What type of study is this?

This is a Quantitative Study study.

October 2, 2025

Exploring the Relationship Between Social Support and Motivational Components in Online Learning: A Study of Undergraduate Polymer Chemistry Students

Key Points

Strong positive relationships exist between social support and both expectancy and value in online learning environments, enhancing student motivation.
Participants reported moderate to high expectancy and value levels, alongside strong perceptions of instructor and peer support.
Data were collected via a quantitative survey instrument with high internal consistency, assessing social support and motivational components.
Findings suggest enhancing social engagement and instructor presence can improve learning experiences in STEM subjects.

Abstract

The shift to online learning has raised concerns about how motivation is sustained in complex, high-cognitive-load subjects like Polymer Chemistry. Online platforms offer flexibility, but they may lack sufficient interaction and support, potentially impacting student engagement and achievement. Previous research has identified social support, expectancy, and value as key motivational components, yet limited studies have explored how these constructs interact in STEM-specific contexts, especially within Malaysian higher education. This study investigates the relationship between social support and motivational components, specifically expectancy and value, among undergraduate Chemistry students who have taken an online or blended Polymer Chemistry course. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 109 participants across three branches of Universiti Teknologi MARA, a public university in Malaysia. The instrument, adapted from Fowler (2018), comprised 40 items across three main sections: Expectancy (12 items), Value (16 items), and Social Support (12 items), with high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .963). Findings indicate that students reported moderate to high levels of expectancy and value, and generally perceived strong instructor and peer support. Pearson correlation analysis revealed strong positive relationships between social support and both expectancy (r = .723, p < .01) and value (r = .778, p < .01). These results suggest that social support plays a pivotal role in shaping students’ motivational beliefs in online STEM education. The study offers theoretical insights grounded in McClelland’s Theory of Needs and the Expectancy-Value Model and provides pedagogical implications for designing motivation-sensitive online chemistry instruction. It calls for the enhancement of social engagement and instructor presence to better support students in online laboratory and content-heavy learning environments.

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