Achievement motivation and general motivational tendencies of social pedagogy students

Abstract

This article introduces readers to the level of motivation of Social Pedagogy students within the context of this discipline in the Czech Republic. Herein it poses a number of topical questions, especially in relation to the manner of future social pedagogues’ preparation, selection of applicants, and their chances in the labor market. Equally it takes account of the elementary methods of measuring achievement motivation. In the empirical part the design of the research is proposed and the findings are presented. The primary aim of the research was to determine the level of achievement motivation of Social Pedagogy students at undergraduate preparation and their motivational tendencies. The secondary aim was to observe change dynamics in the level of achievement motivation and its individual components during university studies. The tests of LMI Achievement Motivation Questionnaire and MMG Multi-Motive Grid were used to obtain the results. In the conclusion of the work, the authors ask the question of how meaningful the contemporary approach of Social Pedagogy as a subject in the Czech Republic is; and they propose potential innovations. Moreover, research findings which have also shown prospective areas of students’ development can provide useful suggestions for pedagogues who research Social Pedagogy or educate future Social Pedagogues. © 2016, Canadian Center of Science and Education. All rights reserved.