Factors Affecting Student Motivation in the Classroom: Motivating Factors and Hygiene Factors

Motivation is the power that mobilizes an individual to achieve a goal. Students need to be motivated to play an active role in educational process and achieve targeted outcomes. Therefore, it is important to determine the factors that increase students' motivation and to implement practices that increase student motivation in the classroom. This study investigated student perspectives on motivating and hygiene factors affecting their classroom motivation. The research employed a basic qualitative design and involved 936 undergraduate students from a state university in Turkey (2019-2020 academic year). Participants were chosen through convenience sampling, a purposive sampling method. Data collection occurred through an unstructured form developed by the researchers. MAXQDA 20 software facilitated data analysis. Five themes emerged from student responses regarding classroom motivation: teacher, student, learning environment, teaching content, and other factors. Teacher characteristics were identified as the most significant motivators, encompassing both hygiene and motivational factors. Overall, students emphasized motivating factors more than hygiene factors. The study suggests that school administrators and teachers should consider these factors to enhance student learning motivation and academic achievement. By exhibiting behaviors that address these factors, educators can foster a more positive and motivating learning environment for students.