Evaluation of the motivational characteristics of higher education students in music from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

Higher education students in music respond to a very vocational profile, so that, we start from the general hypothesis that their motivation toward these studies is very high. The aim of this study is to analyze the educational motivation of students of higher education in music from centers located in the Atlantic axis—Galicia and Northern Portugal—according to personal and social variables: sex, family ties with music, country, and center of studies. The results show that women present levels of intrinsic motivation to knowledge and achievement while men are generally more unmotivated. The comparison by country and type of center shows that Portuguese students are more motivated than students taking these studies in Spain. In relation to family ties related to music, it is observed that they do not have a significant influence on their motivation at this educational stage.