Gender Differences in Academic Motivation: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to carry out a meta-analysis study on the results of the studies on the effect of gender on academic motivation in Turkey between 2004 and 2019. For this purpose, this study aims to present a comprehensive study in which the results of the studies on this matter were combined and extended by using meta-analysis method. The study contains the gender comparison by the size value of its effect on academic motivation and the sub-group analyses. In addition, meta-analysis study was made on the effect of gender on sub-dimensions of the academic motivation in the studies that were made by using the scale “Academic Motivation Scale” developed by (Bozanoğlu, 2004). First of all, relevant studies were pooled in the meta-analysis study; then, 22 studies that comply with the research criteria were included in the analysis based on the total of academic motivation scale. The analysis based on the total point of academic motivation scale in the study contains 8010 students. 8 studies on the effect of gender on the sub-dimensions of academic motivation were included in the analysis. The analysis based on the sub-dimensions of academic motivation contains 3017 students. According to study findings, random effects model demonstrates that the effect of gender on the sub-dimensions of academic motivation is at low significance level (Cohen d value -0.07). In this study, analog ANOVA was employed for sub-group analysis by publication type and sample group of the research subject. Therefore, the sample group of the research subject differed by variance (Qb = 5.96, df= 2, p<.05). The effect of gender on exploration dimension (Cohen d value -0.12), self-transcendence dimension (Cohen d value -0.08), and dimension of using knowledge (Cohen d value -0.18) which are the sub-dimensions of academic motivation is at low significance level.