The Influence of Environment and Motivation as Factors for the Academic Achievements of Students at the Faculty of History at Sofia University “Saint Kliment Ohridski”

This study examines motivation and the influence of the learning environment as key factors affecting the academic achievements of students from the Faculty of History at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". A total of 240 students and 16 faculty members participated in the research. Data were collected and analyzed regarding the impact of the university environment on the academic motivation of students enrolled in the following fields of study: 2.2. History and Archaeology, 1.3. Pedagogy of Teaching of ..., and 3.1. Sociology, Anthropology, and Cultural Studies. The study is complemented by a survey of the opinions of lecturers from the faculty to compare their perspectives with students' self-assessments. The findings highlight the need for strategies to enhance academic motivation through improvements in the learning environment, the digitization of educational materials, and the encouragement of student engagement. The results have practical applications for university policies and teaching methodologies in the preparation of students specializing in history-related fields, and more specifically in the Bachelor’s Degree programs: History, Archeology, Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, History and Geography, History and Philosophy, History and Foreign Language, Archives and Documentary Studies, History and Geopolitics of the Balkans and Hebrew Studies