Exploring the Cultural Differences of Western and East Asian Students' Persistence, Beliefs, Choice, and Internalization

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Social and Cultural Contexts in Learning and Instruction

Abstract

This paper examines the widely spread assumption that East Asian students are more persistent than their American counterparts because they are more likely to believe that success results from efforts rather than innate ability. The examination was conducted by comparing the impact of three factors—learning beliefs, preference of choice, and internalization of learning motivation—on learning persistence between Chinese and American college students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensionality and reliability of the scales that were used in this study, and structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the relationships among all the factors. The findings suggested different models to persistence in learning between Western and East Asian students.

Authors

• Yurou Wang, University of Alabama

• Jihong Zhang, The University of Iowa