Abstract
This study explores student motivation to pursue a master’s degree. It also explores how motivation differs based on the students’ background, such as his or her study mode or place of origin. Qualitative data were collected through seventy semi‐structured interviews of master’s students in various programmes in Hong Kong. The results of this study show that there are two main motivations for pursuing the master’s degree in current economic and social conditions: intrinsic motivation towards growth and extrinsic motivation to satisfy deficiencies. The paper argues that students decided to pursue a master’s degree because of the interplay of different motivations, the patterns of which differed according to the students’ particular characteristics. The study’s findings expand our understanding of the heterogeneity of current students’ backgrounds and their diverse demands for masters‐level education. The implications of these motivations are proposed for further discussion.
摘要
本研究探讨了学生攻读硕士学位的动机及其差异性。通过对七十名来自香港各式硕士项目的学生进行半结构化访谈，研究结果显示两个主要动机：趋向成长的内在动机和满足不足的外在动机。本文认为学生决定攻读硕士学位是由于不同动机的相互作用，其作用模式因学生的特征而不同，并讨论了研究发现及其对硕士教育的实际意义。