Fan Culture on Students’ Motivation and Classroom Engagement in Social Sciences

This study examines the extent of fan culture and its relationship with students’ motivation and classroom engagement among university students at the University of the Visayas–Main Campus for the academic year 2025–2026. Utilizing a descriptive correlational research design, the study employed quantitative methods such as mean, standard deviation, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to determine the strength of association between variables. Results show that fan culture is strongly evident among students, with an overall mean of 4.42, highlighted by strong involvement in merchandise ownership and fan related academic or career interests. Motivation toward learning Social Sciences also registered a high overall mean of 4.34, driven primarily by career aspirations, confidence in academic abilities, and clear goal orientation. Classroom engagement demonstrated similarly high levels (overall mean 4.26), particularly when class activities align with students' fandom interests, though weaker areas emerged in out of class engagement and peer interaction. Correlation analysis revealed very weak and statistically non-significant relationships between fan culture and motivation (p > 0.05), as well as between fan culture and classroom engagement (p = 0.091). These results indicate that while fan culture is pervasive, it does not meaningfully predict or enhance students’ motivation or engagement in Social Sciences. Instead, motivation appears more strongly influenced by career relevance and self-efficacy, while engagement increases when instructional activities promote collaboration and interest alignment. Overall, the findings suggest that although integrating fan culture may enrich learning environments, it should not be used as the primary strategy for improving motivation or engagement. Instructional plans should instead emphasize career aligned learning experiences, diverse pedagogical strategies, and collaborative activities. Future research is encouraged to explore alternative psychosocial or instructional factors with stronger predictive value for motivation and engagement including longitudinal approaches that examine changes across time.

fan culture, class engagement, motivation, students’ fandom interest, social sciences, descriptive, correlational.

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