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146 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
s
Nexus between Academic Motivation and Self-actualization among
Students of Public Universities in Western Kenya
*Joel J.P. Ogutu
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8628-7377
Department of Educational Psychology, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
Email: Ogutujoel1@gmail.com
Edward Okaya Khasakhala
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6513-1552
Department of Educational Psychology, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya
Email: Ekhasakhala@mmust.ac.ke
*Corresponding Mail: Ogutujoel1@gmail.com
Copyright resides with the author(s) in terms of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY-NC 4.0.
The users may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognize the author(s) and the
East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences
Abstract: The study investigated on the influence of academic motivation on self-actualization
among university students in Western region of Kenya. The study employed a correlation research
design with the sample size of 153 university students selected through stratified and simple
random sampling. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from the field. Data was analyzed
using mean, standard deviation and hierarchical multiple regression. The study established that
academic motivation existed among university students under investigation. The university
students showed proof of existing elements of self-actualization. Extrinsic and amotivation
influenced self-actualization among the university students. The study recommended that
universities in Western Kenya should regularly sensitize and promote academic motivation among
students. While it is recommended that universities should assist students fulfill their ambitions for
self-actualization, some ways to assist includes expanding higher education space by creating Open
University learning platforms.
Keywords: Academic motivation; exploring; self-actualization; amotivation; extrinsic; intrinsic.
How to Cite: Ogutu, J. J. P., and Khasakhala, E. O. (2023). Nexus between Academic Motivation and Self-
actualization among Students of Public Universities in Western Kenya. East African Journal of Education and Social
Sciences 4(3)146-157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0286.
Introduction
Maslow (1954) in his Theory of Human Motivation
defined self-actualization as the individual’s
potential to reach highest level of personal
fulfillment in life. It is a condition at the top of the
pyramid where a person attains after all previous
needs such as physiology, safety, love and esteem
have been met. Maslow further asserted that
everybody is given an exceptional accompaniment
of needs to be met in the environment to guide one
in realizing progressive life. These needs are set in a
hierarchal order showing individuals’ necessities in
diverse stages. This suggest that self-actualization is
necessary for individuals to achieve success in life.
Self-actualization encourages individuals to
understand their potentials to accomplish desires
(Akcay & Akyol, 2012; Jena & Dorji (2016).
Research by Whitehead (2017) posits that self-
actualization assists students to accept themselves,
perceive reality, become efficient and develop
spontaneous thoughts necessary for achievement of
set goals. According to Oktavia et al. (2019), self-
actualization helps one to gain self-confidence and
show potentials in academics. It triggers intrinsic
motivation to achieve academic set goals (Melnic &
Botez, 2014); Kim & Kim, 2015). In addition, self-
East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences
EAJESS May –June 2023, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp.146-157.
ISSN: 2714-2132 (Online), 2714-2183 (Print). Published by G-Card
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46606/eajess2023v04i03.0286.
147 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
actualization influence the learner’s emotional
maturity (Koç, 2019; Rastegar & Fatemi, 2018).
Students require self-actualization to achieve during
the learning process. This is so since their potential
is directed towards the set goals to achieve in
academic endeavors to fulfill the ambitions
(Esmaeili & Naghsh, 2015). Academic motivation
could influence students to explore their potential in
order to flourish. Thus academic motivation
becomes a fundamental component in self-
actualization.
Motivation is a multifaceted psychological
phenomenon where researchers have explored
various theoretical approaches, such as behavioral
(Skinner, 1978) and social (Bandura, 1997). Different
levels and types of motivation (including intrinsic
and extrinsic) have been explored and the absence
of one predominant definition has been justified
(Alan, 2019; Gokbel & Alqurashi, 2018; Isaksen et al.
2011; Kara, 2020; Keskin et al. 2020).
Past research has indicated that learning can be
impractical without desired amount of motivation.
For instant, Rehman and Haider (2013) opined that
learning is contingent on the level of motivation,
thus it influences a person’s ability to learn.
Furthermore, a study by Black and Deci (2000)
found teachers’ classroom control to lead students
towards positive learning experiences. Furthermore,
teachers’ control to students produce positive
emotions and reduced boredom among students.
Students’ academic motivation refers to their main
stimuli for initiating learning as well as the reason
for enduring the protracted process of learning
(Ushioda, 2008). According to Vecchione et al.
(2014), academic motivation has been expressed as
the willingness of learners to reach set academic
goals. Alt (2015) asserts that students with high
internal motivation are more concerned with
academics and are less interested in useless
pleasurable activities. Gokbel and Alqurashi (2018)
found out that externally motivated students spend
more time on pleasure activities such as social
networking than on academic tasks. This happens
because external motivation is focused on gaining
satisfaction from outward recognition or approval
unlike internal motivation which brings inward
satisfaction and self-fulfillment.
According to Linnenbrink and Pintrich (2002),
academic motivation is a basis for achievement in
academics. It directs students’ behavior to act in a
particular way (Frank & Demmitt, 2014). Goldstein
et al (2009) asserts that motivation is a behaviour
with energy, goal and direction. From the
educational standpoint, academic motivation is like
multifaceted phenomena that leverage on students’
beliefs about performing the desired activity,
focuses on purpose to perform that activity and
brings about emotional reactions associated with
needs to perform an activity. Although several
researchers have emphasized on academic
motivation, the current study is concerning with
university students whose interest in academic is
focused on specific career paths unlike other
students or other learners.
Theoretical Underpinnings
This study is anchored on the Self-Determination
Theory (SDT) advanced by Deci and Ryans (1985).
Self-determination theory is an empirically based,
organismic theory of human behavior and
personality development. Its analysis is focused
primarily at the psychological level and it
differentiates types of motivation along a
continuum. The theory is particularly concerned
with how social-contextual factors support or
thwart people’s thriving through the satisfaction of
their basic psychological needs for competence,
relatedness and autonomy. The theory examines
how biological, social and cultural conditions either
enhance or undermine the inherent human
capacities for psychological growth, engagement
and wellness.
SDT specifically assumes that individual human
development is characterized by proactive
engagement and behavioral regulations. These
characteristics are associated with extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation. SDT’s assumptions of extrinsic
and intrinsic motivation are anchored on
observations where individuals take interest, seek
challenges and strive for growth across their
lifespan, even in the face of countervailing social
forces. In this study, the nexus in SDT theory is to
help determine the influence of motivation to either
facilitate or thwart ones capacities for self-
actualization. This is because SDT revolves under the
assumption that is more or less likely to facilitate or
undermine motivation to attain self-actualization in
academics among students. It is against this
background that the study is anchored on self-
determination theory.
148 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
Academic Motivation
Motivation is an internal state that arouses, directs
and maintains behaviour (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Psychological constructs of motivation are basically
intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation enables
one to achieve something for personal interest,
satisfaction or enjoyment and is not linked to
outside rewards or public recognition. Motivation as
a psychological construct is responsible for the
initiation, intensity, maintenance and persistence of
behavior aimed at a goal (Hakan & Munire, 2014;
Vosh & Schauble, 2014). Students who connect
intrinsic goals with their choice of study are more
likely to receive instant gratification (Petty, 2014).
Lepper et al (2005) found a strong negative
correlation between intrinsic motivation and work
avoidance behaviour in students. Prior research
found that Students’ perceptions of educators’
openness and availability have favourable impacts
on students’ intrinsic motivation (Koludrović &
Ercegovac, 2015; Öztürk, 2015). Intrinsic motivation
is the most reliable predictor of sustainable
motivation, as individuals receive instant
gratification when engaging in an activity for the
purpose of the inherent entertainment or
stimulation they encounter in doing it. Students
who are intrinsically motivated gain satisfaction as
they engage in everyday activities, seeking
knowledge for its own sake (Chen et al 2012; Neto,
2015).
From gender perspective, intrinsic motivation is
greatly found among females as compared to males
(Anderman & Anderman, (1999). Boggiano et al.
(1991) argued that females were more extrinsically
motivated and were prejudiced by teacher
feedback. Interestingly, some studies show that
there is no gender difference in terms of
motivational orientations towards academic
achievement. For instance, Hagborg (1995) opined
that both males and females do not show any
unique differentiation in the intensity of their
intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. The same study
revealed that the academic achievement of both
boys and girls has been positively influenced by
intrinsic motivation. A study by Chaudhry and
Shabbir (2019) showed that male adolescents have
significantly low rates of intrinsic motivation as
compared to female adolescents. Prior studies on
gender differences in academic motivation and
classroom behaviour revealed that females reported
higher levels of academic motivation as compared
to their male counterparts (Bugler et al., 2015;
Chung & Chang, 2017).
In contrast, extrinsic motivation is primarily driven
by outside factors such as rewards, recognition or
the desire to avoid punishment (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
Extrinsic motivation helps students become driven
and competitive. Ultimately, fostering both types of
motivation helps students enhance their academic
performance (Mwaura et al., 2019). Extrinsic
motivation provides a stimulus for individuals to
esteem themselves and it is ineffective in controlling
behaviours of others (Lepper et al., 2005;
Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002; Petty, 2014).
Prior studies have indicated that extrinsic
motivation on student academic outcomes is reward
focused. Thus the more the rewards appear novel,
the more the motivation to achieve (Law, 2008;
Logan & Medford, 2011; Mucherah et al., 2014;
Unrau & Schlackman, 2006). Previous studies have
demonstrated that students are motivated to enroll
in universities because of a promising future
profession (Taveres & Ferreira, 2012; Pope &
Fermin, 2013). Koyuncuoğlu (2021). This explains
why majority of students have preference career
paths that sound prestigious and well-paying such as
medicine and engineering as compared to the rest.
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors are effective when
accompanied by a collective goal, as opposed to
being individually focused (Petty, 2014).
Self-actualization
Self-actualization defines what a person can
accomplish (Caraccio, 2017). For example, self-
actualization in educational environment is reflected
in terms of pedagogic technology, creativity and
professional self-organization (Maturana, 2006). In
this case pedagogical, technology is an important
instrument compared with life situations changing
students’ minds and developing synergetic thinking
and students’ consciousness (Dmitrienko & Ershova,
2017). Perfilyeva (2008) emphasizes self-
actualization to a students’ intensity manifestation
for achievement in educational environment. This
parameter basically describes students’
development as effective education activity.
Researchers have shown that self-actualization is
influenced by various demographic factors like
gender (Noll & Watkins, 1974), family environment
(Gaspard et al., 2011) and educational qualification
(Gopinath, 2020). The study on self-actualization
between male and female students at higher
education found no significant differences on
149 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
educational level and specialization (Esam & Lawati,
2019). Studies by Bulut (2018) and Gangwar et al
.(2019) found obstacles to self-actualization among
college students to consist of neurotic tendencies,
lack of confidence, time management problems,
lack of motivation, procrastination, lack of self-
expression and stress. Nevertheless this could be
due the curriculum that puts a lot of emphasis on
examination, thus denying students the capacity for
self-exploration and self-awareness.
A study by Lawati (2019) on self-actualization
among high education students found that senior
students have a higher level of self-actualization
compared to junior students. The results further
revealed that specialization affects the level of self-
actualization. It also found no difference in self-
actualization between male and female high school
students. However as students progressed to
university, the trait of self-actualization changed. A
study by Chitra (2020) found no influence of gender
on self-actualization of individuals. However,
Gopinath (2020) found the gender, designation,
years of experience and salary of respondents have
some considerable influence of the level of self-
actualization whereas the age and educational
qualification of respondents did not have much
influence on their level of self –actualization. A
study by Bahram (2018) found that one’s potential
talents, Individual evolution, understanding facts
and truths were essential factors affecting students'
self-actualization at the university level. Cengiz and
Bertan (2012) noted that students who state
realistic aims for themselves, develop thinking and
studying skills and have strong self-respect and
confidence. They are more successful in attaining
self-actualization as compared to others. As each
student is unique and dynamic, it is important to
explore self-actualization at university level to tap
further into students’ unique and diverse interest
for self-actualization.
Methodology
Design
The study employed a correlation research design.
Correlation design was essential in establishing the
relationship between the independent variable
(academic motivation) and dependent variable (self-
actualization).
Population and Sampling
The study was conducted in one of the four public
universities in Western Kenya. The universities in
Western region are comparably less endowed with
academic resources, thus limited in scope of
academic programs to make them more visible in
the global space. The university was purposively
sampled because it is the oldest in the region with a
large population offering a variety of programs;
hence, it had adequate establishments and
resources for the study as compared to the other
universities in the region that had smaller
populations with fewer programs. The selected
university had 15,345 students admitted through
the government-sponsored program. The sample
size was made up of 153 students constituting 1% of
the target population. A representative sample of
one percent was deemed ideal depending on the
data collected and analyzed. The study employed
cluster-sampling technique in which pre-existing
schools in the university were used as cluster units.
Instruments
The study used a questionnaire to collect data from
the field. The questionnaire was modified by the
researchers from the existing academic motivation
and self-actualization scales in order to domicile to
the sample population under study. The researchers
administered the questionnaire through Open Data
Kit using mobile phone and online platforms to
reduce inconveniences of traveling to contact
participants.
Statistical Treatment of Data
Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and
the Hierarchical multiple regression analysis. First, a
test of means and standard deviation for self-
actualization and academic motivation variables was
conducted using the descriptive statistics. Students’
academic motivation was measured using the
academic motivation scale college version 28 on a 7-
point Likert scale with 28 items. The rating
continuum was as follows: 1 =does not correspond
at all, 2-3= corresponds a little, 4= corresponds
moderately, 5-6= corresponds a lot and 7=
Corresponds exactly. The mean score for motivation
was interpreted as follows: 4.50-7.00= high, 3.50-
4.49= moderate and 1.00-3.49= low. The scale had
15 items on a 4 point Likert scale where, 1
=disagree, 2=somewhat disagree, 3= somewhat
agree 4= agree. Thus mean of 1.00-1.49 was
considered disagreed, the mean of 1.50-2.49 =
somewhat disagreed, the mean of 2.50-3.49 =
somewhat agreed and the mean of 3.50-4.00 =
agreed. To test the hypothesis regarding the
influence of academic motivation on self-
actualization, hierarchical multiple regression model
was used. The self-actualization content was
150 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
measured by items in the questionnaire with 5-point
scale whereby the mean of 1.00-3.49 was
considered low, 3.50-4.449 was moderate and the
mean of 4.50-7.00 was rated high.
Validity and Reliability
The questionnaire was validated by experts in
educational psychology prior to taking it to the field.
They were asked to evaluate the content for
relevance and clarity. The experts rated all the items
in the questionnaire and those confirmed to be
relevant were retained while the rest were omitted.
A reliability test for each variable was tested using
the Cronbach Alpha. Self-actualization yielded the
internal reliability coefficient of 0.71 while academic
motivation yielded the coefficient of 0.78.The
reliability indexes were deemed adequate.
Ethical Considerations
Ethical issues were addressed in this study.
Participants were briefed on the purpose of the
study. Informed consent was sought as a
guarantee of anonymity and willingness to
participate before the participants were selected for
study. No incentives were given to solicit
participation. Data from the field was used for the
intended purpose only and it was treated with high
confidentiality.
Results and Discussion
This section presents the result of the study as
guided by research questions.
Research Question1: What is the perception of
respondents on academic motivation among
university students in the Western Region of Kenya?
In order to come up with answers to this research
question, respondents were asked to indicate the
extent to which they agreed or disagreed with
statements given in table1.
Table1: Students’ Perception on Academic Motivation
No.
Academic Motivation Statement
Mean
Std. Dev
Interpretation
1
With only a high school, I would not find a high-paying job later on.
4.62
2.124
High
2
Because I experience pleasure and satisfaction while learning new things
5.07
1.856
High
3
College education will help me better prepare for career
6.14
1.400
High
4
In order to obtain a more prestigious job later on
4.99
1.864
High
5
For the pleasure I experience when I discover new things
5.26
1.724
High
6
It will eventually enable me to enter the job market in a field that I like
5.90
1.477
High
7
Personal accomplishments
4.52
1.832
High
8
Because I want to have "the good life" later on
5.69
1.604
High
9
For the pleasure that I experience in broadening my knowledge
5.49
1.740
High
10
It will help me make a better choice regarding my career orientation
5.95
1.320
High
11
For the pleasure when I feel absorbed by certain authors
4.57
1.724
High
12
In order to have a better salary later on
4.89
1.869
High
13
My studies allow me to continue to learn about things that interest me
5.05
1.861
High
14
A few additional years of education will improve my competence
5.25
1.783
High
15
For the "high" feeling that I experience while reading
4.64
1.764
High
16
To experience a personal satisfaction in my quest for excellence
5.27
1.714
High
17
Because I want to show myself that I can succeed in my studies
4.27
2.236
Moderate
18
For intense feelings when I communicate with others
4.27
1.825
Moderate
19
For the pleasure I experience while surpassing myself in my studies
4.20
1.821
Moderate
20
To prove to myself that I am capable of completing my college degree
3.88
2.297
Moderate
21
For the pleasure that I experience when I read interesting authors
3.95
2.050
Moderate
22
Because of the fact that when I succeed in college, I feel important
4.39
2.150
Moderate
23
For the satisfaction when accomplishing difficult academic activities
4.20
1.733
Moderate
24
I don't know; I really feel that I am wasting my time in school.
1.59
1.549
Low
25
I wonder whether I should continue
2.11
1.830
Low
26
I cannot see why I go to college
1.70
1.531
Low
27
To show myself that I am an intelligent person
3.58
2.184
Low
28
I don't know; I can't understand what I am doing in school
1.77
1.600
Low
29
Mean Overall
4.40
1.802
moderate
Findings in table 1 indicates that the first 16 items
were rated high while the next seven were rated
moderate. These first two pairs of responses were
stated positively and therefore, the high and
moderate responses indicate that students were
motivated to undertake the higher education at the
151 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
university under investigation. The last five items in
the table were stated negatively, and the response
of students to those items was low, which still
shows a sense of students’ motivation to undertake
higher education studies. The overall mean of 4.40
further suggests that respondents somewhat
experienced academic motivation.
To cite a few examples, respondents generally
concurred with the reason that going for university
or college education would help them prepare for
career of choice (Mean= 6.14). The results also
revealed that university education would help them
to make a better choice regarding ones career
orientation (Mean=5.95). Respondents additionally
affirmed that going for university education would
enable them to enter the job market in the
preferred career field (Mean=5.90). Besides,
university education would be an assurance for
good life later on (Mean=5.69). The students may be
motivated for several reasons, such as their interest
in certain career, their desire to impress their
parents, teachers, or peers or the inherent desire to
excel in academics. Therefore, the students’
motivation was extrinsic in nature. The findings
concur with the views of Ryan and Deci (2000) in
their self-determination theory that extrinsic
motivation is primarily driven by outside factors
such as rewards, recognition or the desire to avoid
punishment or shame. Therefore, it implies that
most students sought university education for
extrinsic motivation such as need for well-paying
job, status recognition or for promotion at
workplace. Past studies by Taveres and Ferreira
(2012) Pope and Fermin (2013) revealed that
students are motivated to enroll in universities
because of promising future professions while
Koyuncuoğlu (2021) asserted that majority of
students have preference career paths that sound
prestigious and well paying.
Research Question 2: What is the perception of
students on their self-actualization?
In order to come up with answers to this research
question, respondents were asked to indicate their
level of agreement or disagreement with statements
by ticking predetermined numbers as seen in table
1. The following is the used scale of mean score
interpretation: 1.00-1.49 disagreed, mean of 1.50-
2.49 somewhat disagreed, mean of 2.50-3.49
somewhat agreed and mean of 3.50-4.00 agreed.
Table 2: Students’ Perception on Self-actualization
No.
Statements on self-actualization needs
Mean
Std. Dev
Interpretation
1
I feel responsible to help anybody in education
3.35
1.035
Somewhat agreed
2
I feel I must do what others expect me to do
2.92
1.144
Somewhat agreed
3
I believe that people are good and can be trusted
2.73
1.027
Somewhat agreed
4
It is always necessary that others approve what I do
2.75
1.131
Somewhat agreed
5
I feel free to be angry at those love my studies
2.86
1.126
Somewhat agreed
6
I accept my own weakness in education
3.16
1.115
Somewhat agreed
7
I have a mission to which I feel especially dedicated
3.24
1.141
Somewhat agreed
8
I don’t feel ashamed of any of my emotions in my studies
2.05
1.216
Somewhat disagreed
9
I am bothered by fears of being inadequate in my studies
2.27
1.204
Somewhat disagreed
10
I fear failure in my education
1.92
1.262
Somewhat disagreed
11
It is better to be yourself than to be popular in education
1.47
.889
Disagreed
12
I avoid attempt to analyze and simplify complex domains
2.65
1.206
Somewhat agreed
13
I can express my feelings even when my result are undesirable
2.38
1.175
Somewhat disagreed
14
I love those who love my studies
2.02
1.103
Somewhat disagreed
15
I like people without having to approve of them in their studies
2.30
1.165
Somewhat disagreed
16
Mean Overall
2.54
1.129
Somewhat agreed
The first seven items were positively stated and
were all somewhat agreed upon by respondents.
The next four items were negatively stated and
were all disagreed by respondents. This suggests
respondents were somewhat experiencing self-
actualization. On the contrary, the next four items
were negatively stated but they were all disagreed,
which suggests lack of self-actualization. The overall
mean score, however, was 2.54 signifying somewhat
general agreement. Therefore, respondents to some
extent experienced some sort of self-actualization.
According to Thakur and Batra (2014), failure to
meet self-actualization needs results to restless and
frustration. It also directs the individual to avoid
engagements. Therefore, students with absence of
self-actualization are less likely to seriously engage
152 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
in studies and as a result, their performance may be
negatively affected.
Research Question 3: What is the influence of
academic motivation on self-actualization among
university students?
To respond to this question the following null
hypothesis was tested: there is no significant
influence of academic motivation on students’ self-
actualization. Academic motivation as an
independent variable had three constructs namely
intrinsic (one that comes from within) extrinsic (one
that comes from without) and amotivation (lack or
absence of volitional drives to engage in any
activity) to be correlated against the dependent
variable (self-actualization). Hierarchical Multiple
Regression analysis was run to determine the
influence of the independent variables on the
dependent variable.
Figure1: Normality and Heteroscedasticity of variables in the study
Prior to conducting the analysis, preliminary test
were conducted to check whether there were any
violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity
and homoscedasticity. The findings are presented in
Figure 1 which indicates that the residuals
approximate a normal distribution and secondly,
normality indicates that the p-value associated to a
heteroscedasticity test falls below 0.05. This
suggests that data has met the assumption of
homogeneity of variance and heteroscedasticity is
statistically significant.
To test the null hypothesis, the test was conducted
to examine the influence of a set of independent
variables; amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic
motivation against the dependent variable self-
actualization among university students. The test
was conducted at two stages. The first stage
included academic program taken, gender and age
as control variables. At stage two, amotivation,
extrinsic, intrinsic were systematically included as
the predictor variables, with self-actualization as the
outcome variable. The findings are in Table 3.
From Table 3 (that is, Model 1 with academic
program taken, age and gender as predictors of self-
actualization), the R2 value was .015, F (3, 148)
=.741, p > 0.05, thus the model accounted for 1.5%
of variance. There was insignificant influence of
academic program taken, age and gender on self-
actualization. In model 2 when amotivation,
extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation variables were
added in the model, there was improvement over
the earlier model with R2 value =.177, thus 1.77% of
the variance had been accounted for. As revealed in
Table3, the analysis yielded a strong positive
significant result, F (3,145) = 9.554, p < 0.05, which
suggested that amotivation, extrinsic and intrinsic
motivations positively influenced self-actualization
among university students.
The ANOVA results in Table 3 revealed that the two
predictor variables namely, extrinsic and
amotivation had significant influence on self-
actualization among students, F (5, 146) =3.405, p =
0.006, F (6, 145) =.5.212, p = 0.0001. Besides,
intrinsic motivation F (4, 147) =2.393, p = 0.053, had
no significant influence on self-actualization among
university students.
153 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
Table 3. Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis
Model Summary
Model
R
R2
Adjusted R2
Std.Error
R2 Change
F Change
df1
df2
Sig. F Change
1
.122a
.015
-.005
6.042
.015
.0741
3
148
.529
2
.421b
.177
.143
5.578
.163
9.554
3
145
.0001
a. Predictors: (Constant), Academic program taken, Gender , Age
b. Predictors: (Constant), Academic program taken, Gender , Age , Amotivation, Extrinsic, Intrinsic
c. Dependent Variable: self-actualization
ANOVA
Model
Sum of Square
df
Mean Square
F
Sig
1
Regression
81.207
3
27.069
.741
.529b
Residual
5403.504
148
36.510
Total
5484.711
151
2
Regression
335.294
4
83.824
2.393
.053c
Residual
5149.417
147
35.030
Total
5484.711
151
3
Regression
572.754
5
114.551
3.405
.006d
Residual
4911.957
146
33.644
Total
5484.711
151
4
Regression
973.053
6
162.175
5.212
.000e
Residual
4511.658
145
31.115
Total
5484.711
151
a. Dependent Variable: self-actualize
b. Predictors: (Constant), Academic prog taken, Gender type, Your age in years
c. Predictors: (Constant), Academic prog taken, Gender type, Your age in years, Intrinsic
d. Predictors: (Constant), Academic prog taken, Gender type, Your age in years, Intrinsic, Extrinsic
e. Predictors: (Constant), Academic prog taken, Gender type, Your age in years, Intrinsic,
Extrinsic, Amotivation
Coefficients
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t
Sig.
β
Std. Error
Beta
2
(Constant)
47.130
3.524
13.373
.000
Gender
-.523
.916
-.043
-.571
.569
Age
.578
.402
.125
1.439
.152
Academic
Programm
.092
.273
.028
.335
.738
Intrinsic
-.013
.043
-.030
-.298
.766
Extrinsic
-.116
.051
-.228
-2.271
.025
Amotivation
-.322
.090
-.281
-3.587
.000
a. Dependent Variable: self-actualization
From the β coefficients, the three predictors for self-
actualization were as follows; amotivation β =-.322,
t =-3.587, p=0.0001: significant; extrinsic motivation,
β = -.116, t=-2.271, p=0.025: significant; intrinsic
motivation, β =-.013, t=-.298, p=0.766 not
significant. These results suggest that the best-
fitting model for influencing self-actualization from
the analysis are amotivation and extrinsic
motivation. The Model: Y (Self-actualization) = β1
(amotivation) + β2 (extrinsic motivation), where, β1
and β2 are respectively .322 and -.116. Therefore,
the null hypothesis for extrinsic and amotivation is
rejected and it is maintained that there is a
significant positive influence of amotivation and
extrinsic variables on self-actualization. This
suggests that the more amotivation and extrinsic
motivations are applied to students in the
university, the higher the chances for the students
to work towards fulfilling their potentials in
academics. Therefore, academic motivation in
particular extrinsic and amotivation enhance self-
actualization among students in the university. This
study confirms the findings of Cengiz and Bertan
(2012) who pointed out that students who state
realistic aims for themselves, develop thinking and
studying skills and have stronger self-respect and
confidence are more successful in attaining self-
actualization than the others.
154 East African Journal of Education and Social Sciences (EAJESS) 4(3)146-157
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
The study concludes that academic motivation
existed among university students in the Western
Region of Kenya. Furthermore, the university
students showed proof of existing elements of self-
actualization in their education. Finally, academic
motivation, extrinsic and amotivation in particular,
influenced self-actualization among the university
students. Therefore, the two independent variables,
extrinsic and amotivation played an important role
toward students’ self-actualization.
Recommendations
The study recommends that universities in Western
Kenya should regularly sensitize and promote
academic motivation among students. The study
also recommends that universities should assist
students fulfill their ambitions for self-actualization.
Some ways to assist includes expanding higher
education space by creating Open University
learning platforms. Finally, the study recommends
that the universities should apply learning
approaches that elicit academic motivation for
maximized self-actualization to be realized.
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