Abstract

Education institutions are grappled with the issue of lacking interest of students in the study. Thus, this study was conducted to find out reasons for the lacking interest of students in the study. This was a quantitative research approach. The purposive sampling method was used as a judgement of the researcher to seek only low academic results students in order to furnish the research objectives.  The scales were developed to measure the various concepts given in the form of hypothetic statements. The results show that the perceived teaching method was positively related to respondents’ interest in the study. The low interest is further triggered by respondents’’ lack of intrinsic commitment to study. This study concludes that interest was lacking due to both motives intrinsic as well as extrinsic. It is recommended that teachers’ pedagogical skills need to be improved, and teaching should be made more interactive so that the real purpose of education can be served.

Key Words

Lacking Interest, Teaching Method, Intrinsic Commitment, and Extrinsic Motivation.

Introduction

Lack of interest is defined as having an insufficient or incomplete impulse for something. Personal feelings, opinions, or concerns do not show any influence  (Merriam-Webster n.d.). The lack of interest of students in study refers to inadequate curiosity to learn new methods, concepts and techniques which add to their knowledge. The interest is the chief builder of the skills and capabilities of the students. Although interest is a complicated phenomenon, it can be estimated from certain manifest features. According to (Thomas 2013) Students’ various body postures exhibit the message of disinterest as well as other such habits like distractibility during class and tardiness to class.  

Interest is an important component of education acquisition. It has multifarious benefits to the subjects in diverse ways. To accomplish its goals, the education system necessitates students’ to develop a certain level of interest. Besides the aims of educational institutions, there are fewer chances of the development of potential capabilities of individuals in the absence of requisite interest in studies. Interest retains students concentration and does not let them distract from the understanding of concepts. It is widely acknowledged that interest is one of the real determinants of learning. Hidi and Renninger (2006) hold that, among others, the level of a person's interest has repeatedly been found to be a powerful influence on learning in many cases. They believe that individuals attention, goals, as well as levels of learning are influenced by interest, whereas (Gregory Schraw Stephen Lehman March 2001) are of the opinion that it determines in part what we choose to learn and how well we learn this information. According to  (Andreas krapp 2014), students’ active interest demonstration in their work is correlated with the characteristics, i.e., enhanced concentration and significant willingness to learn. It is the interest that keeps alive the consistency and persistency of the student in the study. Thus, the essence of education is incomplete without having a sufficient level of interest. 

However, lacking interest in learning is reported to be a universal issue. It has become problematic when students do not develop a due interest in the study. Student’s lack of interest hinders their academic progress. They do not get quality education which is significant not only in the realization of the explicit purpose of education but also in the student’s personality development. This also creates frustration for teachers. Sometimes, they too become apathetic. Furthermore, owing to negative implication, it may have an adverse effect on the quality of the nation’s future workforce. It is so because education institutions are the chief producers of manpower. Once this production process is mired, there are high chances that the required labour force will not be produced. What does this mean is that the disinterest of students in education has devastating consequences, which range from socioeconomic to the overall progress of the country.    

This study provides immense benefits ranging from understanding the nature of lack of interest of students in study to analyzing the university education system. This paper provides a broader overview of the lacking interest of students in the study. The gaps in the acquisition of education mainly encompass the primarily affected stakeholders, i.e., students. By knowing drawbacks and setbacks to the development of educational skills, students can have a thorough understanding of the flawed learning process. Teachers have a big hand in this respect; this paper enhances information about the teaching method whereby they can work to make it efficient. In addition, this paper is much significant for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. Article 25 of the constitution of Pakistan necessitates the acquisition of education and leaves no ambiguity in the pursuit of this major goal of the state. Therefore, this research considerably contributes to the field of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.   

The aim of this paper is to explain the reasons behind the lacking interest of students in a study at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, considering primarily students will learn and the role of teachers in this learning process and the main impacts that this lack of interest brings out. We undertook this study at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro and the hypotheses postulated, i.e. Students’ lack of intrinsic commitment is related to their low level of interest in the study, the teaching method is related to students’ interest in the study, and excessive use of social and electronic media is related to students’ interest in a study which was falsified. 




Theoretical Framework

The study was concerned with obvious reasons for the lacking interest of students in the study. A theoretical orientation was thus required for viewing the human action to do something. The model of self-determination theory appeared to provide such a perspective. This self-determination theory is a significant precedent for this study. Self-determination refers to a correct sense of choice and feeling free from restraints in doing what is chosen to do. According to this theory, human behaviour is largely associated with two forms of catalysts- triggering human action, which this theory names motivations, i.e., intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. 

Intrinsic motivation is a form of behaviour that is performed for its own sake due to pleasure stemming from the activity itself. The actor actively initiates the activity and tirelessly carries it on. This means he himself perceives comfort in the course of the activity. In such a condition, the competence of the individual reaches the peak level. Being free from restrictions and constraints, his/her autonomy encourages him/her to get the maximum benefit out of the exercise of that activity. Resultantly, chances of successfully executing the activity considerably rise.

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation extends the goal beyond that of inherent pleasure in the activity. Either individual promptly sticks to the activity to secure good results or to avoid any sort of punishment. In other words, the perceived outcome causes an individual to do something. This motivation is directly associated with the situation the actor negotiates. This means self-determination is externally regulated, which is a conducive environment and any other phenomenon that has an effect on the will of the subject.              

Research Methodology

Research Methodology

This was a quantitative research design. The research design employed the survey as a strategy of inquiry. By undertaking a cross-sectional survey of the population, the required data from the participants was collected to accomplish the explanatory purpose of the research. 




Sampling Design and Size

The students of the university of Sindh constituted the study population from which the sample was drawn for the study. This survey comprised of 2nd year, 3rd year and final year students of the University of Sindh Jamshoro whereby examined the phenomenon of lack of interest of students in the study. A purposive sampling method was used in order to select the sample of 120 students. As far as the purposive sampling method is concerned, it was selected due to select respondents who had poor academic results so that study’s main objective could be furnished. Thus, only fewer CGPA students were part of the sampling. The purposive sampling method is one of the types of non-probability sampling technique. The nature of purposive sampling holds the judgement of the researcher as who can probably provide the best information; that is why it is also called judgemental sampling.




Locale of Study

This study was conducted at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro (Sindh), Pakistan. This university is situated in the near city Jamshoro at a distance of 17.7 km from Hyderabad. According to the University of Sindh official website, there were 32480 students learning in diverse departments. 




Method of Data Collection

A structured questionnaire was constructed to collect the required data from the University of Sindh students. The scales were developed to collect the required data from the population. The questionnaire was self-administered. 




Ethical Rule

Respondents were sought across the University of Sindh, Jamshoro. Respondents were assured that their personal information (such as their CGPA) would not be disclosed. All the ethical concerns were fully respected throughout this endeavour.  




Measurement

The researcher has developed scales for measuring the concepts, i.e., level of interest in the study, teaching method, intrinsic commitment, and use of social and electronic media. The responses of the scales are coded. The form of responses scales coded, i.e., disagree coded 1, neutral is coded2, and agree is coded 3.  Code 1 indicates the low level, 2 refer to the moderate level and 3is the high level of the attribute of the respective scale.  




Reliability of the Scales

The scales are developed for measuring the various constructs of the study. To test the reliability of these scales, Cronbach's Alpha is to test the internal consistency of developed scales. This tests the degree to the extent the items that make up the scale ‘hang together’ or go together. In other words, this test validates whether all the various scales are measuring the same construct in the study or not.   




Statistical Method of Data Analysis

The data was analyzed on SPSS (statistical package for social sciences). The scales were computed first, to sum up, the mean of the five scales. The resulting average mean of five scales is aggregated under one variable. This process was employed to transform the scales indicator to the one actual construct. The computed mean of scales was analyzed on the Pearson correlation to examine the correlation among variables. 

Pearson Correlation Statistics

The Pearson correlation is designed for interval level (continuous) variables in the statements. This analysis is used to describe the strength and direction of the relationship between variables—the significant level used in the Pearson correlation is.05. Here the r is the calculated value of the strength of the relationship of the variables. 

 

Table 1.

3 Agree	2 Neutral	1 disagree
Level of interest in the study
I feel study is the important thing in my life		Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel study is one of my significant hobbies		Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel I like to study		Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel I give appropriate time to my study daily		Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel Studying does not bore me		Agree	Neutral	Disagree

 

Operational Definition 1

The respondent’s mean score on the above set of scales from 5 to 8 will constitute the low level of interest in the study, 9 to 12 moderate level of interest in the study, and 13 to 15 high level of interest in the study.

 

Table 2.

Level of Intrinsic Commitment in Study
I feel I have to study regularly	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel study is my first priority	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel doing the study is necessary	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel I should sacrifice my time & resources for the study	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I remain ready to settle my study-related issues	Agree	Neutral	Disagree

 

Operational Definition 2

The respondent’s mean score on the above set of scale from 5 to 8 will constitute the low level of intrinsic commitment, 9 to 12 moderate level of intrinsic commitment, and 13 to 15 high level of intrinsic commitment.

 

Table 3.

Teaching Method
The teachers explain lecture in easy language	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
The teachers deliver a lecture to the point	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
The teachers give full time in their classes	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
The teachers convey concepts in an easy way	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
The teachers encourage students during lecture	Agree	Neutral	Disagree

 

Operational Definition 3

The respondent’s mean score on the above set of scale from 5 to 8 will demonstrate a low level of teaching method, 9 to 12 moderate level of teaching method, and 13 to 15 high level of teaching method.

 

Table 4.

Use of Social and Electronic Media
I use social media most of the time a day	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I use electronic media most of the time a day	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
Social media is my important hobby	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
Electronic media is my important hobby	Agree	Neutral	Disagree
I feel good using social and electronic media	Agree	Neutral	Disagree

 

Operational Definition 4

The respondent’s mean score on the above set of scale from 5 to 8 will constitute less use of social and electronic media, 9 to 12 moderate level of use of social and electronic media, and 13 to 15 high uses of social and electronic media.

Results

Graph 1



Graph 1 shows that the score distribution of the respondents is high towards the left side while it is low on the right side. As the mean is 7.7417 (the mean < 8, the upper limit of the low level of interest) for the sample size 120, it shows the average responses come within the low attribute level of the variable. Therefore the respondents have not a high level of interest in the study as per operational definition 1, which states the score between 5 and 8 is the range for the low level of interest. The St. Deviation is 1.91191 which is the moderate score for the average dispersion of the individual unit score from the mean of the sample.

 

Table 5.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items
.061	5

The box shows the reliability of the scales measuring the construct level of interest in the study. Cronbach's Alpha is .061, which is reliable enough for the five items scale. Thus, the developed scales measuring the level of interest are reliable. 

Graph 2



Graph 2 shows that the score distribution of the respondents’ highest frequency is towards the left side while the lowest at the right side. As the mean is 7.9917 (the mean < 8, the upper limit of the low level of intrinsic commitment) for the sample size 120, it shows the average responses come within the low attribute level of the variable. Therefore the respondents have a low level of intrinsic commitment in studying as per operational definition 2, which states the score between 5 and 8 is the range for the low level of intrinsic commitment in the study. The St. Deviation is 3.09919, which illustrate the large average dispersion of the individual unit score from the mean of the sample.

 

Table 6.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items
.809	5

 

The box shows the reliability of the scales measuring the construct ‘intrinsic commitment. The Cronbach's Alpha is .809, which is the highly reliable score for the 5 items scale. Thus, the developed scales measuring intrinsic commitment are reliable. 

Graph 3



Graph 3 shows that the score distribution of the respondents is high on the left side while it is very low on the right side. As the mean is 7.5583 (the mean < 8, the upper limit of the low level of teaching method) for the sample size 120, it demonstrates the average responses come within the low attribute level of the variable. Therefore the teaching method is of the low level as per operational definition 3, which states the score between 5 and 8 is the range for the low level of teaching method. The St. Deviation is 2.40376, which are slightly above the moderate score for the average dispersion of the individual unit score from the mean of the sample.

 

Table 7.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items
.552	5

 

The box shows the reliability of the scales measuring the construct ‘teaching method’. Cronbach's Alpha .552 a moderate reliable score for the 5 items scale. Thus, the developed scales measuring ‘teaching method’ are reliable.

Graph 4



This shows that the score distribution of the respondents is aggregated at the middle of the graph as the mean is 9.0917 (the mean < 12, the upper limit of the moderate use of social and electronic media) for the sample size 120, it indicates the average responses come within the middle attribute level of the variable. Therefore the use of social and electronic media is moderate among the respondents as per operational definition 4, which states the score between 9 and 12 is the range for the moderate level of social and electronic media use. The St. Deviation is 1.58775, which is not long enough average dispersion of the individual unit score from the mean of the sample.

 

Table 8.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items
.811	5

 

The box shows the reliability of the scales measuring the construct ‘use of social and electronic media. Cronbach's Alpha .811 is a significant reliable score for the 5 items scale. Thus, the developed scales measuring the use of social and electronic media is are reliable.

 

Correlations
		Interest	Teaching	Commitment	Media
Interest	Pearson Correlation	1	.259**	.184*	-.135
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.004	.044	.143
	N	120	120	120	120
Teaching	Pearson Correlation	.259**	1	.072	.022
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.004		.436	.814
	N	120	120	120	120
Commitment	Pearson Correlation	.184*	.072	1	-.020
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.044	.436		.826
	N	120	120	120	120
Media	Pearson Correlation	-.135	.022	-.020	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.143	.814	.826
	N	120	120	120	120

Table 9.

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

 

1.          The foremost cell shows the correlation between the level of interest of students in study and teaching method. The relationship between the level of interest of students in the study and teaching method was investigated using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Basic analyses were ensured for any potential violation of the assumptions. The Pearson correlation (r) is .259, the sig (2 tailed) is .004, and N=120. This shows that there is a positive relationship between respondents’ level of interest in study and teaching method. The level of interest of respondents in the study goes up with the high level or effective teaching method. The significant level.004 indicates that the probability of this correlation not being statistically significant is less than 1 per cent which is a very low probability. 

2.          The next cell on the top row illustrates the information of the relationship between interest and respondents intrinsic commitment in studying. The Pearson correlation (r) is .184, the sig (2 tailed) is .044, and N=120. This shows that there is a positive relationship between respondents’ level of interest in the study and their intrinsic commitment. The level of interest of respondents in the study increases with the rise in their intrinsic commitment. The significant level .044 is a good indicator for the level of significance.

3.          The final cell on the top row provides the correlation between the level of interest in the study and the use of social and electronic media. However, there is not a significant relationship between the level of interest in the study and the use of social and electronic media. As of .05 (i.e., P-value 143), so there was not found any statistically significant relationship.  

Discussion

The teacher-student relationship is significant when it comes to interest. The role of teachers was observed as significant for students’ interest/ disinterest in learning (Thomas 2013). These are the distinctive ways of delivering a lecture, presenting various concepts and encouraging students to get engaged with them during teaching. This study confirms previous, and many other inferences that hold teachers had a big hand in both increasing and reducing the interest of students. This signifies teacher’s way of communicating concepts is a huge obstacle to their way of developing interest in the study. The teaching method has wide effects, which range from the student's interest to attend classes, pay attention to the lecture and have an urge to learn.

In addition, the substantial increase in the students’ inclination towards social media is critical in the context of learning.  (Esam Alwagaita, Basit Shahzad, Sophia Alimb 2015) Identifies University students spend much time on the internet and social media that affects their social and behaviour learning and knowledge.  On the contrary, in this study, there is not found a significant correlation between the use of social and electronic media and the interest of participants. This adds a new dimension to the preceding studies that how the phenomenon of interest complex is. Despite the various negative implications of social and electronic media, it is not this phenomenon that is responsible for the sinking interest of students in studies. Rather there are other indicators that shake students’ interest in the study. Rather, his access to social and electronic media proves to be helpful in getting study stuff. As the use of social and electronic media is quite common across the populations, social and electronic media cannot necessarily, offer much resistance on the way to study.

More importantly, the phenomenon of interest in study in practice manifests when the subject is intrinsically committed.  (J.olivers 2001) Find empirical evidences that interest was associated with grade expectations. These expectations are purely psychological in nature. The expectations, i.e., good grades, yield a positive reaction among students like they give enough time to their studies. Conversely, the negative apprehensions like failing or not being able to secure good grades impede interest. Instead, this increases the stress level of students in these circumstances. In other words, internal motivation and commitment form the basis for a student to develop an interest in his/her study. Admittedly, it is identified in this study that the inner commitment of the respondents has a link with their interest in the study. The students’ own will is a real driver of their interest in the study. Thus, the students’ lack of will to study is, among others, a reason for their lack of interest in the study.  

Conclusion

This study undertook a detailed study on the explanation of the phenomenon of lacking interest of students in the study. Interest is generally viewed as being of two types– personal and situational. This interest is generated by a certain external stimulus that is not innate  (Andreas krapp 2014). Thus Situational interest wholly depends on the teacher's characteristics. This includes their teaching method. However, the teaching method is least effective to arouse the interest of students in studying and giving sufficient attention to lectures, assignments, and class works. Hence, the teaching method is an obstacle to the students lacking interest in the study. Above all, Personal (intrinsic) interest is the primary which develops from personal commitment to do something passionately. This study reveals major part of students’ lacking interest is attributed to the absence of their will and commitment to study. For future studies, action research needs to be undertaken with the endeavour to efficiently study teaching method during the class and effectively bring about change in the student's mindset regarding the study.

Recommendations

1. It is recommended that major efforts are required on the part of teachers. Firstly, the appointment of teachers needed to be based on qualitative parameters, and their communication skill must be prioritized during their selection. Secondly, the remedy for already appointed lecturers is there should be arranged training programmes to improve pedagogical skills, and teaching is made more interactive. 

2. Motivational programmes would increase the interest of students in the study. It is pertinent to arrange such motivational workshops in order to enhance the familiarity of the individuals with diverse social capitals and give fruitful exposures to learning strategies.  

3. Last but not least, students must make a routine of their study schedule in order to kick the habit of procrastination and adopt study passionately. For their motivation, it is recommended that they should set a goal broad enough that they do not get discouraged by any other phenomenon affecting their interest in the study.  

4. More importantly, students themselves should develop a will to study in order to equip themselves with the efficient skills and techniques to compete in the multifarious socioeconomic arenas of life.  

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