Cultural-Developmental Perspective: Chinese Immigrant Students’ Academic Achievement Motivation as an Illustrative Example

Abstract

In this article, I present research evidence corroborating that students of Chinese descent are a high-achieving clique compared to other ethnic and cultural groups. A prominent explanation invokes cultural values highly emphasized in Chinese societies, especially those focusing on filial piety and educational achievement. However, for Chinese immigrant adolescents exposed to another cultural model and undergoing developmental changes, the motivation mechanisms underlying their academic achievement are more complex. I posit that this complexity can be understood and unraveled by contextual theories of acculturation and human development. Moreover, expanding on the cultural-developmental perspective as advocated by others, I explicate specifically how acculturative and developmental processes are intertwined to guide the individual's internalization of cultural imperatives. To illustrate this framework, I draw insights from interviewing three Chinese immigrant adolescents in the United States. The theoretical and empirical underpinnings discussed in this paper aim to contribute knowledge to the literature by demonstrating the role of acculturation and development in Chinese immigrant students' psychological processing of parental message concerning academic success which, in turn, contributes to their academic achievement motivation.

Perceived university support, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, heterogeneous entrepreneurial intentions in entrepreneurship education

“…According to the achievement motivation theory (Murray, 1938;McClelland et al, 1976), individuals will continue to pursue a higher goal after realizing some achievements. The theory has been broadly applied in the field of education to encourage students to progressively realize achievements (Wigfield and Eccles, 2000;Chen, 2019). Therefore, we suggest that, along with encouraging them to form entrepreneurial intentions, we should help them develop independence-oriented intentions to motivate them to chase higher goals.…”

“…According to the achievement motivation theory (Murray, 1938;McClelland et al, 1976), after achieving some objective, individuals will continue to chase a higher goal. This theory has broadly been used in education to encourage students to progressively realize achievements progressively (Wigfield and Eccles, 2000;Chen, 2019). Further, research suggests that most entrepreneurs primarily intend to create "salary-substitution" businesses, rather than businesses having growth potential (Shane, 2009;Hessels et al, 2008).…”

Weaving the Fabric of Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of Teaching: A Study in Hong Kong Kindergarten Classrooms

“…For instance, research on cultural variations on emotion expression has revealed that individuals from Chinese and other Asian cultures tend to prioritize collective harmony over individual emotional expression, in contrast to the more individualistic emotional expression commonly observed among European Americans (Tsai et al, 2002). Such findings corroborate the significant influence of culture on individuals' behavior (Chen, 2005(Chen, , 2019. In the context of the teaching-learning process in the classroom, teachers are expected to serve as both the socializer of cultural values and the model of moral principles, while children learn from their teachers by explicitly observing and potentially imitating their behaviors (Chen & Liang, 2017).…”

“…The finding could also be context-specific in that the topics of discussion might have lent themselves to more Responsible Decision-Making relevant exchanges between teachers and children as demonstrated by the qualitative except. Another contextual explanation is rooted in the Chinese culture's emphasis on social harmony and moral development, and thereby adults' efforts to instill these cultural values in children during the socialization process (Chen, 2005(Chen, , 2019. Thus, it seems logical for Responsible Decision-Making to be prominent in both the teachers' SET and the children's SEL.…”

Comparison of levels of bullying, achievement motivation, and resilience among Syrian refugee students and Turkish students

“…Acculturation is another important factor that affects achievement motivation levels of refugees and students from different ethnic backgrounds. For example, Chen (2019) found that the level of academic and achievement motivation in Chinese immigrant students who were acculturated was higher than their American peers. On the other hand, in another study, Urdan and Munoz (2011) found that Hispanic refugee children had lower success and motivation than Caucasians.…”