STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION FOR DISTANCE LEARNING IN A PANDEMIC SITUATION

Abstract

Social tendency to distance various forms of social interaction, including learning, is intensifying in the times of highly developed information and communication technologies. Online communication of teachers and students — in chats, online forums and conferences — becmes an alternative to traditional learning. During the quarantine related to the COVID- 19 pandemic, distance learning (DL) was introduced in higher education institutions of Ukraine. The aim of the present study is to reveal the characteristics of students’ motivation for distance learning within the pandemic. Following methods were used for this purpose: the author’s questionnaire «Attitude to Distance Learning in Higher Education »; the method of «Eductional Motviation in Higher Education» by T. I. Ilyina, «Method of Diagnosing Personality for Motivation to Avoid failure» (by T. Ehlers), «Method of Diagnosing Personality for Motivation to Succeed» (by T. Ehlers). The empirical study continued throughout July-August 2020. The survey of students’ attitudes to DL showed three types of such attitudes: 48 % are positive about distance learning, 30 % are neutral, and 22 % are negative. Diagnosis of motivation to get higher education in students with different attitudes to distance learning revealed following trends: the highest rate of motivation to acquire knowledge is observed in students with a positive attitude to DL; the motive for obtaining a diploma dominates among students with a negative attitude to DL. High levels of motivation to succeed do not depend on the type of attitude to DL. The dominance of high levels of motivation to succeed compared to low levels of motivation to avoid failure is inherent in students with a positive attitude to DL. Significant differences were found between the parameters of «motivation to succeed» and «motivation to avoid failure» (p> 0.05) among students with a neutral attitude to distance learning. Thus, based on our empirical observation, we noted the correlation between the type of attitude of students to DL and their motivation to avoid failure, and the lack of such correlation between the type of attitude of students to DL and their motivation to succeed.