Article Sidebar
Article Details
Copyright remains in the Author’s name. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial Works License. Authors are required to complete and sign an Author Agreement form that outlines Author and Publisher rights and terms of publication. The Agreement form should be uploaded along with other submissions files and any submission will be considered incomplete without it [forthcoming].
Material submitted for publication in the AJHPE is accepted provided it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Please inform the editorial team if the main findings of your paper have been presented at a conference and published in abstract form, to avoid copyright infringement. The AJHPE does not hold itself responsible for statements made by the authors. The corresponding author should also indicate if the research forms part of a postgraduate short report, dissertation or thesis.
Previously published images
If an image/figure has been previously published, permission to reproduce or alter it must be obtained by the authors from the original publisher and the figure legend must give full credit to the original source. This credit should be accompanied by a letter indicating that permission to reproduce the image has been granted to the author/s. This letter should be uploaded as a supplementary file during submission.Main Article Content
Motivated strategies for learning and their association with academic performance of a diverse group of 1st-year medical students
Abstract
Background. Most instruments, including the well-known Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), have been designed in western homogeneous settings. Use of the MSLQ in health professions education is limited.
Objective. To assess the MSLQ and its association with the academic performance of a heterogeneous group of 1st-year medical students.
Methods. Eighty-three percent of 1st-year medical students consented to participate in this quantitative study. The MSLQ consisted of a motivation strategies component with six subscales, while the learning strategies component had nine subscales. Demographic and academic achievement information of the students was also collected. Stata version 13 (StataCorp LP, USA) was used for the statistical analyses of all data.
Results. Female students displayed significantly higher motivational scores. Students with prior educational experience and those who attended peermentoring sessions had significantly higher learning strategy scores. Significant but moderate relationships were found between academic performance and the motivation strategies subsumed within the categories ‘task value’ and ‘self-efficacy for learning performance’. In terms of the ‘learning strategy component’, ‘critical thinking’, and ‘time and study environment’, the composite score was significantly but poorly correlated to academic performance.
Conclusion. Overall, limited correlations were found between the MSLQ scores and academic performance. Further investigation of the use of the MSLQ and its association with academic achievement is recommended, with greater focus on specific learning events than on course outcomes. This study highlights the importance of evaluating an instrument in a specific context before accepting the findings of others with regard to the use of the instrument and its correlation with academic performance.
