<p>This study aimed to explore the relationships between motivation, strategy, approach to learning and performance of Vocational Education students, within the framework of the Students' Approaches to Learning (<em>SAL</em>) theory. The participants were 20 students of both sexes, aged between 16 and 18, who were attending the Brazilian Vocational Education.</p>
<p>Motivations and strategies were evaluated through a semi-structured interview. Approaches to learning were constituted by the intersection between motivations and strategies. Performance was considered in terms of grades and quality of learning, assessed through surveys of the holistic characterization of the learning outcome.</p>
<p>&nbsp;Non-parametric statistical analysis showed an association between <em>instrumental motivation</em> and lower grades and between higher grades and a perception of both accelerated learning time and learning tasks as negative. There was also an association between a lower quality of learning and either a high investment of energy in learning and a strategy of understanding or memorizing contents according to the need.</p>
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<p><strong>Key words:</strong> Approaches to learning, Learning strategies, Motivation, Quality of learning, School success, Vocational education.</p>