Academic staff perceptions of students' motivation and participation in architectural education

This paper describes and classifies key themes in the way in which architecture students' motivations are perceived by academics. Results from the first comprehensive study of architectural education in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are used to indicate that academics believe that one of the biggest issues facing architectural education today is a lack of student motivation and participation. A clear trend in staff responses to the study was that academics view students engagement in education in a negative light; students apparently give greater priority to paid work than to their education and, as a result of this, are regularly absent from classes and are contributors to a diminished studio culture. Staff believe that students are motivated not by learning but by consumer culture which relates not only to keeping up with the latest technological fads but also to their education; where students expect a certain level of customer satisfaction but without an associated level of commitment. While staff portray students as technologically savvy and financially independent, they are also perceived as confused by the course requirements and unable to think critically. The research relates these themes to a broader social and cultural context. Academic staff perceptions not only shed light on architecture students but on wider social trends including youth culture, consumerism and individualisation.