This study examines the multidimensional and hierarchical structure of achievement goal orientation measured by the Inventory of School Motivation. The instrument consists of eight different scales with 43 survey items (ranging from three to seven items each). Each scale reflects one of eight specific dimensions: task, effort, competition, social power, affiliation, social concern, praise, and token. The study also examines the ability of these eight first-order factors to define four general second-order factors—mastery, performance, social factors, and extrinsic factors—as well as one third-order factor, general motivation. Participants came from seven different cultural groups in high schools in Australia (n = 4,787), Hong Kong (n = 697), the United States (n = 2,660), and Africa (n = 819). Nested confirmatory factor analyses support a multidimensional, hierarchical school motivation construct. The model was invariant across cultural groups. The findings provide a strong theoretical structure and tool for further school motivation research.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410500342559]

The responses of 712 high achieving and low achieving students at the Open University of Hong Kong were analysed to investigate gender differences in factors that contribute to successful achievement in distance education. The analysis indicated a number of gender differences, including in the areas of organisation and use of study materials, confidence about studies, and independent versus collaborative study. Based on these, some questions have been raised about the need to develop some different treatment for male and female students in order to maximise the achievement of both groups.
[Copyright of Open Learning is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680510120050307]

This study examined Hong Kong students' achievement goals and their relations with students' perceived classroom environment and strategy use based on the multiple goal perspective of goal orientation theory. A total of 925 Grade 8 students from six secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that measured these three sets of variables. Consistent with previous studies using goal orientation theory, the findings of this study indicated that students' perceived classroom environment was significantly related to their personal achievement goals and strategy use. While mastery goals were found to be the strongest predictor of strategy use, performance-approach goals and perceived instrumentality also had positive relations with mastery goals and strategy use. Our findings suggest that mastery goals and performance goals were not contrasting goals as conceptualised in normative goal orientation theory. Students with high motivation for both types of goal were more adaptive in learning than were students who pursued a single type of goal. Moreover, the value of adding perceived instrumentality when studying students' motivation should be emphasised. The implications of these findings for understanding Hong Kong students' motivation, and for planning effective teaching instruction to enhance their motivation, are discussed.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410701612008]

Two studies were conducted to investigate the effects of cooperative learning on second-graders' motivation and learning from text. In Study 1, students (n = 160) in cooperative learning groups were compared with their counterparts (n = 107) in traditional instruction groups. The results revealed a statistically significant difference between the two groups, with more favourable perceptions of teachers' instructional practices and better reading comprehension in the instructional intervention groups than in the traditional instruction groups. In Study 2, 51 second-graders participated in the instructional intervention programme. The results showed that students' positive cooperative behaviour and attitudes were related to their motivation and reading comprehension. When students perceived that their peers were willing to help each other and were committed to the group, they tended to be more motivated and performed better in reading comprehension.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410701880159]

This study aims to investigate the differences between high and low academic achieving Hong Kong University students in terms of learning and study strategies. A total of 180 Hong Kong University students participated in the present study by completing a revised Chinese version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory. Results indicated that there were significant differences between the two groups' study strategies. The author also found that attitude and motivation were two major factors that differentiated high academic achieving students from low academic achieving students.
[Copyright of Educational Psychology is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01443410701309126]