Does intrinsic motivation improve academic achievement, or vice versa?: Providing longitudinal evidence for the main theories of motivation based on primary education students’ age and sex

• Sainz de la Maza San Jose, Martin ^[1] ; Campo, Lucia ^[1] ; Delgado, Nahia ^[2] ; Etxabe Urbieta, Jose Maria ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Leioa, España

     
  2. [2] Globernance
• Localización: Revista de investigación educativa, RIE, ISSN-e 1989-9106, Nº. 43, 2025
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.6018/rie.587621
• Títulos paralelos:
  • ¿La motivación intrínseca aumenta el rendimiento académico o viceversa?: Aportando evidencias longitudinales a las principales teorías de la motivación basadas en la edad y el género del alumnado de educación primaria
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Un número significativo de profesorado justifica la motivación intrínseca como motor para mejorar el rendimiento académico del alumnado de Educación Primaria. No obstante, las principales teorías de la motivación existentes apoyan la idea contraria. A día de hoy, los estudios longitudinales existentes sobre alumnos/as de esta etapa son escasos, lo que hace realmente difícil comprobar si esta afirmación es cierta o se trata de un mito educativo. Por este motivo, el objetivo de este estudio ha sido comprobar si la motivación intrínseca conduce al rendimiento académico o viceversa, y si esta relación está moderada por la edad y el género del alumno. Participaron 852 estudiantes de educación primaria (M = 10,82; DT = .867), recogiéndose datos longitudinales sobre su motivación intrínseca y rendimiento académico antes (T1) y después de 7 meses de diferencia entre el inicio y el final del estudio (T2). Los resultados revelaron que, independientemente del género y la edad del estudiante, la motivación intrínseca en T1 no predijo significativamente el rendimiento académico en T2. Sin embargo, el rendimiento académico en T1 sí predecía la motivación intrínseca en T2, y esta relación estaba moderada por la edad del estudiante pero no por su género. Estos resultados son de especial interés para el profesorado a la hora de eliminar posibles mitos educativos y para observar cómo ofrecer oportunidades de éxito puede ser de especial interés para mejorar la motivación intrínseca del alumnado.

  • English

     A significant number of teachers justify intrinsic motivation as a driver for the improvement of academic performance in primary school students. However, the main theories of motivation that exist today support the opposite idea. To date, the existing longitudinal studies on students at this stage are scarce, which makes it really difficult to verify whether this statement is true or whether it is an educational myth. For this reason, the objective of this study has been to verify whether intrinsic motivation leads to improvements in academic performance or vice versa, and whether this relationship is mediated by the student's age and gender. A total of 852 primary education students (M = 10.82; DT = .867) participated, and longitudinal data on their intrinsic motivation and academic performance was collected at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of a 7-month period. The results revealed that, regardless of the student's sex and age, intrinsic motivation at T1 did not significantly predict academic performance at T2. However, academic performance at T1 did predict intrinsic motivation at T2, and this relationship was mediated by the student's age but not by their gender. These results are of special interest for teachers to eliminate possible educational myths and to observe how providing opportunities for success can be of special interest in improving students’ intrinsic motivation.

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