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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kye Mon Min Swe
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
© 2026 National University of Singapore.Introduction: Student motivation in teaching-learning is pivotal in promoting overall well-being, enhancing performance, and nurturing skilled professionals. Knowledge about student motivation allows educators to broaden their understanding, and this study investigates the levels of student motivation at different phases of their medical education. Methods: A quantitative study explored medical students' academic motivation using the validated Academic Motivation Scale AMS-C 28, with a rating on a 7-point Likert Scale. IBM-SPSS was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 105 students participated in the study. The results indicated that students exhibited higher levels of intrinsic motivation compared to extrinsic motivation. The mean score for intrinsic motivation (M=5.13, SD=0.91) surpassed that of extrinsic motivation (M=4.63, SD=1.00). Regarding the association between academic year and student motivation, second-year and fourth-year medical students exhibited the highest intrinsic motivation (M=5.36, SD=0.8) and (M=5.36, SD=0.68), respectively, and second-year medical students showed the highest extrinsic motivation (M=4.87, SD=0.96) compared to other academic years, but this difference was statistically not significant. Conclusion: The findings exhibited higher levels of intrinsic motivation, indicating active involvement in learning activities and deriving satisfaction from the course. The MBBS students in the second year displayed more intrinsic motivation, influenced by the challenging nature of successfully completing the first year, which is historically associated with a high failure rate.
Author(s): Swe KMM, Bhardwaj A, Phyu HP
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Asia Pacific Scholar
Year: 2026
Volume: 11
Issue: 2
Pages: 114-117
Online publication date: 07/04/2026
Acceptance date: 27/08/2025
Date deposited: 27/04/2026
ISSN (print): 2424-9335
ISSN (electronic): 2424-9270
Publisher: Centre for Medical Education (CenMed) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine National University of Singapore
URL: https://doi.org/10.29060/TAPS.2026-11-2/SC3684
DOI: 10.29060/TAPS.2026-11-2/SC3684
Data Access Statement: The data that support the findings of the study are openly available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28544321.
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