Role of Social Representations in Student Motivation for Acquiring Further Education

In the context of active development of further education services many universities become interested in engaging students into further education programs. From this perspective, it is extremely important to determine relevant social factors majorly impacting the students’ representation about further education and its role in building and shaping up the motivation to continue education. This study focuses on the analysis of social representation in the processes of motivation of students to acquire further vocational education in course of university studies. This study is based on the results of survey among 452 Russian students. In this work attitude of Russian students to further education was investigated by means of six scales: (1) information awareness of further education programs; (2) social representation about further education (in general, regarding the contents, conditions, cost); (3) representation about required program characteristics and expectations; (4) wish to receive further education in present and in future, as well as bars thereto. In students’ perception four main representations about further education were found. Study results prove that social representations have little effect on students’ intention to receive further vocational education in course of university studies, but the effect is significant in a long-term perspective.