Work

The research on motivational factors of higher education students' participation in group assignments

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Group assignments are vital in higher education worldwide, however, the convenience of AI software and the unfairness of group contributions may undermine higher education students' motivation for participating in group assignments. The aim of this research was to find out motivational factors of improving students' engagement in group assignments. The research adopted both qualitative online interviews through WeChat and quantitative online questionnaires through Wenjuanxing. The research was conducted among 211 students who majored in Business Administration of a private university in China, with 52 students participating in online interviews and 186 students responding to online questionnaires respectively. The research showed that higher education students counted intrinsic motivational factors including responsible and communicative team members, interesting and challenging group assignments, and team progress recognition, as well as extrinsic motivational factor like grades a lot. Assignments with the flexibility to choose team members, interesting and challenging nature, team honor and progress awards, and a fairer scoring system could enhance students' participation and engagement in group assignments. • The article studied motivational factors of students' engagement in group assignment. • Students prefer individual or self-organized group assignment with 2–4 acquaintances. • Students favor reporting types of group assignments and complete with the aid of AI. • The greatest motivation for completing group assignments relates to team members. • Students value grades and team honor, and thus a fairer scoring system is important.

Source: Acta Psychologica

DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105590

Author: Yan Ma

Institutions: Shanghai International Studies University, Xianda College of Economics and Humanities, Shanghai International Studies University

Language: English

Topic: Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,670