept of motivation. According to A.K. Makarova, the motive of educational activity is associated with the student's orientation to different sides of the educational process, which is confirmed by the presence of various kinds of motives in adolescents. Cognitive motives are characterized by a focus on the content of education, and social ones are aimed at communication with peers^[4].

Developing the activity theory of learning, in their works P.Ya. Galperin, D.B. Elkonin, V.V. Davydov, N.F. Talyzina interpret the concept of motivation in the most accurate and detailed way.  The motive can be external or internal, depending on the person's attitude to the process of obtaining knowledge  A distinctive feature of cognitive motivation is that it is an additional bonus in the formation of educational activities in primary school age. Analyzing the nature of the emergence of cognitive motivation, D.B. Elkonin mentions that motives should be related to the content of educational activity.  The motives of a student's cognitive sphere change at different age periods ^[5].  

Since the successes and failures of learning are the main markers of the assessment of schoolchildren by teachers and parents, it is necessary to optimize the organization of the educational process in such a way that it is aimed at finding a strong internal motivation for learning^[6]. In adolescence, it is very important to develop communication skills, as well as learn to build personal relationships with peers.  D.B. Elkonin, analyzing this topic, puts forward the opinion that "communication with peers in adolescence is a key activity, since during it the attitude towards people, views on the future and worldview are formed. As a result, the prerequisites for the formation of professional and educational activities begin to develop" ^[7].

The importance of the role of motivation in the effectiveness and efficiency of educational and cognitive activity was mentioned by T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, V.V. Gizhitsky, T.K. Gavrichenkova, saying that "its features are predictors of educational achievements of students, as well as indicators of an effectively constructed educational process" ^[8]. Thus, the distinguishing feature of external motivation from internal motivation is that it contributes to less outstanding academic achievements and a low level of overcoming difficulties. In the absence of motivation or a low level of educational motivation, the student experiences difficulties in understanding the meaning of the knowledge received, incompetence and a sense of loss of control over the results of educational activities.

In their scientific and pedagogical research, Kazakhstani authors Davletkalieva E.S. and Muldasheva B.K., studying the educational and cognitive motivation of students, considered this issue in the context of the influence of criteria assessment on it.  They revealed that the use of criteria-based assessment technology in the learning process has a positive impact on the motivational sphere of students. The motive of "achieving success" increases and motivation increases due to interest in the content of the subject. Schoolchildren have a positive attitude to learning, which affects the overall dynamics of the quality of education^[9].  

A. A. Rean, in a study on students, experimentally proved that there is no connection between the success of educational and cognitive activity and the intellectual abilities of the subject, which is confirmed in another study conducted by V. A. Yakunin and N. I. Meshkov. These authors say that "strong and weak students differ from each other not in terms of intelligence, but in strength, quality and type of motivation of educational activity. Strong students are characterized by internal motivation: they need to master a profession at a high level, they focus on obtaining solid professional knowledge and practical skills, and weak students are focused on external incentives, which are characterized by fear of expulsion or loss of a scholarship" ^[10].  Based on these studies, we can say that the presence of intellectual abilities of a student is not of particular importance and does not guarantee the success of educational activities without a proper level of educational motivation.

Based on the theoretical analysis, we conducted a study of the conscious motives of educational activity of adolescents through the test questionnaire "Educational motivation" by G.A. Karpova. The number of subjects was 30 eighth graders of secondary school aged 14-15 years. These studies have shown what motives prevail among 8th grade students. The place of the study is KSU OSH No. 106, Almaty.

Results and discussion

The results of the study of the conscious motives of 8th grade students are shown in Table 1.

Table 1.

According to the results of the study, the leading motive is the "External motive", expressed at the average level in 24 students, which is 80% of the class. Despite the average indicators, this motive is predominant and indicates that the motivation of the majority of students is due to external factors such as punishment from parents, reward in the form of grades, material gain, social pressure, etc. 77% of students have a "Schoolboy's Position" scale at the average level. Based on this, we can conclude that teenagers study only if they like the subject, topic, teacher. The activity of students with a high "Emotional motive" is due to the encouragement of others. The motive of the "Schoolboy's position" comes from considerations of conscience and a sense of duty and prevails among people with increased responsibility.  

As a leading motive, 37% of students have a "Motive of achievement" expressed at a high level, which indicates the need of adolescents to achieve success in educational activities. This motive is fixed by the competitive spirit. The presence of an "Achievement Motive" indicates that 37% of the subjects have such character qualities as self-confidence, willpower, purposefulness, hard work and steady motivation.

Conclusions

In the course of the study, we have shown that motivation is a complex multicomponent phenomenon that combines the orientation, motives and personality traits of schoolchildren, as well as being a factor shaping the success of educational and cognitive activity of students and the process of personal development of schoolchildren.  

Thus, summing up the results of the theoretical review and practical research, we have revealed that the problem of motivation of educational activity is the most relevant in modern pedagogy and psychology. This issue is due to the updated content of education, which is aimed at developing students' ability to self-study and acquire competencies.

The data obtained as a result of the survey made it possible to identify the leading conscious motives of schoolchildren aged 14-15 years. As the results show, the majority of schoolchildren are dominated by external motives that are aimed at meeting the needs of society and that come from fear of punishment or a desire for approval from adults. Learning motives are in hierarchical relationships with each other, forming types of learning motivation. The dominance of the achievement motive with a high level of external motive is the optimal indicator for eighth graders. 

In order to create an effective environment for studying motivation as a factor in the development of personal qualities of adolescents that affect success, we have outlined a strategy for conducting trainings and seminars to activate internal motivation aimed at obtaining educational and professional knowledge and skills.