Digital Readiness, Academic Motivation, Learning Strategies: A Structural Approach to Motivation in Writing Performance of Freshmen College Students

Aims: To determine the best influencing motivation in the writing performance of students in Region 12, in the Philippines.

Study Design: This research used the descriptive-causal design.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted among freshmen students from different universities in Region 12 during the school year 2021-2022.

Methodology: The respondents of the study were 400 selected freshmen students from different universities in Region 12. The respondents were chosen using stratified random sampling.

Results: The results of the study showed that the level of digital readiness, academic motivation, learning strategies, and motivation in writing performance were high. Likewise, the data revealed that digital readiness, academic motivation, and learning strategies had a significant relationship with motivation in students' performance. The result of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed three exogenous variables which had significant influences as predictors of motivation in writing performance. However, among the five models, model 5 appeared to be the most suitable model of motivation in writing performance because all its indices met the set criteria against the obtained model fit value.

Conclusion: The high level of digital readiness implies that have conducted the foundation regarding the use of digital equipment. Likewise, the high level of academic motivation among students indicates that teachers ensure that there are feedbacks that the students receive regarding the submitted work so that they can be guided in what they are doing. The high level of learning strategies is contributed to the teachers’ having consultation time so that students can ask questions about things they do not understand well. Lastly, the student's high level of motivation in writing indicates that teachers used different writing strategies. The study implies that the writing performance of freshmen college students is better achieved if it is anchored on digital readiness, academic motivation, and learning strategies.