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The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education

Novinta Nurulsari 1 2 * ,
Charyna Ayu Rizkyanti 2
1 Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Lampung University, INDONESIA 2 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, Indonesian International Islamic University, INDONESIA* Corresponding Author
Educational Point, 3(1), 2026, e148, https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
Publication date: Feb 25, 2026
Research Article
Open Access Open Access
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ABSTRACT

Motivation drives students' effort, persistence, and deep learning, while empathy underpins trust, inclusion, and emotional safety in diverse classrooms. In undergraduate physics education, where courses are often perceived as difficult, selective, and abstract, understanding how teachers’ and students’ motivation and empathy are related is crucial for creating supportive learning environments. This study explores how lecturers and students in undergraduate physics make sense of the interrelationships between teachers’ and students’ motivation and empathy. This study employed a qualitative exploratory design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with physics education lecturers and undergraduate physics students. Lecturers were invited to describe their teaching motivation, their empathy towards students, and how they perceived these qualities as influencing students’ learning and well-being. Students were asked to describe their learning motivation and empathy and to reflect on how they experienced their lecturers’ motivation and empathy in everyday classroom interactions. The interview data were analysed inductively using thematic procedures to identify recurring patterns and relational dynamics between teachers’ and students’ motivation and empathy. The analysis reveals that lecturers who describe themselves as intrinsically motivated and caring tend to recount practices such as adapting explanations, providing emotional support, and giving individual attention, which students experience as motivating and affirming. Students often link their own motivation in physics to whether they perceive their lecturers as enthusiastic, approachable, and empathetic, particularly when facing conceptual difficulties. At the same time, some accounts suggest that tensions can arise when strong academic expectations and performance pressures coexist with limited emotional resources, complicating the enactment and experience of motivation and empathy. Overall, the findings illuminate how lecturers’ motivational and empathic stances are perceived to shape students’ motivation and empathy in undergraduate physics, highlighting the need for pedagogical approaches that intentionally cultivate both.

KEYWORDS

motivation empathy undergraduate physics education qualitative study

CITATION (APA)

Nurulsari, N., & Rizkyanti, C. A. (2026). The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education. Educational Point, 3(1), e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
Harvard
Nurulsari, N., and Rizkyanti, C. A. (2026). The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education. Educational Point, 3(1), e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
Vancouver
Nurulsari N, Rizkyanti CA. The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education. Educational Point. 2026;3(1):e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
AMA
Nurulsari N, Rizkyanti CA. The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education. Educational Point. 2026;3(1), e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
Chicago
Nurulsari, Novinta, and Charyna Ayu Rizkyanti. "The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education". Educational Point 2026 3 no. 1 (2026): e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979
MLA
Nurulsari, Novinta et al. "The Interrelationship between Teachers’ and Students’ Motivation and Empathy in Undergraduate Physics Education". Educational Point, vol. 3, no. 1, 2026, e148. https://doi.org/10.71176/edup/17979

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