Exploring Pathways of Western and East Asian Students’ Persistence in Learning: The Role of Learning Beliefs, Choice, and Internationalization of Learning Motivation

Abstract

Abstract This dissertation 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 through comparing the impact of three factors—learning beliefs, preference of choice, and internalization of learning motivation—on learning persistence between East Asian and American college students (Western and East Asian). Specifically, the dissertation reports findings of two related studies. The first study was the development of a new measurement scale Internalization of Learning Motivation Scale based on Self-determination theory. The second study was discovering the different pathways for Western and East Asian students towards persistence. The difference in internalization of learning motivation, learning beliefs, preference of choice and persistence between Western and East Asian college students was address. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the dimensionality and reliability of the scale, and Structural equation modeling were conducted to identify the relationships among all the factors. The new internalization scale was proved to be valid and reliable. The findings also suggested different pathways to persistence in learning between Western and East Asian students.