A study of intrinsic motivation , achievement goals and study strategies of Hong Kong Chinese secondary students

Research has pointed out that motivational orientations influence the study strategies students adopt and subsequently influence academic achievement. While achievement goals emphasize the ways in which students think about themselves in learning, intrinsic motivation reflects students’ engagement in learning for its own sake. Both have impact on learning strategy and achievement. This paper reports the study of the relationship among intrinsic motivation, achievement goals, study strategies and achievement. The participants were786 male and 595 female students from Hong Kong. Intrinsic motivation, viz. challenge, curiosity and independent mastery, and achievement goals, viz. mastery goal, performance approach and avoidance goals, were examined for their correlation with learning strategies and achievement. The results showed that the three subscales of intrinsic motivation were all positively and significantly related with deep strategy but not with surface strategy. Performance approach goal and performance avoidance goal were significantly and positively related to both deep and surface strategy while mastery goal was significantly related with deep strategy only. Academic achievement was positively and significantly related with deep but not surface strategy. Results of multivariate analysis showed significant differences in gender and level of study for the three variables under study. The results were discussed in relation to the Chinese cultural context and implications were drawn for enhancing motivation to learn. Introduction Motivation has long been considered by psychologists and educators as an important factor that affects student learning and achievement. It is a common contention that adaptive motivational orientations facilitate learning while maladaptive ones impede it. Recent research in motivation has focused on the nature of motivational constructs and the ways these constructs affect learning and achievement. According to the social-cognitive model of motivation, motivation is a dynamic, multifaceted phenomenon that explains how and why students are engaged in their learning activities. In line with this thinking, research in motivation has identified a number of motivational constructs that have impacts on students’ learning (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). Research findings have maintained that intrinsic motivation and achievement goals are powerful enablers for academic learning and achievement (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002). These two motivational constructs also represent two of the major theories in the current studies of motivation (Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Graham & Weiner, 1996; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002). The present study aims to examine the motivational profiles of Hong Kong secondary students with respect to intrinsic motivation and achievement goals. The study also compares these motivational constructs between boys and girls and between junior and senior secondary students. The relationships with learning strategies and academic achievement were also examined. Intrinsic Motivation In the early years of study in motivation, White (1959, 1960) described intrinsic motivation as a kind of motive to master. People seek challenges to overcome and learn new skills to master simply to have the pleasure of mastery and accomplishment. Hunt (1961, 1965) viewed intrinsic motivation as a motivational value of a sense of control. Human finds the exercise of control over their environment to be inherently motivating. Harter (1979, 1981) conceptualized intrinsic motivation as curiosity which leads an individual to seek out and master challenging tasks. Harter (1981) identified three components of intrinsic motivation which are challenge, curiosity and independent mastery. It was maintained that students who were intrinsically motivated were more likely to choose new and difficult tasks, like to learn new things and exercise great independence on learning rather than relying on the teachers. Other researchers also maintained that students’ curiosity and personal interest in the leaning activity is the defining feature for intrinsic motivation (Hidi, 1990; Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000; Krapp et al., 1992). Contemporary researchers have defined intrinsic motivation as motivation to engage in an activity for its own sake (Lepper, 1981; Pintrich & Schunk, 2002; Ryan, 1992). Activities are carried out without apparent external reinforcement. In the learning context, it may mean that a student learns because of curiosity rather than external rewards. Intrinsic motivation is often reflected in students’ taking initiative in engaging in learning activities rather than being pushed along by the teachers. Much research findings have pointed out the importance of intrinsic motivation in academic setting. It is important as it is associated with increased attention, persistence and study skills (Hidi & Harackiewicz, 2000). It is positively correlated with achievement as well as with the use of deeper cognitive strategies (Krapp et al, 1992; Schiefele, 1991). With regard to gender differences in intrinsic motivation, there has been conflicting findings. While Boggiano (1991) reported that elementary school girls are more likely to be extrinsically motivated and influenced by adult feedback, Meece and Holt (1993) reported that girls shows greater intrinsic motivation. Others however reported no gender difference (Ryan & Pintrich, 1997). According to the studies conducted by Hagborg (1995), boys and girls in high school had similar intrinsic motivation. He also found that the mastery motivation was correlated with achievement for both the boys and girls. Rusillo and Arias (2004) also reported that they did not find any gender difference in intrinsic motivation. Regarding developmental differences, it was reported that elementary students scored higher in motivation and performance in English and maths as compared to middle school children (Anderman & Midgely, 1996). In the studies of Hong Kong students, it was found that junior secondary students showed more academic initiation than students in senior secondary classes. It was found that secondary students perceived learning as less interesting as they progressed to higher forms (Mok et al, 2005). The present study attempted to verify the findings on developmental differences of secondary students with respect to intrinsic motivation. Achievement Goals The goal theory emphasizes the reasons learners perceive for achievement (Ames, 1992, Midgley, 1993; Naegr & Midgley, 1991). Two goal orientations are generally discussed, i.e. mastery/learning goal and performance goal. Mastery goal oriented learners tend to improve ability and understanding, improve their level of competence or achieve a sense of mastery based on self-referenced standards whereas performance goal oriented learners tend to focus on their ability and self-worth, determine their ability by outperforming others in competitions, surpass others in achievements or grades, and receive public recognition for their superior performance (Ames, 1992). A large number of empirical studies have demonstrated that mastery goal oriented learners tend to learn and understand the materials and try to improve their performance relative to their own past performance. This helps foster a number of adaptive cognitive and achievement outcomes (Ames, 1992). In contrast, under the performance goal, the students try to be the best, get higher grades than others, and do well compared to others. This results in more negative affect or anxiety, increased distraction, and diminished cognitive capacity, task engagement and performance (Linnenbrink & Pintrich, 2002). Recent research studies have reported inconsistent results regarding whether performance goal was a maladaptive orientation toward learning. As reported in the study by Chan, Lai, Moore & Leung (2006), performance goals were not necessarily maladaptive in learning as the goals could still lead to good performance or achievement. In fact, recent research studies in achievement goals have modified the conception of the dichotomous goal orientation whereby performance goal was split into performance approach and performance avoidance goals. (Harackiewicz, Barron, & Elliot, 1998; Harackiewicz, Baron, & Pintrich, 2002). Individuals holding performance approach goal tend to demonstrate their ability excellence over others while the students adopting the performance avoidance goal tends to conceal their weakness (Ames, 1992; Archer, 1994). Performance approach goal is manifested in the learner seeking to achieve excellence in performance while performance avoidance is seeking to avoid looking stupid (Ng, 2000). Avoidance goal also involves a desire to put forth as little effort as possible and get away with it (Markku, 1997). With respect to gender difference, it was reported that boys in the sixth grade are more likely to pursue performance-approach goals than girls (Middleton & Midgley 1997). Markku (1997) also maintained that boys were more inclined to performance goals than girls. The boys are also reported to have higher levels of performance orientation than girls in English and Maths (Roger et al, 2001). As far as developmental differences are concerned, there has been little research studies in this area even though it was reported that goal orientations of college students are more differentiated than primary school students (Ross, et al, 2002). Learning Strategies The influence of motivational constructs on study strategies has been well-documented in literature. Motivation influences the approach students take to learn and the strategies they use in learning (Biggs, 1987, 1992). According to Biggs’ 3P model of learning, surface strategy, in which students resort typically to rote-memorization of detail and facts, is associated with the extrinsic motive while deep strategy, in which the students seek deeper level of understanding, is associated with an int