ACADEMIC MOTIVATION AND SELF-REGULATION AS PREDICTORS OF STUDENTS’ ONLINE LEARNING OUTCOMES IN SELECTED PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES OF WESTERN REGION OF KENYA

Abstract

Higher education institutions are undergoing radical transformations driven by the need to digitalize education and training processes rapidly. Universities continue to prioritize online learning as a means of meeting the diverse needs of students, ensuring accessibility, flexibility, and continuity in education. However, for students to effectively benefit from online learning, two crucial constructs play a pivotal role: academic motivation and self-regulation. These factors significantly influence students’ ability to engage with, persist in, and succeed in online learning environment. Despite the growing emphasis on online education, many students in public universities in the Western region of Kenya face challenges related to self-discipline, engagement, and motivation, which affect their learning outcomes. Therefore, a need to establish the extent to which academic motivation and self-regulation predict students’ online learning success. The purpose of this study was to investigate how academic motivation and self-regulation influence students’ online learning outcomes in public universities within this region. Specifically, the study sought to: examine the influence of academic motivation on students' online learning outcomes, assess the impact of self-regulation strategies on students’ online learning outcomes, and establish the relationship between academic motivation, self-regulation, and students’ online learning outcomes. This study was guided by M.C. Cleland’s and Atkinson’s Need Achievement Theory. A mixed-methods research design was employed, targeting 4,536 respondents. The sample size was determined using Yamane’s (1967) and Cochran’s formula. Data was collected using questionnaires and key informant interview schedules. A pilot study was conducted to ensure reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha used to test the internal consistency of research instruments. Face, content, and criterion validity of the instruments were ascertained. Data analysis involved correlation to assess relationships between variables and multiple regression to predict their interactions. The qualitative results from the interview showed that academic motivation and self-regulation influences students’ online learning outcomes in public universities within this region. The results showed a strong positive relationship (correlation coefficients of 0.733 and 0.821, respectively) between students' online learning outcomes, academic motivation, and self-regulation behavior. This suggests that motivated and self-regulatedstudents are more likely to do better academically in online learning environments, as seen by the fact that students' online learning outcomes improve when their academic motivation rises. According to linear regression analysis, students' online learning results were positively and significantly impacted by both academic motivation and self-regulation behavior (regression coefficients of 1.137 and 1.271, respectively).The study found that self-regulation and academic motivation together explained around 75.2% of the variance in students' online learning results. For education stakeholders, these findings have important ramifications, especially when evaluating readiness for the competency-based curriculum (CBC) in Kenya by 2026, which includes the use of online learning techniques. The Teachers Service Commission (TSC), Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), and Ministry of Education (MOE) may utilize these findings to create efficient teacher training plans for online instruction and to address challenges hindering the adoption of online learning.