Exploring the Motivational Orientations of Counseling Graduate Students in Relation to Non-Counseling Graduate Students in the U.S.

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated different motivational orientations (e.g. intrinsic/extrinsic and approach/avoidance) held by counseling graduate students in relation to their level of education (e.g. master’s and doctoral), and in relation to non-counseling graduate students. Using two well-validated measures of motivation -The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS, Vallerand, Pelletier, Blais, Briere, Senecal, & Vallieres,1992) and Achievement Goal Questionnaire- Revised (AGQ- R, Elliot & Murayama, 2008), data were collected from graduate students (N= 205) enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions. The findings revealed that counseling graduate students more frequently experience intrinsic and performance-approach motivation, and their motivational orientations vary based on their level of education. Finally, the study addresses some of its limitations and recommendations for future research based upon the results.

Keywords

• Motivational orientations,Counseling students,U.S.

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