Kenyan doctoral students’ success:Roles of motivation and self-efficacy

Doctor of philosophy (PhD) degree holders are highly regarded inKenya, especially in academia, and the Kenyan economy needsthem to undertake administrative, research and innovation rolesin academia and industry. However, attaining this qualificationis arduous and Kenyan PhD programmes are characterised bylow enrolment numbers, long degree completion times and lowgraduation rates. In other countries, PhD students’ success hasbeen linked to motivation and self-efficacy. This cross-sectionalstudy explores the extents to which motivation and self-efficacyrelate to PhD student success in Kenya and to which this relationshipdiffers across background and programme characteristics. Usingmultiple linear regression, the authors analyse data from an onlinequestionnaire administered to 628 PhD students enrolled between2010 and 2018. The findings indicate that extrinsic motivationdoes not predict PhD students’ pace. Intrinsic motivation positivelypredicts students’ pace in the Medical Sciences programme clusterand for those aged 51 years or older. Self-efficacy negativelypredicts students’ pace in the Medical Sciences programme cluster