A motivational orientation framework for higher education has previously been derived from interviews with 36 undergraduate students in an elite university system. The framework consists of six interacting facets of motivation represented by continua labelled: compliance, individual goal setting, sense of belonging, interest, career and university lifestyle. The aim of this study was to see whether the framework also applied to entrants to a community and vocational college sector, the emergence of which has boosted participation to mass higher education status. Individual interviews were conducted with 25 students in five colleges in Hong Kong. Analysis identified main themes and referenced these against those of the previous study. The data were consistent with the facets of the original framework. A fuller understanding was reached of the less motivated ends of the continua, as these were more commonly displayed than by the undergraduate sample in the previous study. There was evidence of avoidance goals, in the form of fear of failure. Sense of belonging was, in some cases, manifest in a form in which students socialised at the expense of academic work. There was evidence of interest being stifled because of curriculum design problems, as the awards were often not suited as terminal vocational awards, nor led to places in undergraduate degrees. The conclusion was that the motivational orientation framework also applies to the type of students entering mass higher education systems.
[Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075070903514062]

This study investigated the relevance of filial piety and the three components of self-determination, namely, competence, autonomy and relatedness, on academic motivation among Hong Kong Chinese secondary school students. A total of 461 students completed the questionnaire which consisted of five scales assessing attitudes towards filial piety, perceived scholastic competence, perceived autonomous support from parents, relatedness with parents and academic motivation. By using structural equation modelling, a predictive model of academic motivation, with filial piety, competence, autonomy, relatedness, age and gender as antecedents, was developed. All variables explained the prediction of academic motivation, with competence acted as the strongest effect, followed by relatedness and filial piety. The findings highlight the important contribution of the three self-determination theory (SDT) components and the value of filial piety for Chinese adolescents' academic motivation. The implications of the findings for future research and educational practice were discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2011.559309 ]

This article reports on the personal beliefs and attitudes of highly motivated Hong Kong school-age subjects who studied music. A total of 24 participants who demonstrated high achievement and interest in learning music were interviewed. Content analysis of the interview data was performed to elucidate four topics: background information about the music learning of participants, their feelings about learning music, their perceptions of parental expectations of the learning of different subjects, and music learning in schools. A detailed analysis was conducted to understand the views of participants on attainment value, task value, task difficulty and intrinsic motivation. Based on the results, a theoretical framework was derived that includes three developmental stages: (1) initial motivation, (2) short-term involvement and the learning process and (3) long-term involvement and ongoing commitment. The study contributes to the understanding of the developmental trajectory of these Asian participants by detailing intrinsic and extrinsic factors that impacted on their musical development.
[Copyright of Music Education Research is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2011.553278 ]

The present study explored motivation and engagement among Chinese and Australian school students. Based on a sample of 528 Hong Kong Chinese 12-13 year olds and an archive sample of 6,366 Australian 12-13 year olds, achievement motivation was assessed using the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling using LISREL found that, across Chinese and Australian students, there was similar factor structure, reliability, correlations with educational outcomes, and gender and age effects—suggesting there are no fundamental differences of kind between the two cultures. There were, however, differences of degree in that Australian students reported significantly higher levels of adaptive achievement motivation and significantly lower levels of maladaptive achievement motivation. It is concluded that although Australian students have higher levels of reported achievement motivation than Chinese students on a number of dimensions, the two groups' fundamental orientation does not appear to be markedly different in terms of motivation structure, profile, and relationships. This holds implications for cross-cultural motivation assessment, data analysis, and programmatic intervention aimed at enhancing (and sustaining) students' achievement motivation in different cultural and national contexts.
[Copyright of International Journal of Testing is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15305058.2010.482220]

本文闡釋了利用「通達學習」教授數學，照顧個別差異和提升學習動機的行動研究。研究者發現「通達學習」有效照顧班中尖子和能力稍遜學生的學習，使學生差異度收窄，增強了學習的興趣。研究亦顯示，通過有計劃的安排，制定明晰的教學目標與課業，以輔導和增潤課程設計，有效地改變了教學的效能和學習的程式。「通達學習」是值得推廣的，只是教師需要更多教學時間和支援。
The paper reports an action research on the use of Mastery Learning in the teaching of primary six Mathematics. It is reported that Mastery Learning is able to cater for the needs of a wide range of individual ability in the class. The pupils' motivation is enhanced. With good preparation and clearly defined objectives and learning activities, the effectiveness of teaching and learning is enhanced. However, teachers need more support and resources in order to prepare and conduct lessons for Mastery Learning.
[Copyright of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre Journal is the property of Hong Kong Teachers' Centre at http://www.edb.org.hk/hktc]