Investigating Parental Involvement and Pre-Diploma Students’ Motivation in Learning English

Abstract

Not everybody has the chance to further their studies after school despite having the desire to do so for the sake of self-betterment and enhancement of the socio-economic condition of the family. This may be due to several factors including the students’ poor academic achievement and financial problems. In June 2010, the Pra Pendidikan Tinggi (PPT) Programme, formerly known as the Mengubah Destini Anak Bangsa (MDAB) Programme, a pre-diploma level of study was introduced by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) to serve as a platform for unfortunate Bumiputera (Malays and indigenous) students to continue their tertiary education. Since then, over 50,000 students have enrolled in this preparatory course. This study aims to look at one possible contributing factor to students’ academic achievement and learning motivation which is parental involvement. In addition, this study also aimed to investigate these pre-diploma students’ motivation to learn English as their second language. A modified questionnaire on parental involvement and students’ motivation in learning English were distributed to the students. The main findings showed that there are sufficient levels of parental involvement and high student motivation to learn the language. It is hoped that this research has rendered specific information on the perceptions of the PPT students of their parents’ involvement in their motivation in learning English.