A STUDY ON THE ACADEMIC MOTIVATION AND ITS RELATION WITH INDIVIDUAL STATE AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT ON BASIC MEDICAL STUDENTS OF URMIA UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

The learning ability and talent of medical students are very similar, however;
substantial differences arise in their educational achievement during the study period that can be a
reflection of differences in their academic motivation. The current study aimed to determine the level
of academic motivation in students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences and examine the
relationship between individual and educational characteristics of students with their academic
motivation.
Materials & Methods: In this study, the academic motivation scale (AMS-C 28)- including intrinsic,
extrinsic motivation, and amotivation components- was used on 137 basic sciences medical students.
The raw data were analyzed using SPSS and running analytical tests including analysis of variance
and chi-square test.
Result: Most students had an average of moderate to good motivation. External motivational
components (48.2 ± 6.8) had a greater score than the internal motivation components (46.1 ± 7). The
mean of total score of motivation and internal and external components were significantly higher in
girls (112 ± 11.2) than boys (103 ± 16.3). There was also a significant correlation between academic
motivation and overall grade point average.
Conclusion: According to the results, although both internal and external factors affect student
motivation and academic achievement, it is important to consider lower average scores to the internal
motivational factors rather than external factors