Abstracts – Session One
10:00 – 11:00 – 6EN – 551
Chair: Maria Guapacha
Jinjing Fang: Social and Psychological Consequences of Assessment: A case study of an honours programme in Chinese higher education
The current study investigates the achievement motivation of 742 first-year students at an elite Chinese university. Goal approach and avoidance theory is used to understand motivation which could be differentiated as being focused on either the task, the self, or performance. A Chinese version of the Achievement Goal Orientation inventory was administered and analysed with confirmatory factor analysis. Analysis identified a three-factor solution (i.e., task-based, self-based or performance-based) motivations for achievement. It showed statistically significant differences in mean scores between the factors. Students agreed most strongly with “Self-based Goals”, indicating their purpose of learning was to obtain self-based competence and avoid self-based incompetence. They agreed more with the factor of “Performance-based Goals” than “Task-based Goals”, which means in goal pursuit they preferred to demonstrate performance and avoid incompetence relative to others rather than mastering content. Based on the self-focused and performance-focused competence, students were more avoidance-oriented. Finally, it was noted that only items of task-approach goals were salient in this structure. The results suggest that focusing on tasks themselves, Chinese students only studied to gain task-mastery abilities. Data collected at the start of semester 2 will be analysed to ascertain if experience after one-semester changes the factor structure or means.
Anran Zhao: The influence of stakes on students’ test-taking motivation, a quasi-experimental study in Shanghai
Shanghai is famous for high scores on international comparative studies. However, other than greater ability, it may be that high scores arise from motivation and effort in doing such tests. This study surveyed Shanghai students’ (N=1003) conceptions of tests and the impact these conceptions have on their test-taking motivation across different test stake conditions. In a quasi-experimental design three hypothesized test stake conditions (i.e., no stake, country at stake, personal stakes) were randomly distributed to participants. A partial mediation model using structural equation modelling supported the theoretical assumption that students’ conceptions of tests were meaningful predictors of students’ test taking efforts which were also influenced by their perceived importance and test anxiety. Invariance testing showed that the impact of conceptions on motivation was equivalent across the three test taking conditions. However, latent means showed that students’ effort expenditure was similar in the country at stakes and the personal stakes groups, and both were significantly higher than the no stakes group. In contrast, perceived importance and anxiety was similar in the country at stakes and the no stakes groups. This study suggests that Shanghai students’ test taking attitudes may contribute to elevated performance international large-scale assessments, because country at stake consequences matter almost as much as personal stake.
Xiaoming Tian: Economy, Knowledge, and Education in China
My presentation is part of my PhD work I have done so far. My research hypothesises that a new type of curricular knowledge and pedagogy is prioritised in China’s contemporary curricular reform. The study explores the thesis that there is a connection between the country’s socialist market economy and the 21st-century learning curriculum design promoted by China’s contemporary curricular reform. To explore the mechanisms linking the economy to knowledge, I will examine relevant literature and analyse the educational policies and investigate teachers’ curricular practices. China’s construction of a socialist market economy is the research background and Realism provides the research approach. The study will consider the importance of curriculum and pedagogy in Chinese education by arguing that educational success and social justice depend upon the provision of access for all students to academic knowledge. The research findings are likely to provide insights into China’s curricular reform policymaking, teachers’ education and training, and the acceleration of the social and educational justice aims within the contemporary economic and social context.