The Role of the Social Sciences When Choosing University Studies: Motivations in Life Stories

The motivations that lead students to decide on a study modality or on a university degree provide relevant information to improve teaching–learning processes. This work addresses the question regarding the choice of study through analysis of four particular cases. They are special because the individuals chose their studies according to reasons different from the usual ones. To study these cases, interviews were carried out with the individuals. The results were subsequently analyzed according to a qualitative methodology using WebQDA software. The aim was to distinguish the incidence of internal and external motivations when choosing studies. The results obtained represent a contradiction with other pieces of research that analyzed the incidence of these types of motivations for choosing studies and allow for the assessment of various factors that may influence this process. The results obtained in this research indicate that the participants presented a high incidence of internal motivation. This allows for establishing some conclusions about the nature of those motivations when compared with the standard ones referred to in other works that dealt with a general population. The results reveal that in the subjects of this study’s sample, there is a higher incidence of internal motivational factors, such as vocation, while in other subjects, external factors predominate, such as socioeconomic position.