Exploring Global Motivation Among College Students in Sabah, Malaysia: A Quantitative Study
Abstract
This study aimed to explore 70 students’ global motivation; they were enrolled in three private colleges in Sabah, Malaysia. The objectives were to assess (1) if any significant age, gender, and ethnic differences existed in college students’ global motivation, (2) if any significant differences existed in college students’ global motivation based on a hypothesized value of 3.5, and (3) the percentages of agreement on college students’ global motivation. To collect data, the Global Motivation Scale was administered online; responses were then transferred onto a spreadsheet to be analyzed using SPSS 26.0. First, based on Kruskal-Wallis H test, no significant age and ethnic differences existed in college students’ global motivation; based on Mann-Whitney U test, no significant gender differences existed in the construct. Based on Wilcoxon signed rank test and a hypothesized value of 3.5, seven of the items were significant at p < 0.001. The same test indicated that six of the items were significant at p < 0.05. Third, low percentages (37.2 to 68.6 percent) of college students strongly agreed/agreed on 23 of the items; only an average (70.0 to 84.3 percent) strongly agreed/agreed on five of the items. Overall results showed that college students tend to have low to average levels of global motivation. In light of the findings, several recommendations were made on ways to enhance college students’ global motivation in Sabah, Malaysia.
Downloads
References
Afzal, H., Ali, I., Khan, M. A., & Hamid, K. (2010). A study of university students’ motivation and its relationship with their academic performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(4), 80-88. 10.5539/ijbm.v5n4p80
Azar, A. S., & Tanggaraju, D. (2020). Motivation in second language acquisition among learners in Malaysia. Studies in English Language and Education, 7(2), 323-333. 10.24815/siele.v7i2.16506
Cessarea, A., Purwono, U., & Kumalasari, A. D. (2023). Adaptation of the Global Motivation Scale (GMS-28) in Indonesian version. Daengku Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Innovation, 3(2),181-189. https://doi.org/10.35877/454RI.daengku1463
Chen, C., Zhu, Y., Xiao, F., & Que, M. (2023). Academic motivation and social support: Mediating and moderating the life satisfaction and learning burnout link. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 4583-4598. 10.2147/PRBM.S438396
Edgar, S., Carr, S. E., Connaughton, J., & Celenza, A. (2019). Student motivation to learn: Is self-belief the key to transition and first year performance in an undergraduate health professions program? BMC Medical Education, 19(111). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1539-5
Espanola, R. P., & Ouano, J. A. (2024). Understanding motivation loss and behavioral disengagement of tertiary students in flexible learning: A self-determination theory perspective. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 21(1), 217-247. 10.32890/mjli2024.21.1.8
Excelsior University. (2023, October 26). 12 tips for staying motivated in college. Excelsior University. https://www.excelsior.edu/article/how-to-stay-motivated-in-college/
Fauzi, M. W. M., Hussein, N., Razali, M. Z. M., Anwar, N. A. binti, & Omar, N. B. (2024). Motivation in learning and happiness: A study among Generation Z university students in Malaysia. Information Management and Business Review, 16(3(I), 676-684. https://doi.org/10.22610/imbr.v16i3(I).4021
Garn, A. C., & Stenling, A. (2024). University students’ daily motivation regulation: Within- and between-level relations to academic functioning. Educational Psychology, 44(2), 227-246. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2024.2331754
Govindarajoo, M. V., Selvarajoo, N. D., & Ali, M. S. (2022). Factors contributing to poor academic achievement among low performing pupils: A case study. Asian Journal of University Education, 18(4), 981-997. 10.6007/IJARBSS/v13-i4/16902
Guay, F., Mageau, G., & Vallerand, R.J. (2003). On the hierarchical structure of self-determined motivation: A test of top-down and bottom-up effects. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 992-1004. 10.1177/0146167203253297
Guiffrida, D. A., Lynch, M. F., Wall, A. F., & Abel, D. S. (2013). Do reasons for attending college affect academic outcomes? A test of a motivational model from a self-determination theory perspective. Journal of College Student Development, 54(2), 121-139. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2013.0019
Hamzah, L. M., Sueb, R., Alias, N. F., Mustafa, S. M. S., & Yusof, M. M. M. (2022). Motivation in learning: A case study of young adult learners in Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Asian Journal of University Education, 18(2), 469-476. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1347630.pdf
Hudig, J., Scheepers, A. W.A., Schippers, M. C., & Smeets, G. (2020). Motivational mindsets and reasons for studying: Development and validation of a classification tool. Frontiers in Psychology, 17. 11:535801. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.535801
Hong, O. J. (2023, August 14). Malaysia’s failing education system: Its impact on the people’s life. NewsWav. https://newswav.com/article/
Husain, S. S. S., Rathi, N. Z. M., Zubir, Z., Munchar, J., Khalid, P. Z. M., & Rahmat, N. H. (2025). Students’ motivation to learn and burnout: How do they relate? International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 9(03), 2619-2631. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90300205
Huang, Y, Li Y., & Chen, G. (2025). The impact of learning motivation on academic performance among low-income college students: the mediating roles of learning strategies and mental health. Frontiers of Psychology, 11(16), 1639375. 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1639375.
Isa, N. M., Abidin, N. A. Z., Malek, N. A., Sidik, M. H. M., & Bakar, S. A. A. (2018). It’s not just about the game: A study on attitudes and motivation of Malaysian secondary sports school students in East Malaysia towards learning English as a second language. MATEC Web of Conferences, 150, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201815005009
Khairulzaim, N. A. B. M., & Tan, K. W. (2023). The relationship between motivation and academic achievement during Covid-19 pandemic. Trends in Undergraduate Research, 6(1), e1-9. https://doi.org/10.33736/tur.5130.2023
Lin, Y-G., McKeachie, W. J., & Kim, Y. C. (2003). College student intrinsic and/or extrinsic motivation and learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 13(3), 251-258. 10.1016/S1041-6080(02)00092-4
Ludovici, J. (n. d.). Why students lose motivation in college. Learning At College Strategy Blog. https://www.learning.collegestrategyblog.com/students-motivation-in-college/
Osman, N., Zakaria, F., Mansor, M., & Chulan, M. (2023). Promoting grit and resilience among Malaysian B40 students for academic excellence. International Journal of Education Psychology and Counseling, 8(50), 345-354. 10.35631/IJEPC.850025
Próspero, M., & Vohra-Gupta, S. (2007). First generation college students: Motivation, integration, and academic achievement. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 31(12), 963-975. 10.1080/10668920600902051
Reash, C., & Larwin, K. H. (2021). Factors of motivation in education: Perspectives of college students and their professors. Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership, 7(1). Article 2. https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/joel/vol7/iss1/2
Roscoe, J. T. (1975). Fundamental research statistics for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. https://www.amazon.com/Fundamental-Statistics Behavioral-International-processes/dp/0030919347
RUBIKTOP. (2023, September 14). The magic number 30: Why a sample size of 30 is often considered sufficient for statistical significance. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/magic-number-30-why-sample-size-often-considered-sufficient/
Sánchez-Bolívar, L., Navarro-Prado, S., Sánchez-Ojeda, M. A., García-Morales, V., Cortés-Martín, J., Tovar-Gálvez, M. I. (2023). Analysis of university student motivation in cross-border contexts. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(11), 5924. 10.3390/ijerph20115924
Schmitz, B., & Wiese, B. S. (2006). New perspectives for the evaluation of training sessions in self-regulated learning: Time series analysis of diary data. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31(1), 64–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2005.02.002
Steinmayr, R., Weidinger, A. F., Schwinger, M., & Spinath, B. (2019). The importance of students' motivation for their academic achievement: Replicating and extending previous findings. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1730. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01730
Subramaniam, S., Shaharudin, R. H., Hamid, N. B. A., & Wahab, N. H. A. (2019). Motivation and willingness to communicate in English amongst ESL engineering pre-university students in Malaysia. 6th International Conference on Science & Social Research. Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal, 87-93. https://ebpj.e-iph.co.uk/index.php/EBProceedings/article/view/2906/1520
Tackett, S., Tackett, C. M., McDaniel, J., & Nelson, K. (2023). Academic motivation in college students: A comparison of majors. Multidisciplinary Psychology: A Journal of Collaboration, 3(1), Article 2. https://repository.ulm.edu/mp-ajc/vol3/iss1/2
Thang, S. L., & Jaafar, N. M. (2011). Attitudes and motivation of Malaysian secondary students towards learning English as a Second Language: A case study. 3L: The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 17(1), 40-54. https://journalarticle.ukm.my/2047/
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n. d.). Motivation. The Learning Center. https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/motivation/
Wang, Y., Zhao, Y., Zhang, J., Man, K., & Lu, J. (2025). Fostering autonomous motivation in first-year college students: A self-determination theory-based online intervention. Learning and Motivation, 90,102118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2025.102118.
Wei, P. K., & Mohd Noordin, N. F. (2025). The effect of academic motivation on academic procrastination among undergraduate students in Malaysia. Sains Humanika, 17(3), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.11113/sh.v17n3.2246
Xu, Q., Xu, Z., Tan, A., & Yu, Z. (2025). Association between anxiety disorders and English academic writing performance among college students: The chain mediating role of learning motivation and metacognitive strategies. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 18, 1319-1332. 10.2147/PRBM.S520923
Ying, B. A. S., Mir, S., Xin, L. G., Zheng, N. W. Y., & Jia, W. J. (2021). Challenges and experiences faced by Malaysian undergraduates in coping with low academic motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jurnal Psikologi Malaysia, 35(3), 40-63. https://spaj.ukm.my/ppppm/jpm/article/view/713
Zubairi, A., & Sarudin, I. H. (2009). Motivation to learn a foreign language in Malaysia. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 9(2), 73-87. https://journalarticle.ukm.my/2309/
