Middle school students’ academic motivation in Turkey: Levels of perfectionism and self-efficacy

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to understand to what extent Turkish middle school students’ self-efficacy and perfectionism scores explained their academic motivation. Findings from this study have potential to influence counseling interventions, education, and future research. First, findings show that perceptions of self-oriented perfectionism were associated with lower levels of amotivation, lower levels of extrinsic motivation, and higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Findings also suggest that perceptions of socially prescribed perfectionism did not have a relationship with amotivation and had a negative relationship with extrinsic motivation as well as a positive relationship with intrinsic motivation. Finally, self-efficacy continues to be an important factor in outcomes among middle school students and extends previous findings that self-efficacy has been related with students’ resilience, achievement, and perseverance of effort. Based on this study’s findings, we provide implications for practitioners and researchers. One way to increase students’ self-efficacy is to foster hope for the future. Narrative therapy is another way to help students increase their levels of self-oriented perfectionism. © Copyright © 2020 AMLE.