The motivation of engineering students: challenges for high schools teachers

Abstract

The teachers of the engineering profession need to reflect continually on students, their suitability and ability to become the next generation of engineers. Therefore, teachers need to face their responsibility in helping to develop the professional skills required for graduates and ensuring that the universities are not losing the best students to other professions. Thus, determining how effectively an educational system is functioning is concurrent with studies of students' motivation, with their belief in success, their abilities and support from that environment. The goal of this research is to evaluate the motivation of students enrolled in engineering disciplines and suggest strategies that would form prerequisites for the creation of motivation, which would encourage a studying environment. The research has shown problematic areas of student motivation and created prerequisites for creating such teaching strategies: changing students' convictions and their attitude towards studies; encouraging students' orientation towards purpose; consolidating the benefits of assignments; increasing students' self-confidence; encouraging students to choose innovative ways to achieve their goals; and formulating clear goals of studies and providing feedback assessing the progress.