Abstract:

The achievement of learning objectives is a point of special interest in postgraduate students. In this time of crisis there has been a considerable increase in the number of students enrolled in postgraduate studies related to construction management in Spain. The low employment opportunities for this group entail a lack of motivation that can cause a significant decrease in the achievement of learning objectives and in the competences due to a decline of the effort that student must do to obtain them. This paper discusses the motivation of postgraduate students in construction management from three different perspectives: professional expectations, expectations of improved training and expectations about the type of teaching they will receive. The principal goal is to identify possible changes in teaching methodology as well as in the structure of the master syllabus in order to improve student motivation, and consequently, improve their learning. The study was conducted on a representative sample of 44 students of the master in Planning and Management in Civil Engineering at the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. A Likert-style questionnaire survey with 15 items was designed; it analyzed the different motivations that lead students to enrol in the master degree. The findings of the study provided a basis for modifying the teaching method of the various subjects and also allowed to carry out an analysis of the structure of the syllabus aiming to achieve an improvement in student motivation.

Keywords:

Construction management, motivation, postgraduate, teaching method.