Achievement Motivation and Academic Motivation among Students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2013

Introduction: Students are often similar in terms of learning ability and talent. However, there are remarkable differences in their academic performance during their schooling, which can be due to the differences in their academic motivation and achievement motivation. The current study was carried out to compare achievement motivation and academic achievement among the students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) in 2013.

Methods: In this descriptive Analytical cross-sectional study, the study sample included all students of KUMS studying in various majors in the academic year 2013-2014. A total of 301students (148 males and 163 females) were selected through stratified random sampling method. Herman’s achievement motivation scale and Vallerand’s academic motivation scale were used to collect the data. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS-16 software using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA and Scheffe’s post-hoc tests). 

Results: The mean of academic motivation among the studied sample was 116.73±24.45. There was a significant difference between the students’ academic motivation and achievement motivation and their majors (p=0.006). The most motivated 125.37±21.05 and the least motivated students 108.45±26.87 were the medical students and undergraduate students of public health, respectively (p=0.001).

Conclusion: An average academic motivation was reported for the students, and it was significantly different among various majors. Given the low academic motivation among the undergraduate students of public health and nursing, it seems necessary to take appropriate measures in order to improve their academic motivation.