Do students and academic staff perceive and/or experience motivation differently?

This article discusses some findings of a small scale qualitative pilot project from the Combined Honours cohort at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) pertaining to aspects of motivation as perceived by the students, and relates these findings to academic staff’s perceptions of student motivation. This article aims to assess the relationship between the students’ awareness and utilisation of differing aspects of motivation and the academic staff’s understanding of students’ motivational strategies. The article also considers the implications that differing perceptions of the qualitative effectiveness of motivational characteristics between students and staff may have for teaching and learning. The article examines the higher education (HE) sector and aims to assess which aspects of motivation students relate to and whether academic staff relate to the same aspects of student motivation as the students