Motivation toward Choosing Psychology as a Secondary School Subject: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Autor/in	Sokolová, Lenka
Titel	Motivation toward Choosing Psychology as a Secondary School Subject: A Cross-Cultural Comparison
Quelle	In: Teaching of Psychology, 50 (2023) 1, S.41-46 (6 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Sokolová, Lenka)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0098-6283
DOI	10.1177/00986283211029938
Schlagwörter	Student Motivation; Psychology; Decision Making; Secondary School Students; Student Attitudes; Cross Cultural Studies; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom (England); Slovakia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schulische Motivation; Psychologie; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Sekundarschüler; Schülerverhalten; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Ausland; Slowakei
Abstract	Background: During the past two decades, psychology has become a favorite school subject in many countries. This situation has led to studies on students' attitudes and perceptions of psychology as a secondary school subject. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare motives for choosing psychology as a school subject among secondary school students (15-19 years of age) from England and Slovakia. Method: In this study, we administered an online questionnaire to gather data about motivation toward studying psychology among secondary students in England (n = 150) and Slovakia (n = 210). Results: For both groups, the most frequent motives and beliefs influencing the choice of psychology were self-understanding and understanding behaviors of others. However, significant cross-cultural differences in other motives emerged (e.g., the perception of difficulty of psychology as a school subject). Conclusion: Students, regardless the cultural context, choose psychology mostly to understand how the human mind works and to understand human behavior to help people. Teaching Implications: Pre-tertiary psychology teachers therefore need to accept a challenge to fulfill students' expectations and to raise awareness of pre-tertiary students' perceptions and beliefs about psychology among decision makers on national and international levels. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01