Characteristics of school motivation in children and adolescents with cancer undergoing long-term treatment

Context and relevance. Severe chronic illness and long-term hospitalization directly determine the cognitive, emotional, value, and motivational-needs characteristics of children and adolescents with cancer. Furthermore, it is important to understand whether children maintain interest and engagement in the educational process despite severe illness and long-term treatment. Objective. To identify the characteristics of academic motivation in children and adolescents with cancer. Hypotheses. The level of academic motivation in children and adolescents with cancer is lower than that of their healthy peers. The leading types of school motivation in children and adolescents with cancer are social and play motives. The level of academic motivation in primary school children with cancer is higher than that of adolescents. Methods and materials. The study involved 85 children and adolescents aged 7–17 years (M = 12,4, SD = 5,3, 58% girls). A battery of techniques was used to identify the characteristics of academic motivation in children and adolescents with cancer. The techniques were divided according to the children's age. Results. The results showed that primary school children with cancer have higher academic motivation than their healthy peers. However, the structure of their school motivation is more heterogeneous than in the control group. Social motivation for learning predominates in primary school children, while spiritual and moral motivation prevails in adolescents. A high level of academic motivation predominates in adolescents with cancer, as it does in their healthy peers. Conclusions. It has been shown that children with cancer undergoing long-term treatment, despite the challenging situation of their illness, predominantly exhibit high motivation for learning, confirming the importance of expanding the network of hospital schools in medical institutions.

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