Motivating Medical Students: Adaptation of the Academic Motivation Scale within the Framework of the Self-Determination Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.21926Keywords:
Models, Psychological, Motivation, Personal Autonomy, Self Concept, Students, Medical/psychologyAbstract
Introduction: Motivation plays a crucial role in the academic success and professional development of medical students. Understanding the intricacies of motivation within the context of medical education is essential for designing effective interventions and support systems. The aim of this study was to explore the adaptation of the Academic Motivation Scale within the framework of the self-determination theory and of the self-efficacy theory to assess motivation among medical students.
Methods: The study adapted the Academic Motivation Scale to the Portuguese context, drawing upon insights from the self-determination theory. Two existing Portuguese scales, MATAMS and Ribeiro et al scale, served as foundational frameworks for the adaptation process. The study included qualitative interviews, which informed the creation of the Minho Medical Academic Motivation Scale – Minho-MEDAMS. This scale was applied to 281 medical students. To assess the scale’s validity, we used the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and the Cronbach’s alpha to measure internal consistency.
Results: The exploratory factor analysis showed strong results with a KMO of 0.862, leading to five factors and the removal of two items. The initial confirmatory factor analysis indicated poor fit, prompting the removal of items with low R-squared values. The final Minho-MEDAMS includes 18 items: six for intrinsic motivation, nine for extrinsic motivation and three for amotivation. This refined scale demonstrates high internal consistency (α = 0.831), making it a reliable tool for assessing medical students’ motivation.
Conclusion: The successful adaptation of the Academic Motivation Scale within the self-determination theory framework presents a valuable instrument for assessing motivation in medical students. The Minho-MEDAMS offers a comprehensive understanding of motivational dynamics, facilitating targeted interventions and support mechanisms to enhance student engagement and success. Its validity and reliability render it a practical tool for educators, administrators, and researchers in the field of medical education. Ultimately, the Minho-MEDAMS contributes to the advancement of strategies aimed at cultivating motivated and proficient healthcare professionals.
Downloads
References
Pelaccia T, Viau R. Motivation in medical education. Med Teach. 2017;39:136-40.
Ryan RM, Kuhl J, Deci EL. Nature and autonomy: an organizational view of social and neurobiological aspects of self-regulation in behavior and development. Dev Psychopathol. 1997;9:701-28.
Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML. On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation. Psychol Med. 2022;52:1801-16.
Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol. 2000;55:68-78.
Gallagher S. Multiple aspects in the sense of agency. New Ideas Psychol. 2012;30:15-31.
Schunk DH, DiBenedetto MK. Self-efficacy and human motivation. In Elliot AJ, editor. Advances in motivation science. Cambridge: Elsevier Academic Press; 2021. p.153-79.
Kusurkar RA, Ten Cate TJ, Vos CM, Westers P, Croiset G. How motivation affects academic performance: a structural equation modelling analysis. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2013;18:57-69.
Kusurkar RA, Croiset G, Mann KV, Custers E, Ten Cate O. Have motivation theories guided the development and reform of medical education curricula? A review of the literature. Acad Med. 2012;87:735-43.
Wu H, Li S, Zheng J, Guo J. Medical students’ motivation and academic performance: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and learning engagement. Med Educ Online. 2020;25:1742964.
Assing Hvidt E, Søndergaard J, Wehberg S, Hvidt NC, Andersen CM. A cross-sectional study of student empathy across four medical schools in Denmark - associations between empathy level and age, sex, specialty preferences and motivation. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22:489.
Muntean LM, Nireștean A, Sima-Comaniciu A, Mărușteri M, Zăgan CA, Lukacs E. The relationship between personality, motivation and academic performance at medical students from romania. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:8993.
Findyartini A, Felaza E, Setyorini D, Mustika R. Relationship between empathy and motivation in undergraduate medical students. GMS J Med Educ. 2020;37:Doc43.
Oláh B, Münnich Á, Kósa K. Identifying academic motivation profiles and their association with mental health in medical school. Med Educ Online. 2023;28:2242597.
Atalay KD, Can GF, Erdem SR, Muderrisoglu IH. Assessment of mental workload and academic motivation in medical students. J Pak Med Assoc. 2016;66:574-8.
Kunanitthaworn N, Wongpakaran T, Wongpakaran N, Paiboonsithiwong S, Songtrijuck N, Kuntawong P, et al. Factors associated with motivation in medical education: a path analysis. BMC Med Educ. 2018;18:140.
Viau R. La motivation en contexte scolaire. 5th ed. Pratiques pédagogiques. Paris: Deboeck Supérieur; 2009.
Eccles JS, Wigfield A, Schiefele U. Motivation to succeed. 5th ed. In Damon N, Eisenberg N, editors. Handbook of child psychology: social, emotional, and personality development. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 1998.
Vallerand RJ, Pelletier LG, Blais MR, Brière NM, Senécal CB, Vallières ÉF. Academic motivation scale (AMS, AMS-C 28, EME). Washington DC: APA PsycTests. 1992.
Stover JB, de la Iglesia G, Boubeta AR, Liporace MF. Academic motivation scale: adaptation and psychometric analyses for high school and college students. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2012;5:71-83.
Sousa SP, Silva R. Validity and reliability of the portuguese version of mathematics academic motivation scale (MATAMS) among third cycle of basic school students. Mathematics. 2021;9:2049.
Fairchild AJ, Horst SJ, Finney SJ, Barron KE. Evaluating existing and new validity evidence for the academic motivation scale. Contemp Educ Psychol. 2005;30:331-58.
Can G. Turkish version of the academic motivation scale. Psychol Rep. 2015;116:388-408.
Al Ansari AM, Kumar AP, AlSaleh AF, Arekat MR, Deifalla A. Validation of academic motivation scale among medical students using factor analysis and structural equation modeling: middle eastern perspective. J Educ Health Promot. 2021;10:364.
Cadête Filho AA, Peixoto JM, Moura EP. Medical students’ academic motivation: an analysis from the perspective of the theory of selfdetermination. Rev Bras Educ Med. 2021;45:e086.
Sobral DT. What kind of motivation drives medical students’ learning quests? Med Educ. 2004;38:950-7.
Vallerand R, Pelletier L, Blais M, Brière N, Senécal C, Vallières E. On the assessment of intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation in education: evidence on the concurrent and construct validity of the academic motivation scale. Educ Psychol Meas. 1993;53:159-72.
Utvær BK, Haugan G. The academic motivation scale: dimensionality, reliability, and construct validity among vocational students. NJVET. 2016;6:17-45.
Guay F, Vallerand RJ, Blanchard C. On the assessment of situational intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: the situational motivation scale (SIMS). Motiv Emot. 2000;24:175-213.
Ayub N. Effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on academic performance. PBR. 2010;12:363-72.
Alivernini F, Lucidi F. Relationship between social context, self-efficacy, motivation, academic achievement, and intention to drop out of high school: a longitudinal study. J Educ Res. 2011;104:241-52.
Barkoukis V, Tsorbatzoudis H, Grouios G, Sideridis G. The assessment of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and amotivation: validity and reliability of the greek version of the academic motivation scale. Assess Educ Princ Policy Pract. 2008;15:39-55.
Ambuehl B, Inauen J. Contextualized measurement scale adaptation: a 4-step tutorial for health psychology research. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:12775.
Belgrave LL, Seide K. Grounded theory methodology: principles and practices. In Handbook of research methods in health social sciences. Berlin: Springer; 2019. p.299-316.
Charters E. The use of think-aloud methods in qualitative research: an introduction to think-aloud methods. Brock Educ J. 2003;12:68-82.
Ribeiro MF, Saraiva V, Pereira P, Ribeiro C. Escala de motivação académica: validação no ensino superior público português. Rev Admin Contemp. 2019 23:288-310.
Anthoine E, Moret L, Regnault A, Sébille V, Hardouin JB. Sample size used to validate a scale: a review of publications on newly-developed patient reported outcomes measures. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2014;12:176.
Smith KJ, Davy JA, Rosenberg DL. An empirical analysis of an alternative configuration of the academic motivation scale. Assess Educ: Princ Policy Pract. 2012;19:231-50.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Acta Médica Portuguesa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
All the articles published in the AMP are open access and comply with the requirements of funding agencies or academic institutions. The AMP is governed by the terms of the Creative Commons ‘Attribution – Non-Commercial Use - (CC-BY-NC)’ license, regarding the use by third parties.
It is the author’s responsibility to obtain approval for the reproduction of figures, tables, etc. from other publications.
Upon acceptance of an article for publication, the authors will be asked to complete the ICMJE “Copyright Liability and Copyright Sharing Statement “(http://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/info/AMP-NormasPublicacao.pdf) and the “Declaration of Potential Conflicts of Interest” (http:// www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author to acknowledge receipt of the manuscript.
After publication, the authors are authorised to make their articles available in repositories of their institutions of origin, as long as they always mention where they were published and according to the Creative Commons license.
