Achievement Motivation among Secondary School Students in Gharyan in Light of Gender, Specialization, and Educational Level Variables

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the level of achievement motivation among a sample of secondary school students in the city of Gharyan, Libya. It specifically sought to explore the differences in achievement motivation based on three main variables: gender, academic specialization, and educational level. To achieve these objectives, the researcher employed a descriptive comparative methodology. The study population consisted of 792 students from various secondary schools in the Taghsat area, including both male and female institutions. A purposive sample of 60 students (30 males and 30 females) was selected from the second and third years of secondary education, encompassing both scientific and literary tracks. The researcher utilized the Achievement Motivation Scale developed by Al-Ghamdi (2009), which was adapted to suit the Libyan environment. The scale demonstrated high reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.81. Data were processed using several statistical tools, including means, standard deviations, percentages, and Independent Samples T-tests. The results of the study revealed that the overall level of achievement motivation among the participants was high, with a mean of 70.73 and a percentage of 70%. Regarding the demographic variables, the findings indicated no statistically significant differences in achievement motivation between male and female students, where the significance level reached 0.157. However, significant differences were found based on the educational level in favor of second-year students compared to third-year students, with a significance value of 0.031. Additionally, statistically significant differences emerged regarding academic specialization in favor of the literary track compared to the scientific track, with a significance value of 0.000. Based on these findings, the study recommended conducting further descriptive and experimental research on achievement motivation across different educational stages and exploring its relationship with other psychological variables such as self-actualization and academic performance.