Exploring Motivational Beliefs And Learning Approach Among Undergraduates Students

In order to understand how students grow into independent learners depends on their motivational beliefs a survey has been conducted. The variables items questioned were adopted from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), developed by Paul R. Pintrich and Debra J. De Groot. The survey is broken into three sections which are demographic profile, motivational belief and independent learners. The number of 140 correspondents were given a set of questionnaires and they are from various backgrounds undergraduate students. The objectives are to perceive motivational beliefs and strategy use of independent learning among learners and to identify the relationship between motivational belief and independent learners. The data was analyzed by identifying the mean for self-efficacy, intrinsic value, text anxiety, cognitive strategy as well as self-regulation, to determine the correlation between these two sections of self-regulated strategies and motivational beliefs. The result shows that there is an implication of motivational and self-learning towards effective learning and teaching processes. From the finding, it also believed that student learning style and educators' support lead to the student’s motivation in the learning process. This study have practical implications for educators, policymakers, and educational institutions by understanding how students perceive their motivational beliefs and engage in self-regulated learning strategies. This will lead to the development of tailored approaches to enhance academic success and engagement in the Malaysian context. The research has the potential to contribute to the enhancement of academic success


Background of Study
The investigation into the motivational beliefs and learning strategies of self-regulated learning among students in Malaysia sheds light on important aspects of their academic engagement and success.This study examined the demographic profile, motivational beliefs, and independent learning strategies of participants.The findings provide insights into how learners perceive their academic abilities, intrinsic values, test anxiety, cognitive strategy use, and self-regulation in their learning journey.
The study explored students' motivational beliefs using the Motivated Beliefs and Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MBSLQ) rooted from Pintrich & DeGroot (1990).Self-efficacy, a crucial motivational belief, indicated that students held positive perceptions about their academic abilities.They displayed confidence in their understanding of course content, problem-solving skills, and anticipated high performance.Students also believed in the usefulness and intrinsic value of their learning experiences, expressing strong agreement with statements about the importance and relevance of the material.The role of motivational belief strategies is inevitable in fostering digital literacy enhancement as it may contribute to the more efficient and critical use of digital tools (Lilian, A., 2022).
Participants' self-regulation in their learning journey was evaluated through self-report measures.The results indicated that students exercised self-regulation by setting goals, reflecting on their learning process, and utilizing strategies to ensure better comprehension and retention.The participants' ability to manage their study habits and engage with challenging content demonstrated their proactive approach to achieving academic success.
The findings from this study provide valuable insights into how Malaysian students perceive their motivational beliefs and engage in self-regulated learning strategies.Understanding these dynamics can inform educators, policymakers, and educational institutions in tailoring approaches to enhance students' academic success and engagement.Further research in this area could delve into the impact of cultural and contextual factors on motivational beliefs and learning strategies, contributing to a deeper understanding of the educational landscape in Malaysia.

Statement of Problem
Perception of strategy use among independent learners, to what extent do learners accurately perceive their motivational beliefs when engaged in learning activities?Self-directed learning is a valuable skill that empowers students to take control of their educational journey.However, understanding how students perceive their own strategy use in independent learning contexts is important.Problems arise from the resulting effect between students' perceptions and their actual strategy use.If students overestimate their strategic abilities, they may miss opportunities to improve their learning process.Conversely, if they underestimate their abilities, they can limit their potential for self-directed learning and effective knowledge acquisition.
Perception of motivational beliefs in learning, how do learners' perceptions of their strategy use differ between traditional learning contexts and independent learning scenarios?Many learners often struggle to accurately perceive and understand their own motivational beliefs when it comes to learning.This can be problematic because learners' motivation plays a crucial role in their engagement, effort, and overall success in education.Without a clear understanding of their motivational beliefs, learners might not be able to effectively use and direct their motivation towards productive learning activities.This lack of awareness could hinder their ability to set meaningful goals, manage their time, and persist through challenges.
In related studies, only two subscales of motivation were used, 'self-efficacy for learning and performance' and 'task value' (Syam, 2017).Two subscales of learning strategies were also used, 'elaboration' under cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and 'peer learning' under resource management strategies.Elaboration in this study involves techniques such as summarizing, creating analogies and taking notes to improve understanding and memory retention, while peer learning promotes collaboration and deeper understanding.This strategy is particularly important in this study, where students from various backgrounds come together to learn about religious and social knowledge.This study focuses on the orientation and motivational strategies of students' learning, to ensure the successful implementation of the course.The findings of the study show a high level of self-efficacy, task performance and task value among students, showing their awareness of the importance of the course.Learning strategies and peer discussions are usually used by students, to facilitate collaboration and task performance.This study also revealed a significant relationship between learning motivation and learning strategies.(Sham 2017).
Motivation plays a crucial role in a student's learning process, providing psychological support and driving them to complete tasks.Lack of motivation can lead to negative outcomes like dropping out of class, while students who effectively utilize motivational belief strategies can incorporate attention, skills, and inhibitory control in their learning (Lilian, A., 2022).Motivational strategies also enhance student engagement by increasing attention, focus, and the utilization of higher order thinking skills, leading to meaningful learning experiences.
Self-efficacy refers to an individual's belief in their ability to perform a task successfully.Technological self-efficacy specifically relates to one's belief in using technology to achieve positive outcomes.The acquisition of self-efficacy in learning is important for students as it affects their learning speed and progression.Students with high self-efficacy are more likely to put in extra effort and overcome learning challenges (Lilian 2022).
Socio-emotional development plays an important role in poor student performance (Kaushik, 2021).Adverse childhood experiences can lead to cognitive, physical activities, affecting learning abilities and overall well-being.Factors such as lack of cognitive skills, life hardships, and unfriendly environment contribute to difficulties and lack of interest in learning.Educators need to provide support and strategies to help these students reach their potential.Self-regulated learning is emphasized as a key aspect, as it improves autonomy, self-monitoring and time management skills.High academic achievement can be produced through a better self-learning strategy.The development of interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral programs, can improve self-regulated learning, academic performance, behavior, and emotional regulation in students with learning disabilities (Kaushik, 2021).
The results in a research (Tefera,2022), support previous findings that the selfregulated learning strategies components are related to learning outcomes and provide empirical support for teaching quality in.The study identifies help seeking as the most predictive SRLS component for perceived learning gains, while time and study management and peer learning also have positive associations..The study suggests that universities should consider the impact of SRLS on high-achieving students and incorporate strategies such as time management, peer learning, and help seeking to improve undergraduate education.Further research is needed to explore the contributions of SRLS to actual learning outcomes and to understand how to effectively utilize SRLS for positive non-academic outcomes in a university learning environment.

Objective of the Study and Research Questions
This study is done to explore the perception of learners on their use of learning strategies.Specifically, this study is to answer the following questions; • How do learners perceive their motivational beliefs in learning?
• How do learners perceive their strategy used by independent learners?
• Is there a relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learners?

Literature Review
Motivation for Learning Different students are motivated by different factors, and the same student might be motivated by different things in different contexts.Effective educators often strive to tap into a combination of these motivators to create an engaging and motivating learning environment.Little research has been done on what motivates students to enroll in particular study modes, but this study found that the importance students place on factors such as personal, learning support, environment, advice and marketing, teaching and learning, and logistics changes during their educational experience (Robinson and Gough, 2020).
The discussion of learning processes greatly benefits from the inclusion of motivation theory.Almost any subject becomes accessible to learners who possess motivation.The significance of student motivation cannot be overstated, as it stands as a paramount factor influencing teacher effectiveness, encompassing both active participation in the learning journey and achieving commendable academic results (Leitão, Maguire, Turner et al, 2022).

Self-Regulated Learning
Self-regulated learning (SLR) can be described as an active process where a person is able to understand and control his or her environment.It involves a selfdirective process that converts a person's mental ability into various task related skills in any field of study (Zimmerman, 2015).In the teaching and learning process, the SLR engages with crucial activities such as sharing new information, certifying the process of knowledge-transfer with a conducive social environment and also good accessibility of resources to support the teaching and learning environment (Sebastian et al., 2017;Qadach, et al., 2022).Furthermore, the basis of SLR strategies rely on planning, monitoring and regulating where it involves a combination of cognitive, metacognitive and motivational processes in a learning context.Cognitive process is related to information processing-strategies emerge in our brain and the metacognitive process has a control and monitor these cognitive skills such as selfmonitoring and self-evaluating.Meanwhile, motivational process refers to a person's willingness to discover or learn and achieve self-assurance or self-efficacy (Pintrich, 2004;Qadach, et al., 2022).

Past Studies on Motivation for Learning
Motivation is a condition that activates and sustains behavior toward a goal.It is critical to learning and achievement across the life span in both formal and informal settings and formal learning environments (National Academy of Sciences, 2018).Motivation is distinguishable from general cognitive functioning and helps to explain gains in achievement independent of scores on intelligence tests (Murayama et al., 2013).Ismail, Vadeveloo, Kamarunzaman, Yusof, Aziz, and Rahmat (2023).regarded learning motivation as students' intention or desire to participate in and make efforts on learning, which was performed on student choice of specific learning activity and the efforts on such activity.
A key factor in motivation is an individual's mindset: the set of assumptions, values, and beliefs about oneself and the world that influence how one perceives, interprets, and acts upon one's environment (Tina, A, 2021).
Based on the self-determination theory, motivation is categorized as intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2020).Intrinsically motivated learners are those who can always "reach within themselves" to find a motive and intensity to accomplish even highly challenging tasks without the need for incentives or pressure.Eccles and Wigfield (2002) studied motivational beliefs in four focuses..The first focuses on beliefs about competence and expectancy for success.The second focuses on the reasons why individuals engage in different activities; these theories include constructs such as achievement values, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, interests, and goals.The third integrates expectancy and value constructs.The fourth draws links between motivational and cognitive processes.We consider each perspective in turn.

Past Studies on Self-Regulated Learning
Numerous studies have discovered self-regulated learning in various learning contexts.For example, Rizki et al. (2022) explored the adaptation of self-regulated learning with the use of modern technology in Indonesia's higher education systems during the spread of virus Covid 19.The study was conducted to identify the effectiveness of the learning management system (LMS) as a self-regulated learning tool, which is called SPADA that has been enforced by the government.The study was conducted in a focus group that consists of stakeholders such as Directorate General of Higher Education as the initiators and the SPADA's vendor.Besides, the study also distributed a survey to 697 students to measure their experience whether they receive benefits or facing challenges while using the system.The findings of the study showed that there is an urgent need for self-regulation in learning with the implementation of the system (SPADA) from students' perspectives.However, the results also found that the students have minimum social learning while learning in an online method.Therefore, the study has recommended some improvements on the SPADA's platform architecture to ensure the system can enhance and support the student's engagement in their online learning process (Rizki et al., 2022).
Additionally, other than higher education institutions, self-regulated learning is also applicable for elementary school students.Prior research was conducted to determine the intervention of self-regulated learning in Korea (Lee et al., 2023).214 respondents were chosen, which are the students from three upper elementary schools.The self-regulated learning interventions have been divided into three domains in writing, mathematics and reading subjects where the teachers need to coach the students a self-regulated learning approach for each subject.The results of the study revealed that the students achieve better performance in problem-solving strategies after they have received self-regulated coaching from their teachers (Lee et al., 2023).Therefore, it is proven that self-regulated learning is able to enhance the students' performance and also encourage the teacher's engagement in applying this concept in their teaching and learning process.

Conceptual Framework
When it comes to learning, learners need to be motivated in order to be independent learners.Students who are interested in the content are more engaged (Rahmat, 2022).In learning, when students feel engaged, they become independent to want to know more.This study is rooted from factors for motivational beliefs strategies used by independent learners by Pintrich & DeGroot (1990).In Figure 1, becoming independent learners requires learners to be motivated.The motivational beliefs consist of: (i) self-efficacy, (ii) intrinsic value, and (iii) managing test anxiety.In addition to that, independent learners use strategies such as (i) cognitive strategy and (ii) self-regulation.This study also explores if there is a relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learners.Table 2 shows the reliability of the survey.The analysis shows a Cronbach alpha of 0.920, thus, revealing a good reliability of the instrument chosen/used.Further analysis using SPSS is done to present findings to answer the research questions for this study.

Findings
Findings for Demographic Profile Q1.Gender Table 3-Percentage for Gender 1 Male 30% 2 Female 70% The demographic profiles of the participants as displayed in Table 3 above.In total, 30% of the participants were male.The majority, 70% of the participants were female.Q2 Semester  4 displays the semester they were in.Based on the results, most respondents are currently in Semester 1 and 2, contributing to 54% of the sample, followed by Semester 3 and 4, contributing to 44%.Meanwhile, Semester 5 & Semester 6 contributed to 1% of the samples.Finally, the minority, representing respondents from Semester 7 and 8, contributed to only 1% of the samples participated in this survey.AC 110 5% Looking into the programme, 31% of them were from BA119.This was followed by 28% of respondents who professed CS143.The third group consisted mainly of CS110, accounting for 26% of the sample.Meanwhile, 5% of the respondent was in the AC110 programme, followed by BA111, which represents only 2% of the sample.Finally, BA114 is the lowest, accounting for only 1% of the sample.Q5 Living Status  8 that were evaluated based on the current CGPA possessed, a current CGPA between 3.5-4.00dominated the group with 50% of the sample.However, students with CGPA between 3.00 to 3.49 also contributed to nearly the majority of the sample, 36%.In comparison, the remaining 14% of the sample possess CGPA between 2.00-2.99.Laptop 52% Concerning the frequently used device among the respondents, displayed in Table 9, the respondents have a higher reliance on using Laptop, followed by Smartphones, and the least used device is the tablet, with the figure of 52%, 38% , and 10%, respectively.

Findings for Motivational Belief to answer research question 1-How do learners perceive their motivational beliefs in learning?
PART 2-MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS (22 items) A. SELF-EFFICACY (9 items) The survey indicated that students had positive perceptions of their academic abilities and expectations.They were confident in understanding course content (mean score 3.7) and expected high performance (mean score 3.8).They also expressed assurance in their problem-solving skills (mean score 3.6) and anticipated good grades (mean score 3.6).
Additionally, students believed in their subject knowledge compared to peers (mean score 3.0), emphasizing their confidence and self-regulated learning strategies.Table 11 shows the value of mean for the 9 items of the variable -Intrinsic Value.measuring the satisfaction and fulfillment that an individual derives from engaging in learning activities.

B. INTRINSIC VALUE (9 items)
The high mean score for Items 6 and 9 is particularly noteworthy as it indicates that participants perceived these intrinsic values as exceptionally clear.This aligns with our research goal of ensuring effective communication with participants.On the contrary, the low mean score for Items 1 and 5 raises concerns about the willingness of the students to do difficult work, an area that might require attention.Table 12 shows the value of mean for the 4 items of the variable -Test Anxiety.a psychological response to the anticipation of taking a test or examination.The highest mean score for Item 3 indicates that the students feel high anxiety before taking the test.This may be caused by anticipating what the questions might be and the worst-case scenario.The lowest mean score for items 1 and 2 indicates that the students experience low anxiety during a test.During taking a test they shift their focus to the immediate task at hand.

Findings for Independent learners
This section presents data to answer research question 2 which is how do learners perceive their strategy use of independent learners?There are two variables under independent learners that consist of cognitive strategy use and self-regulation.The results of the findings as followed: PART THREE-SELF-REGULATED LEARNING STRATEGIES A. COGNITIVE STRATEGY USE (13 items)

3.7
Table 13 represents thirteen items and their mean values for cognitive strategy use.Based on the results, four items indicate the highest mean value which is 4 (very often) for SRLSCSUQ1 (when I study for a test, I try to put together the information from class and from the book), SRLSCSUQ2 (when I do homework, I try to remember what the teacher said in class so I can answer the questions correctly), SRLSCSUQ6 (when I study for a test, I try to remember as many facts as I can) and SRLSCSUQ9 (I use what I have learned from old homework assignments and the textbook to do new assignments).Meanwhile, SRLSCSUQ8 (when I study for a test, I practice saying the important facts over and over to myself) represents the second highest mean value, which is 3.9.Then, four items resulted in a 3.8 mean score for SRLSCSUQ4 (when I study, I put important ideas into my own words), SRLSCSUQ5 (I always try to understand what the teacher is saying even if it doesn't make sense), SRLSCSUQ7 (when studying, I copy my notes over to help me remember material) and SRLSCSUQ11 (when I read material for this class, I say the words over and over to myself to help me remember) and three items with a mean value of 3.7 for SRLSCSUQ10 (when I am studying a topic, I try to make everything fit together), SRLSCSUQ12 The final predictor variables of independent learning strategies are self -regulation.Table 14 displays the mean score for self-regulation, where the mean score distribution is between 3.3-4.,Based on the data collected, this study found that the respondents prefer to work hard to get good grades with the highest mean, which is mean 4.Even though the subject of study is not their interest.This is probably because they have greater motivation to achieve a better CGPA.
Other than working hard to achieve a good CGPA, it can be seen the respondents also put extensive efforts into asking questions themselves for greater understanding and completed the task within the time frame, which was proved by the mean score of 3.7.Even though the respondents readily admit that they experienced difficulties in understanding the materials (mean 3.4), they managed to find ways by practising exercises on their own, which was proved by the mean score of 3.4.The results indicate that the respondents are willing to put effort into having good grades.Contrary to the lowest mean, which is 3.3, the respondents disagreed about giving up and losing focus during the lesson.Overall, the results demonstrate that the dimensions of self-regulated learning represent students' strengths in managing their learning path.
Findings for Relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learners.To determine if there is a significant association in the mean scores between motivational beliefs and independent learners data is analysed using SPSS for correlations.Results are presented separately in table 15 and16 below.

Table 15-Relationship between Motivational Beliefs and Independent Learner
Table 15 shows there is an association between motivational beliefs and independent learners.Correlation analysis shows that there is a high significant association between metacognitive and affective strategies, motivational beliefs and independent learners.(r=.622**) and (p=.000).According to Jackson (2015), coefficient is significant at the .05level and positive correlation is measured on a 0.1 to 1.0 scale.Weak positive correlation would be in the range of 0.1 to 0.3, moderate positive correlation from 0.3 to 0.5, and strong positive correlation from 0.5 to 1.0.This means that there is also a strong positive relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learners.

Table 16: T-Test for Knowledge of Short Stories and Experience in Writing
A two-sample t-test was performed to compare knowledge of short stories between those who have experience and those who do not have experience in writing short stories.There was a significant difference in knowledge of short stories between those who have experience writing short stories (M=2.86,SD= 1.47) and those who do not have experience writing short stories (M=1.81,SD=.028); t(62)=3.33,p=.001.

Summary of Findings and Discussions
This study is based on the respondent of learners from various backgrounds of undergraduate student's programme.Outcome of the survey half of the learners have a good pointer with current CGPA with 3.50 and above.
Learners' perceptions of their motivational beliefs in learning are influenced by various psychological factors, including their attitudes, beliefs, and expectations about the learning process.Motivational beliefs play a crucial role in shaping learners' engagement, effort, and persistence in their educational undertakings.Self-efficacy, intrinsic value and test anxiety seemed to be the best predictors of performance components in motivational belief, according to Pintrich and De Groot (1990).Most of the learners have self-efficiency beliefs, able to understand the idea taught in class and able to learn the materials in class.In the finding for intrinsic value, respondents overwhelmingly agree that understanding the material being studied and learning from mistakes made when performing poorly on tests are crucial components of learning.According to the test anxiety examination, most of learner's experience anxiety when a test is involved.Though several different terms are used to describe independent learning, the concept in its various phases has at its core factors that are internal and external to the learner.The internal factors are the cognitive, metacognitive, and affective skills learners must acquire (Bill Meyer et al., 2008).
In RQ2, two variables identified to cognitive strategy use and self-regulation are considered, Pintrich and De Groot (1990).The findings indicate that a student employs a variety of cognitive methods, including summarizing key points and attempting to comprehend teachers' explanations, remembering all facts and lessons learned in class, and resolving assignments by drawing on previous ones.Selfregulation is also found to be an important aspect, with learners displaying a willingness to work hard for good grades and motivation to achieve a higher CGPA.Students are effective in managing their leaning path and demonstarate strength in self-regulated learning.From the finding there is a significant relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learners from the correlation.(see also Pintrich & De Groot, 1990) Implications and Suggestions for Future Research Educators play a crucial role in assisting students in realizing their full potential by offering necessary support and emphasizing the utilization of self-regulated learning strategies.The significance of self-regulated learning strategies in influencing learning outcomes and proposes the integration of techniques like time management, peer learning, and seeking assistance to enhance the quality of undergraduate education.Further investigation is needed to explore the contributions of self-regulated learning strategies to actual learning outcomes and non-academic outcomes in a university learning environment within the university learning setting.

Figure 1 -
Figure 1-Conceptual Framework of the Study-Is there a relationship between motivational beliefs and independent learning strategies?

Table 1 -
Distribution of Items in the Survey

Table 2 -
Reliability of Survey

Table 5
highlights the current semester the participants belong to.Most respondents, 54% of 140, are in Semesters 1 and 2. In contrast, 44% of the participants were in Semesters 3 and 4. The remaining Semesters 5,6, 7 and above hold the minority percentage of 1%,

Table 10 -
Mean for Self-Efficacy

Table 11 -
Mean for Intrinsic value

Table 12 -
Mean for Test Anxiety

Table 13 -
Mean for Cognitive Strategy (I outline the chapters in my book to help me study) and SRLSCSUQ13 (when reading I try to connect the things, I am reading about with what I already know).SRLSCSUQ3 (It is hard for me to decide what the main ideas are in what I read) recorded the lowest mean value which is 3.4.Overall, the results revealed that the students were able to conduct cognitive learning and understand the information they received in class and connect it into their basic state of knowledge.