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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 187 (2015) 642 – 646

PSIWORLD 2014

Conceptions of learning and intrinsic motivation in different

learning environments
Valeria Negovana*, Mihaela Sterianb, Gabriela-Mihaela Colesniucc
a
University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Romania
b
”Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
c
Cernavoda City Hall, Social Work Department, Protection and Social Assistance Department, Cernavoda, Romania

Abstract

This study focuses on undergraduate students’ conceptions of learning related to their level of intrinsic motivation for learning
and to their learning context. Participants in this study were 160 final-year undergraduate psychology students, 34 male and 126
female, aged 20 to 49 years (M= 30.61, SD = 8.55), 80 from regular full-time and 80 from distance educational programs. In
order to collect the data, 3 self-rating questionnaires were used. The research’s results provide an empirical basis for programs
aiming to promote effective conceptions of learning through new forms of teaching in higher education.

©
© 2015
2015Published by Elsevier
The Authors. Ltd. This
Published is an openLtd.
by Elsevier access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PSIWORLD 2014.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PSIWORLD 2014.

Keywords: conceptions of learning; intrinsic motivation; regular and distance learning.

1. Introduction

The study is based on literature on students’ conceptions of learning (Marton, Dall’Alba and Beaty, 1993; Purdie
and Hattie, 2002; Vermunt and Vermetten, 2004; Entwistle, and Peterson, 2004; Richardson, 2011), intrinsic
motivation for learning (Keller, 2008; Ryan and Deci, 2000) in different learning environments (Loyens, Rikers
and Schmidt, 2009; Jonassen and Land, 2012).
Among the most well-known definitions of learning conceptions we can find the definition of Vermunt and
Vermetten (2004): „A conception of learning is a coherent system of knowledge and beliefs about learning and

* Corresponding author. Tel.: 0740234826.

E-mail address: negovanv.cip@gmail.com

1877-0428 © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of PSIWORLD 2014.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.03.119
 Valeria Negovan et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 187 (2015) 642 – 646 643

related phenomena (e.g., knowledge and beliefs about oneself as a learner, learning objectives, learning activities
and strategies, learning tasks, learning and studying in general, and about the task division between students,
teachers, and fellow students in learning processes)” (p.362). The authors make a clear distinction between learning
conceptions and learning orientations, with the latter „referring to the whole domain of students’ personal goals,
intentions, motives, expectations, attitudes, concerns, and doubts with regard to their studies” (p.363).
The specialty literature discusses how „Over the last couple of decades there has been an interest in identifying
and defining a number of different conceptions of learning” (Blake and Smith, 2007, p.3) and shows that „The
influential taxonomy proposed by Marton, Dall’Alba and Beaty (1993) identified six hierarchically related
conceptions of learning: (i) Learning as increasing one’s knowledge – the consumption of already existing
information; (ii) Learning as memorising and reproducing – for a purpose such as a test; (iii) Learning as applying,
where the learner applies what is learned as the need arises – such as driving skills or manual tasks; (iv) Learning as
understanding and the abstraction of meaning – developing meaning from learning, developing a point of view; (v)
Learning as seeing something in a different way, an interpretative process aiming at understanding reality; (vi)
Learning is ‘changing as a person” (Burnett, Pillay and Dart, 2003, p.56; Peterson, Brown and Irving, 2010, pp. 1-
2). Purdie and Hattie (2002), in the instrument that they have constructed in order to measure the conceptions of
learning, describe the following: conception of learning as gaining information; conception of learning as
remembering, using, and understanding information ; conception of learning as a duty; conception of learning as
personal change; conception of learning as a process not bound by time or place; conception of learning as the
development of social competence (p.19).
Just as Ryan and Deci (2000) show, the best known approach in regard to motivation is the one that considers its
extrinsic and intrinsic dimensions: „Over three decades of research have shown that the quality of experience and
performance can be very different when one is behaving for intrinsic versus extrinsic reasons” (p.55). The two
promoters of the self-determination theory state that „Intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for
its inherent satisfactions rather than for some separable consequence (...). Although, in one sense, intrinsic
motivation exists within individuals, in another sense intrinsic motivation exists in the relation between individuals
and activities. People are intrinsically motivated for some activities and not others, and not everyone is intrinsically
motivated for any particular task (p.56).
The relationship between conceptions of learning and the motivation for learning has been studied through
looking at how congruent the two aspects are: „For some groups of students the expected interrelations between
learning conceptions, learning motives, and learning processes do not emerge, a phenomenon that Meyer (2000)
referred to as “dissonance” in student learning patterns. He describes the concept of “dissonance” as unexpected,
theoretically incompatible combinations of particular motives, intentions, strategies, regulatory mechanisms,
contextual perceptions, learning conceptions, and so on” (Vermunt and Vermetten, 2004, p.373).
The specialists estimate that the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is very important „in new
learning environments based on constructivist principles” (Martens, Bastiaens and Kirschner, 2007, p.90), the risk
for dissonances to appear being higher in one of its most accentuated forms - distance learning (distance education),
a concept related to which there are a series of new models of teaching and learning (Phipps and Merisotis, 1999;
Saba, 2000). The new category of students - non-traditional students - has needs that are yet to be analysed (Rovai,
2003, p.12) and raises a new series of questions, such as the very important question of whether these situations
create a different relationship between the students' intrinsic motivation for learning and their conceptions for
learning, especially in the nowadays learning environments (Marambe, Athuraliya, Vermunt and Boshuizen, 2007;
Lee, Cheung and Chen, 2005) which cannot be clearly controlled by mentors or tutors, as in the case of distance
learning education comparative to normal full-time education.
The study aims to investigate the differences in the university students’ conceptions of learning according to their
learning context (regular and distance education) and to their level of intrinsic motivation for learning. It was
predicted that the students’ learning context (regular and distance education) and their level of intrinsic motivation
for learning, age and gender will interact in differentiating their conceptions of learning.
644 Valeria Negovan et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 187 (2015) 642 – 646

2. Method

2.1. Participants

Participants in this study were 160 final-year undergraduate psychology students, 34 male and 126 female, aged
20 to 49 years (M= 30.61, SD = 8.55), 80 from regular full-time and 80 from distance education programs.

2.2. Instruments

Variables
In order to collect the data, 3 self rating questionnaires were used: 1) Conceptions of learning questionnaire —
revision III (COLI-III) (Peterson, Brown and Irving, 2010) – 28 items (e.g. I know I have learnt something when I
really understand it; Learning makes me more aware that other people see things differently; I learn a lot by being
involved in many different activities; Learning is part of life; Learning is absorbing facts and information; I learn so
I can get the qualifications I need for my future); 2) The Intrinsic motivation scale, from The Motivation scale
(Waugh, 2002) – 3 items (e.g. “Try to achieve academically because I like the challenges it brings”). An additional
questionnaires collected data about students’ learning program (regular vs. distance education), gender, and age.

2.3. Procedure

The study was conducted in 2011 – 2013 academic years. Participation was voluntarily and students were
informed about the aims and the nature of the study and confidentiality was assured.

2.4. Data Analysis Procedures

The descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) were calculated for all variables. Independent-Samples
T Test, One-way analysis of variance and Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted in order to test
the research hypotheses. Prior to applying these statistical procedures, for the scores obtained in case of intrinsic
motivation, the tertiles of the series were computed and each of the 3 series of scores was coded into low (first
tertile), medium (second tertile), and high (third tertile) levels of intrinsic motivation.

3. Results

The mean scores describe a slight (“medium”) level of participants’ intrinsic motivation. The participants
strongly believe (with scores over 4) that learning is understanding information, personal change, and a continuous
process and they also moderately-towards-strongly believe (under 4) that learning is the development of social
competence, gaining information, and a duty (table 1).

Table 1. Means, standard deviations, and Cronbach's Alphas for the total research group (N=160)

Scale Mean SD Cronbach's Alpha

Learning as understanding information 4.41 .52 .76
Learning as personal change 4.32 .54 .84
Learning as the development of social competence 3.91 .68 .87
Learning as a continuous process 4.48 .48 .65
Learning as gaining information 3.61 .83 .71
Learning as a duty 3.70 .74 .74
Intrinsic motivation 3.64 .81 .89
 Valeria Negovan et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 187 (2015) 642 – 646 645

3.1. Differences in students’ conceptions of learning depending on their study program and level of intrinsic
motivation

Independent-Samples T Test indicates that the students from the regular program, compared to the students from
the distance learning program, reported statistically significant (t = from 2.26, to 3.53, Df. 158, p = from .02 to p <
.001) higher scores on conceptions that learning is understanding (Mregular =4.51, SD= .51; Mdistance = 4.32, SD =.52),
gaining information (Mregular = 3.79, SD=.85; Mdistance = 3.43, SD =.76) and a duty (Mregular = 3.90, SD=.79; Mdistance
=3.50, SD = .63). The students from the distance learning program, compared to the students from the regular
program, reported statistically significant (t = 2.36 and 2.55, df. 298, p = .02 and p=.01) higher scores on the
conception that learning is personal change (Mdistance =4.42 , SD = .50, Mregular = 4.21, SD =.58) and a continuous
process (Mdistance= 4.58 , SD =.38, Mregular= 4.39, SD = .56) and on intrinsic motivation (Mdistance= 3.81, SD = .73,
Mregular =3.47, SD = .56).&RKHQಬVGFRHIILFLHQWVUDQJHGIURPWRLQGLFDWHDVPDOOWRDPHGLXPHIIHFW
VL]H
The One Way ANOVA revealed that, at a higher level of intrinsic motivation, compared with the low and
average level of intrinsic motivation, students' conceptions of learning is statistically significantly (F 2 = from 3.86,
to 10.68, p = from .02 to p< .001) stronger as far as the following conceptions of learning are concerned: learning is
personal change (M = 4.46, SD =.51), development of social competence (M = 4.14, SD = .61), a continuous
process (M = 4.57, SD =.38), and a duty (M = 4.01, SD = .66)

3.2. Differences in students’ conceptions of learning depending on the interaction between gender, age, study
program, and level of intrinsic motivation

Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that study program, students’ gender, age and level of
intrinsic motivation significantly affected the scores of their conception that learning is understanding information,
gaining information, and a duty, as separate factors and in interaction [(F (2, 159) = from 2,46 to 4,97, p= from
.04 to p < .008, Partial Ș2 = from .07 to .08].
As far as these learning conceptions are concerned, the highest scores have been reported by female students,
aged 40 - 49, from the regular program, with a high level of intrinsic motivation ((Mlearning is understanding information = 4.90,
SD = .14; Mlearning is gaining information = 4.38, SD = .88; Mlearning is a duty = 4.50, SD = .14), whereas the lowest scores have
been obtained by male students aged 30 - 39 from the distance learning program with a low level of intrinsic
motivation (Mlearning is understanding information = 3.58, SD = .24; M learning is gaining information = 2.63, SD = .11; M learning is a duty =
2.80, SD = .28).

4. Discussions and conclusions

The study aimed to investigate the differences in the university students’ conceptions of learning according to
their learning context (regular and distance education) and to their level of intrinsic motivation for learning.The
research’s results indicated that the students’ learning context (regular and distance education) and their level of
intrinsic motivation for learning, age and gender are interacting in differentiating their conceptions of learning.
The students from regular program, compared to the students from distance learning program, reported higher
scores on conceptions that learning is understanding, gaining information and a duty.
The students from distance learning program, compared to the students from regular program, reported higher
scores on conceptions that learning is personal change and a continuous process. At a higher level of intrinsic
motivation, compared with the low and average level of intrinsic motivation, students’ conceptions of learning is
stronger as far as the following conceptions of learning are concerned: learning is personal change, development of
social, a continuous process and a duty. These findings are consistent with the findings of other studies (Blake and
Smith, 2007, Bliuc, Ellis, Goodyear and Piggott, 2010; Richardson, 2010; Peterson, Brown and Irving, 2010).
Considering the results of the present study, certain limitations should be kept in mind. The results of this study
are limited to the investigated context, namely that of an academic environment shaped by the Psychology studies of
one public university. Another possible limitation of the study is the fact that the research data was gathered with the
646 Valeria Negovan et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 187 (2015) 642 – 646

help of self-report scales. Therefore further efforts with the use of different scales and methods may expand these
findings.
Despite these limitations, the research’s results indicating interesting differences between distance and regular
learning students provide an empirical basis for programs aiming to promote effective conceptions of learning
through new forms of teaching in higher education.
The results can contribute to the development of an empirical database for intervention programs aiming to help
students become aware of their own conceptions of learning and to analyse these conceptions' efficacy in regard to
the more and more complex learning contexts.
The results suggest that it would be appropriate to encourage students from regular programs to see learning more
as a personal change and as a continuous process, on one hand, and to encourage students from distance programs to
see learning more as understanding and gaining information.

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