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Self-motivation and well-being in higher education

Self-motivation and well-being in higher education:In the view of Andrews and Withey (2012), the well-being in higher education determines pathway for one’s career and helps him develop both soft and technical skills. The higher education plays an important role in shaping one’s personality alongside develop of other fundamental skills necessary to survive in the practical world. More importantly, the higher education determines the direction of one’s career so well-being in higher education is highly important for individuals as well as societies. According to Ryan and Deci (2000), there are numerous factors which determine the level of well-being in higher education in terms of performance and effort. One of those factors is the level of self-motivation for the individual; the self-motivation enhances individual’s effort and performance in every aspect including education. It is often argued that the individual needs to be motivated to achieve any goal either professional or academic. The role of self-motivation is even higher because it refers to intrinsic motivation. When an individual is internally motivation, it is clearly visible from his performance and efforts to achieve the goal assigned. Other factors also affect the well-being in higher education which include the design of program, skills of the student, matching of skills with the syllabus and many others. Each of these factors determine the level of well-being of a particular student but it is not possible to achieve any target without the presence of motivation among individuals (Deci and Ryan, 2008).

Related Theories

First theory related to the context in this write-up is self-determination theory. It is a fundamental theory of self-motivation presented or initiated by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The theory explains fundamentals of self-determination or self-motivation and role it plays in the life of a common man. The self-determination theory states that the individual is generally self-motivated when three aspects are present including autonomy, relatedness and competence. These factors generally boost the efforts and performance of an individual when present together. It is further explained that the theory is applicable to different stages and activities including education, health care, psychotherapy, organizations, goals and numerous other aspects (Ryan and Deci, 2000). It illustrates that the theory is widely applicable around different sectors and is not geographically bound so it is an important theory in the given context. According to Poston (2009), another core theory pertaining to motivation is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which illustrates that a human being is only motivated when his needs at a certain level are satisfied. The theory also believes that when needs at a certain stage are satisfied then his needs move to a next stage. The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is divided into five stages which start from basic needs and go on till self-actualization needs. The hierarchy is discussed below:

• Physiological needs: These needs refer to basic needs such as food, water and sex.
• Safety needs: These refer to safety in relations and of life and property.
• Social needs: Every individual aims to maintain his / her relations, make love and affection and have family and friends.
• Self-esteem: These are higher level needs such as status, good position etc.
• Self-actualization: The highest level needs vary from individual to individual, he must feel completely satisfied when these are achieved….