Role of Metacognitive Awareness and Academic Motivation in Medical Undergraduates' Academic Performance: An Observational Study.

Abstract

Introduction: Medical students' performance is influenced by metacognitive awareness and regulation, alongside self-determination or motivation. Understanding these elements is crucial for creating a curriculum that enhances learning outcomes and academic achievement. This study aimed to assess metacognitive awareness and academic motivation among medical undergraduate (UG) students and to determine the association between metacognitive awareness, academic motivation, and academic performance.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at a medical college on 140 medical undergraduate (UG) students. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires using Metacognition Awareness Inventory (MAI) and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). The scores obtained were compared with their academic performance. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 20.0. The chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and post-hoc Dunn's test were used for statistical analysis.

Results: The participants included 54.3% males and 45.7% females (age 20.4±0.9 years). High performers scored significantly higher on total (43.14±8.2) and domain-wise MAI scores compared to average and low performers. Female students scored better in all metacognitive domains (40.4±8.0) and had higher motivation scores than males (42.9±10.35). Academic performance was significantly correlated with metacognition regulation subscale scores (r=0.293, p=0.001) and intrinsic motivation scores (r=0.284, p=0.002). Also, metacognition regulation was significantly correlated with intrinsic motivation scores (r=0.376, p=0.00001) as well as extrinsic motivation scores (r=0.223, p=0.01). Intrinsic motivation scores correlated significantly with academic performance, metacognition knowledge subscale scores (r=0.406, p=0.00001), regulation scores, and extrinsic motivation scores (r=0.695, p=0.00001).

Conclusions: High performers demonstrate superior metacognitive awareness and intrinsic motivation, especially females. Significant correlations between metacognition, motivation, and academic performance stress the importance of integrating metacognitive regulation strategies into teaching methods to improve the outcomes and motivation.