Investigating Relationship of Perceived Learning Engagement, Motivation, and Academic Performance Among Nursing Students: A Multisite Study

BACKGROUND: Learning engagement, motivation and academic achievement are vital growing areas in academic research. Evidence suggests that students’ engagement and motivation are positively linked to improved quality of learning. However, limited number of research studies have been conducted within this scope. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship of learning engagement, motivation and academic performance among university nursing students. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A descriptive design, with a comparative correlational approach for data analysis, was used to describe and compare study outcomes. Data was collected from 425 students at King Saud bin Abdul-Aziz University for Health Sciences campuses in Riyadh, Jeddah and Alhasa. Study instruments included background data sheet, students’ engagement in schools (SESQ-ENG), engagement facilitators (SEI), academic motivation (AMS), and academic achievement as measured by cumulative and last semester grade point average (cGPA, sGPA). RESULTS: Overall, level of engagement was moderate (mean = 3.70±0.63) with significant differences among campuses (F = 18.88, p≤001). Students’ perceptions of engagement facilitators and academic motivation were high (mean= 2.98 ±0.49, 4.89 ±1.03, respectively), and both varied by campus (F=6.35, p=0.002, F=9.85, p≤.001, respectively). Engagement, motivation, and academic achievement showed medium to large correlations (i.e., between 0.20 and 0.63). Multiple regression equation including age, academic progress, academic engagement, motivation and engagement facilitators significantly explained 24% of variance in cGPA (F (5, 226) =14.209, p < 0.001) and 22% of the variance in sGPA (F (5, 214) = 12.202, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed significant associations of students’ engagement, facilitating conditions (e.g., engagement-fostering aspects), and students’ motivation with significant effect on academic achievement. It is hoped that findings of this study could be used as quality indicators to direct school efforts towards achieving excellence in nursing education.