The motivational development of Norwegian nursing students over the college years

This longitudinal research used cluster analysis to identify subgroups of nursing students that differed in terms of academic motivation. We termed the three distinct clusters that were identified: the positive motivation, moderate motivation and low profile cluster, respectively. More positively motivated students were found to report more use of not only deeper but also surface processing strategies. When we tracked the movement of all the students in terms of their cluster membership over two entire academic years, we found that many students lost some of their enthusiasm and engagement during their professional education. Still, some students managed to maintain relatively high levels of motivation and a few actually developed more adaptive motivation over time. As the decline in motivation was most pronounced during the first year of nursing education, motivational interventions aimed at maintaining and developing enthusiasm for and appreciation of the field of study may be particularly important during that period. Some implications for educational practice are discussed.