ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
The level of intrinsic motivation and influencing factors of students in higher vocational medical and health colleges
Provisionally accepted
- 1Academic Affairs Division, Huizhou Health Sciences Polytechnic, Huizhou, China
- 2School of Pharmacy and Laboratory Medicine, Huizhou Health Sciences Polytechnic, Huizhou, China
- 3School of Basic Medical Science, Huizhou Health Sciences Polytechnic, Huizhou, China
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Understanding intrinsic motivation among students in higher vocational medical and health colleges is essential for improving educational quality and supporting student development. However, empirical evidence regarding the level of intrinsic motivation and its associated factors in this population remains limited. This study aimed to assess intrinsic motivation and identify its key influencing factors among students in higher vocational medical and health colleges in Guangdong Province, China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 4,594 students from nine institutions using an integrated intrinsic motivation questionnaire. The reliability and construct validity of the instrument were examined using internal consistency analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Differences in intrinsic motivation across demographic and educational characteristics were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify significant predictors. Our results showed that significant differences were observed by grade level (F=18.94, P<0.01), academic performance ranking (F=1482.19, P<0.01), and family educational environment, including parental education style (F=180.25, P<0.01), educational level (F=82.39, P<0.01), and family monthly income (F=29.16, P<0.01). Among multiple linear regression analysis, the learning situation demonstrated the strongest association with intrinsic motivation (β=0.29, P<0.01). These findings provide empirical evidence to inform the design of learning situation and educational strategies aimed at fostering intrinsic motivation among students in higher vocational medical and health education.
Keywords: family education environment, Higher vocational education, intrinsic motivation, Learning situation, medical majors
Received: 03 Nov 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Jing, Lu, Hu, Ren and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jifang Jing
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