Implications for practice
This study identified that some male student groups are more at risk than others, based on their motivational profiles. Male students scoring low on both motivational dimensions might benefit from interventions focused on increasing both their motivation and academic self-concept. In particular academic self-concept is an essential prerequisite for successful studies in STEM. Even though academic self-concept of freshman students entering higher education is necessarily based on previous high school success [55] and might not always be very accurately measured, it still is a better predictor of academic achievement than the level of autonomous motivation, even for female students. Students with low initial levels of autonomous motivation in combination with low academic self-concept are at risk for procrastination behavior when they are confronted with the high demands of STEM studies in the first months of the academic year [13], [56], [57]. Therefore, it would be useful to provide these students early on with explicit feedback on their motivational drive and academic self-concept regarding their study, complemented with content-specific support and training in study and time management skills [58]. In individual counseling programs, tutors should be aware of the lower academic self-concept of female students in general, and adjust their feedback accordingly. Female students in STEM programs might benefit more from encouragement and positive feedback aimed at increasing their academic self-concept. Regardless the above made speculations which can be made on how to foster students' motivation and academic-self-concept, different motivational profiles are present in university STEM programs both in male and female student groups. This finding also suggests that not all student groups will have the same needs of support or guidance. A more differentiated view on student guidance, taking into account these differences in motivational profiles, seems a valuable path to explore further.