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What motivates students’ decisions on programmes to pursue at university level: the role of information and knowledge

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Abstract

Decision making is becoming more complex for prospective university students, in both the Global North and Global South. This study explored motivating information and knowledge for students’ decision making on programmes to undertake at the university level in Tanzania. The study followed a descriptive design which mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore how information and knowledge helped freshers at the University of Dar es Salaam in making decisions regarding programmes to pursue. The principal finding of the study reveals that extrinsic motivating information and knowledge influence the decision of more students than intrinsic motivating factors. The findings further inform that sources of extrinsic motivating information and knowledge are diverse. According to the findings, students’ rational decision making is undermined by the lack of professional and career development programmes. To empower students with the ability to make rational decisions, the introduction of career and professional programmes in secondary schools is necessary.

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  1. Information Studies Unit, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Kelefa Mwantimwa

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Mwantimwa, K. What motivates students’ decisions on programmes to pursue at university level: the role of information and knowledge. High Educ 82, 349–367 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00698-4

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