Influence of Motivation on Academic Performance among Dental College Students

Abstract

AIM: This study aimed to assess the influence of motivation on academic performance among dental undergraduate students.
 METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among a sample of 187 undergraduate dental students from the main dental colleges in the Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia using an electronic questionnaire. Students’ academic performance was measured by their current grade point average (GPA). Motivation was assessed using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), which is a self-report instrument designed to assess students’ motivational orientations and learning strategies in college, including goals and value beliefs for the studied program (intrinsic, extrinsic goals orientation and task value), beliefs about their skills to succeed in their studies (control of learning beliefs, self-efficacy for learning and performance), and their anxiety about program tests.
 RESULTS: The results showed positive correlations between GPA and the motivation scale (r = 0.2296, p = 0.0019) and most of its subscales, including self-efficacy for learning performance (r = 0.2997, p = 0.0001), control of learning beliefs (r = 0.2305, p = 0.0021) and task value (r = 0. 2243, p = 0.0021). Test anxiety showed negative correlation with GPA (r = -0.1943, p = 0.0100). Compared to their counterparts, male students, students perceived to be from middle class families and students living with their families were consistently showing significant correlations between GPA and most of the motivation subscales.
 CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that motivation for learning can influence the academic performance of dental students. This influence can be affected by factors such as sex, socioeconomic factors and family support of the students.

Identification of study habits and skills associated with the academic performance of Bachelor's degree Food Science and Technology students at the University of León (Spain)

“…Motivation is one of the most important concepts in education. In fact, it has been described that motivated students have more interest in learning activities (Almalki, 2019; Rayan & Deci, 2000). In the present study, more than 40% of the students who always attended class and studied in order to obtain good grades belonged to the high academic performance group.…”

“…In order to avoid procrastination, it is important to increase the students’ motivation. In fact, it has been demonstrated that the motivational orientation of students plays a very important role on their academic performance (Almalki, 2019). In Figure 2, it is shown that, regardless of academic performance, students presented similar average level of satisfaction for their expectations with respect to the Bachelor degree in Food Science and Technology.…”

Aukštųjų Mokyklų Psichosocialinė Mokymosi Aplinka

“…Nustatyta, kad studentai, kurių motyvacijos lygis aukštas, geba savarankiškai įsisavinti žinias, atsakingiau prisiima atsakomybę už mokymąsi, atkakliai siekia tikslo ir jų akademiniai rezultatai yra geresni nei jaunuolių, kurių motyvacija žema [34]. Saudo Arabijos Odontologijos koledžo studentų tyrime nustatytas teigiamas statistiškai reikšmingas koreliacijos ryšys tarp akademinių rezultatų ir daugumos motyvacijos subskalių (r = 0,2997, p = 0,0001) [34].…”

Behavioral and Emotional Factors Identifying Dental Students’ Academic Performance and Depression Tendency in Japan

“…This perspective forms the foundation of Hypothesis 1 of the current study, according to which academic performance is negatively related to depression tendency. Almalki (2019) reported that there is a significant correlation between test anxiety and academic performance among dental undergraduate students. The current study refers to the test anxiety as "emotional irritation," which is defined as anxiety about successfully understanding academic content and being able to advance to the next year and finally being able to pass the national dentist licensure examination in the final year.…”