Examination of academic motivation levels of students in faculty of sports sciences and school of physical education and sports

This study was carried out for the purpose of determining the effect of motivation concept, which has an important place in all aspects of our life, on daily lives and academic levels of students. The population consists of students in some Faculties of Sports Sciences and School of Physical Education and Sports selected in Turkey. Its sample consists of 1048 students determined with random sampling among 6400 students receiving education in Fırat University Faculty of Sports Sciences; İnönü University School of Physical Education and Sports; Atatürk University Faculty of Sports Sciences; Yüzüncü Yıl University School of Physical Education and Sports; Dicle University School of Physical Education and Sports; Bartın University School of Physical Education and Sports; Sakarya University Faculty of Sports Sciences in 2017-2018 academic year. A survey was applied for students corresponding to 16% of the population in the research, but 48 of them were found inappropriate for the assessment. Survey method which is one of quantitative research data collection methods was used in the study. "Academic Motivation Scale" developed by Vallerand et al. and adapted to Turkish by Karagüven was used in the research for the purpose of determining the motivation levels of students. Data obtained were evaluated in IBM SPSS 22.0 packaged software. "Independent sample test" and "one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)" in parametric data were used in data analysis for the purpose of evaluating differentiation level depending on percentage, frequency and independent variables. Significance level of statistical analyses (alpha (a) error level) was accepted as p<0.05. As a result, considering the internal motivation level of the participants according to gender variable, it was understood that there is a significant difference according to genders. It was determined that motivation level of female participants is higher than that of male participants (p<0.05). Again considering external motivation level of participants according to department variable, it was observed that students in Department of Management and Recreation have the highest external motivation; students in Department of Teaching have the lowest external motivation, and this constitutes a significant difference (p<0.05). It was observed considering the universities which students are affiliated with that students in Yüzüncü Yıl University, İnönü University, Atatürk University have the highest academic motivation; students in Dicle University and Sakarya University have the lowest academic motivation. Keywords: Motivation, Academic Motivation, Internal Motivation, External Motivation, Academic Achievement