A qualitative study of students’ motivations for a biology field course in Svalbard

In this thesis I investigate graduate students’ motivations for choosing a biology field course at The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). Both students and teachers value field courses and they are considered important in higher biology education. Field courses have many documented benefits for motivation, learning, belonging, retention rates, and graduation rates, but are under threat by a lack of funding. The motivational learning domain might be important and is under-researched, therefore the present study aims to investigate student motivation for field courses. I conducted a qualitative interview study investigating students’ motivations for choosing the course AB321/821 Ecology of Arctic Marine Benthos at UNIS, a five-week course including a 9-day field cruise. Two focus-group interviews with four participants each took place before the field cruise in a classroom at UNIS. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. I employed qualitative content analysis by semi-directed coding on paper and in NVivo14. The results show that students are motivated by factors including 1) career in biology; 2) personal experiences; 3) learning opportunities; and 4) social belonging. Career opportunities highly influenced student motivation and included motivation by networking, future career goals and gaining of practical skills. Opportunities of personal experiences highly influenced student motivation, students wanted to travel to Svalbard and explore the Arctic nature. The learning opportunities of the field course influenced student motivation, especially the hands-on and practical learning approach appealed to students. Opportunities of social belonging influenced student motivation, this included social interactions and belonging to a course community. Students reported the Arctic marine benthic setting as important for motivation by career and personal experiences, and also mentioned protection of environment as a motivating factor. Since field courses provide students with benefits and positively influences retention and graduation rates in the academic field of biology, field courses should be prioritized and invested in. My results show that multiple factors influencing each other motivates students to participate in field courses. Field courses that give students opportunities of career building, personal experiences, learning, and social belonging are engaging and motivating for students.

Masteroppgave i biologi

BIO399K

MAMN-BIO

MAMN-LÆRE