Qom University of Medical Sciences Journal

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on higher education institutions around the world and online education became a mandatory method. Virtual learning during the pandemic had negative effects on the academic performance of students. Academic motivation is directly related to the level of learning and academic progress, and the lack of academic satisfaction results in a decline in students’ academic performance. The present study aims to measure the academic motivation and academic satisfaction of nursing students from Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS) in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2021. The study population included all undergraduate nursing students of AJUMS in semesters 2-8. Data collection tools were a demographic form (surveying age, gender, marital status, employment status, and economic status), academic satisfaction scale, and McInerney’s inventory of school motivation (ISM). The academic satisfaction scale had 30 items and 4 subscales of satisfaction with the university (9 items), satisfaction with major (8 items), attitude towards education (7 items) and satisfaction with teacher behaviors (6 items). The total score ranges from 30 to 150, with a higher score indicating greater academic satisfaction. The ISM has 49 items and 11 subscales. The total score of this questionnaire ranges from 49 to 196, with a higher score indicating greater academic motivation.
After data collection, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, Mean±SD) and inferential statistics of t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation test and regression analysis. The significance level was set at 0.05.
Results
Of 310 students who met the inclusion criteria, 167 students completed the electronic questionnaires. Most of the participants were female (38.9%), unemployed (75%), single (92.8%) and in the 5th and 6th semesters (19.8% and 19.2%, respectively). Most of the participants (77.2%) reported moderate economic status of their families. No significant differences were found in the scores of academic satisfaction and its dimensions in terms of demographic variables. Regarding the academic motivation variable, there was a significant difference in the dimension of social affiliation (P=0.02) between females and males; males had significantly higher scores. Also, there was a significant difference between single and married students in task involvement (P=0.01), and social affiliation (P=0.01) domains of academic motivation; single students had significantly higher scores. Moreover, there was a significant difference between employed and non-employed students in the self-esteem domain of academic motivation; employed students had significantly higher scores. There was a significant difference between different groups of economic status in the self-reliance domain of academic motivation; students with a good family economic status had significantly higher scores.
The mean scores of academic satisfaction and academic motivation were 94.31±13.02 and 164.27±17.17, respectively. Also, the findings showed that 62% of students had moderate academic satisfaction and 37% had low satisfaction. The majority of students (80%) had moderate academic motivation. There was a significant positive correlation between academic motivation and academic satisfaction (r=0.511, P<0.001); the increase in academic motivation can increase the level of academic satisfaction. The results of linear regression analysis showed that academic motivation was a predictor of academic satisfaction in nursing students. This variable could predict 25% of the changes in academic satisfaction. For every one unit increase in academic motivation, the academic satisfaction increased by 0.38 units.
Conclusion
The AJUMS nursing students had moderate academic satisfaction and academic motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a positive and significant relationship between academic motivation and academic satisfaction of nursing students. Therefore, nursing managers and clinical instructors are recommended pay attention to these factors in designing effective educational programs to improve the academic motivation and academic satisfaction of nursing students.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran (Code: IR.AJUMS.REC.1400.426). Ethical principles such as explaining the study objectives to the participants, voluntary participation and confidentiality were considered and informed consent were obtained from the participants.
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Vice Chancellor of Development and Research, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran (Grand No.: 00s50).
Authors contributions
Conceptualization and methodology: Mahin Gheibizadeh, Mehrnaz Ahmadi, Yasman Heydari; Research and invetsigation: Yasaman Heydari, and Farhad Noori Kian; Writing: Mahin Gheibizadeh, Mehrnaz Ahmadi, and Fatemeh Aslani; Project supervision and management: Mahin Gheibizadeh.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interests.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor for Research of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran for the financial support, and all students who participated in this study for their cooperation.