Motivational Learning in Conflict-Affected Educational Settings

This study investigates motivational learning in South Sudan's conflict-affected educational settings, where widespread conflict, displacement, and pervasive trauma severely impede student engagement and academic persistence. Despite global efforts to improve educational access, a critical gap exists in understanding the specific motivational dynamics within this unique context. Applying expectancy-value, self-efficacy, and self-determination theories, this mixed-methods research explored how socio-economic, cultural, and conflict factors profoundly influence student motivation. Findings revealed notably low intrinsic motivation and academic self-efficacy, alongside high perceived utility and reliance on extrinsic motivation. The study underscored trauma's profound impact on learning, highlighting the critical need for trauma-informed teacher support and culturally responsive pedagogy. This research enriches academic literature on education in fragile states, provides empirical insights for designing effective, context-sensitive interventions, and offers crucial implications for sustainable positive social development and peacebuilding in South Sudan.