Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study (2024)

Isik, U., Wouters, A., ter Wee, M. M., Croiset, G., & Kusurkar, R. A. (2017). Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study. BMC Medical Education, 17(1), Article 233. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9

Isik, Ulviye ; Wouters, Anouk ; ter Wee, Marieke M. et al. / Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study. In: BMC Medical Education. 2017 ; Vol. 17, No. 1.

@article{5e800d41140640afa19ee162f4ff4792,

title = "Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study",

abstract = "Background: Medical students from ethnic minorities underperform in knowledge and skills assessments both in pre-clinical and clinical education compared to the ethnic majority group. Motivation, which influences learning and academic performance of medical students, might play an important role in explaining these differences, but is under-investigated. This study aimed to compare two types of motivation (autonomous and controlled) of ethnic minority (Western and non-Western) and majority (Dutch) students, and their association with academic performance. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, all students of a Dutch medical school were invited to complete a survey including the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire, measuring autonomous and controlled motivation, in the academic year 2015-2016. Motivation was compared using Kruskal-Wallis test and performance was compared using One-Way ANOVA. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between motivation and performance (grade point average; GPA). Results: The response rate was 38.6% (n = 947). Autonomous motivation (AM) of non-Western students was higher than that of Dutch students in pre-clinical and clinical education (p < 0.05). Controlled motivation was higher in Western students than in Dutch students (pre-clinical education; p < 0.05). AM was associated with a higher GPA for Dutch (pre-clinical education; β = 0.33, p < 0.05) and Western students (clinical education; β = 0.57, p < 0.05) only. Conclusions: Our results show significant differences in the type of motivation between the ethnic majority and minority groups. The association of motivation with performance also differs between ethnic groups. We found that AM has a positive influence on GPA. Further research is needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms.",

keywords = "Academic performance, Diversity, Ethnicity, Medical students, Motivation",

author = "Ulviye Isik and Anouk Wouters and {ter Wee}, {Marieke M.} and Gerda Croiset and Kusurkar, {Rashmi A.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2017 The Author(s).",

year = "2017",

month = nov,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9",

language = "English",

volume = "17",

journal = "BMC Medical Education",

issn = "1472-6920",

publisher = "BioMed Central",

number = "1",

}

Isik, U, Wouters, A, ter Wee, MM, Croiset, G & Kusurkar, RA 2017, 'Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study', BMC Medical Education, vol. 17, no. 1, 233. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9

Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study. / Isik, Ulviye; Wouters, Anouk; ter Wee, Marieke M. et al.
In: BMC Medical Education, Vol. 17, No. 1, 233, 28.11.2017.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study

AU - Isik, Ulviye

AU - Wouters, Anouk

AU - ter Wee, Marieke M.

AU - Croiset, Gerda

AU - Kusurkar, Rashmi A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright:© 2017 The Author(s).

PY - 2017/11/28

Y1 - 2017/11/28

N2 - Background: Medical students from ethnic minorities underperform in knowledge and skills assessments both in pre-clinical and clinical education compared to the ethnic majority group. Motivation, which influences learning and academic performance of medical students, might play an important role in explaining these differences, but is under-investigated. This study aimed to compare two types of motivation (autonomous and controlled) of ethnic minority (Western and non-Western) and majority (Dutch) students, and their association with academic performance. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, all students of a Dutch medical school were invited to complete a survey including the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire, measuring autonomous and controlled motivation, in the academic year 2015-2016. Motivation was compared using Kruskal-Wallis test and performance was compared using One-Way ANOVA. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between motivation and performance (grade point average; GPA). Results: The response rate was 38.6% (n = 947). Autonomous motivation (AM) of non-Western students was higher than that of Dutch students in pre-clinical and clinical education (p < 0.05). Controlled motivation was higher in Western students than in Dutch students (pre-clinical education; p < 0.05). AM was associated with a higher GPA for Dutch (pre-clinical education; β = 0.33, p < 0.05) and Western students (clinical education; β = 0.57, p < 0.05) only. Conclusions: Our results show significant differences in the type of motivation between the ethnic majority and minority groups. The association of motivation with performance also differs between ethnic groups. We found that AM has a positive influence on GPA. Further research is needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms.

AB - Background: Medical students from ethnic minorities underperform in knowledge and skills assessments both in pre-clinical and clinical education compared to the ethnic majority group. Motivation, which influences learning and academic performance of medical students, might play an important role in explaining these differences, but is under-investigated. This study aimed to compare two types of motivation (autonomous and controlled) of ethnic minority (Western and non-Western) and majority (Dutch) students, and their association with academic performance. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, all students of a Dutch medical school were invited to complete a survey including the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire, measuring autonomous and controlled motivation, in the academic year 2015-2016. Motivation was compared using Kruskal-Wallis test and performance was compared using One-Way ANOVA. Linear regression analysis was used to determine the association between motivation and performance (grade point average; GPA). Results: The response rate was 38.6% (n = 947). Autonomous motivation (AM) of non-Western students was higher than that of Dutch students in pre-clinical and clinical education (p < 0.05). Controlled motivation was higher in Western students than in Dutch students (pre-clinical education; p < 0.05). AM was associated with a higher GPA for Dutch (pre-clinical education; β = 0.33, p < 0.05) and Western students (clinical education; β = 0.57, p < 0.05) only. Conclusions: Our results show significant differences in the type of motivation between the ethnic majority and minority groups. The association of motivation with performance also differs between ethnic groups. We found that AM has a positive influence on GPA. Further research is needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms.

KW - Academic performance

KW - Diversity

KW - Ethnicity

KW - Medical students

KW - Motivation

U2 - 10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9

DO - 10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9

M3 - Article

SN - 1472-6920

VL - 17

JO - BMC Medical Education

JF - BMC Medical Education

IS - 1

M1 - 233

ER -

Isik U, Wouters A, ter Wee MM, Croiset G, Kusurkar RA. Motivation and academic performance of medical students from ethnic minorities and majority: a comparative study. BMC Medical Education. 2017 Nov 28;17(1):233. doi: 10.1186/s12909-017-1079-9