Trajectories of subject-interests development and influence factors in higher education

It is a well-studied phenomenon, that throughout the course of studying at university, the motivation for the study program decreases. Correlation between motivation and learners’ behaviour, for example the learning process, achievement or, in the worst case, dropout exist. So there is a need for understanding the development of motivation in detail, like that of subject-interests, and for identifying influence factors, especially for higher education. This panel study examined the development of 4,345 students in higher education. Growth mixture models for subject-interests identify two classes of trajectories: “descending interest” and “continuously high interest”. In a next step, the analysis shows that gender, university entrance score, academic field and occupational aspiration influence membership of the classes. The results are discussed with respect to their consequences for education programs, but also with respect to possible new research questions.
• Two trajectory classes of subject-interest development in higher education are identified. • Gender and academic major influence membership in the two different classes. • The cognitive factors university entrance score and GPA affect the development of subject-interests. • Occupational aspiration is an important factor for class affiliation.