There are currently a number of studies investigating the role of motivation and/or engagement on short-term student learning success, however these studies fail to provide information relating to long-term student learning or students’ retention of knowledge following the completion of a course. To fill these current gaps in the literature, this study utilized Self-Determination Theory and various scales of engagement to examine the relationship between student motivation and/or engagement and the retention of course knowledge eight and twelve weeks following a final course exam amongst ninety-six first year kinesiology students from an Ontario university. To measure knowledge retention, students were asked to answer a series of questions that were identical to those administered on the final examination in the previous semester. The difference between scores on the final exam and on the questionnaires required in the data collection time points in the subsequent semester were used to represent knowledge retention. Through the use of paired-samples T-Tests, bivariate correlations, and multiple regression analysis it was determined that students did not remember a significant amount of knowledge and that this loss of knowledge could not be explained by student motivation, engagement, or the additive influence of both construct together. The findings of this study show that student motivation and course engagement following a course may have limited impact on long-term learning outcomes.
