The Relationship between Learning Motivation and Demographic, Socio-Emotional Aspects among Arab Minority Preservice Teachers in Israel

Learning motivation means driving influences from internal (intrinsic) or external (extrinsic) forces that give learners power to learn effectively, implicating processes of learning engagement. This study examines the differences in learning motivation levels among preservice teachers in the Arab minority in Israel according to demographic and socio-emotional aspects, and the relationships between level of learning motivation and various socio-emotional characteristics. 543 Arab minority students of education (with different majors) were chosen by means of random cluster sampling, and were asked to fill out questionnaires. The findings indicated significant differences in the level of the students' learning motivation for only two demographic variables: study program and specialization. Significant negative relationships were found between learning motivation and depression and social anxiety, and significant positive relationships were found between learning motivation and perceived social and family support and self-esteem. Multiple regression results revealed that the most significant factors that explained the variance of learning motivation among Arab minority preservice teachers were perceived social and family support (13.5%), followed by social anxiety (1.9%), and self-esteem (1.1%). These findings contribute to the understanding of the nature of the relationship between learning motivation and other demographic and socio-emotional aspects of preservice teachers from Israeli Arab society.