Multidimensional Assessment of Chinese Students’ Learning Motivations: A Validation Study Using Inventory of School Motivation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 126
  In Roundtable Session: Measuring Motivation

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study is to examine whether the multidimensional structure of achievement goal measured by the Inventory of School Motivation is the same for a sample of post-secondary students in mainland China as the previously-studied populations. The instrument consists of eight subscales with 36 survey items. Each scale reflects one of eight specific dimensions: task, effort, competition, social power, affiliation, social concern, praise, and token. Participants were 458 undergraduates from five universities in East China. The nested confirmatory factor analyses supported a multidimensional school motivation structure. The results also demonstrated the convergent and concurrent validities in the Chinese cultural context, through the relations between eight specific motivation goals and general motivation goals, family-oriented goals, self-concepts and learning approaches.

Authors

• Feifei Li, Educational Testing Service

• Douglas F. Kauffman, University of Nebraska - Lincoln