Motivational trajectories and sense of self: A longitudinal study of high school students in Taiwan

This study examined how motivation variations related to differing levels of sense of self and explored the intricate interplay between motivational patterns and sense of self across diverse educational contexts, along with the impact of gender on these shifts. Using a cross-sequential design, eight hundred fifty-eight high school students (46.80 % female, 53.20 % male) in Southern Taiwan were analyzed with Linear Mixed Model to account for repeated measures. The findings showed that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation levels increased over time, with intrinsic motivation rising linearly and extrinsic motivation showing linear and quadratic trends. Students with a strong sense of self exhibited lower extrinsic motivation. Educational level significantly affected intrinsic motivation, particularly in senior high school students. While no overall gender differences in motivation types were found, female students with a strong sense of self showed a greater decrease in extrinsic motivation, and senior high school females had higher intrinsic motivation than males.