Cultural and sex differences in students' motivations, demotivations, incentives and disincentives at school

Martin Dowson, Dennis M. McInerney

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperConference Paper

    Abstract

    ![CDATA[This study investigates cultural and sex differences in students' (a) motivations and demotivations to do well at school, and (b) incentives and disincentives to stay at school. Survey research was conducted with 270 Aboriginal students (129 males and 141 females), 870 Navajo students (406 males and 464 females), and 833 Anglo-Australian students (432 males and 401 females). Students were asked 4 key questions: What types of things motivate you to work well at school? What things make it difficult for you to do well at school? Why do you think some students leave school before they finish high school? What types of things would encourage you to complete high school and to go on to some further education such as college or university? With some exceptions, the pattern of answers to these questions indicate remarkable similarities between cultural and sex groups. In particular, support from others (e.g. parents, teachers and friends) was a critical positive motivator and incentive for all cultural and sex groups. Despite these similarities, different response patterns concerning intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, school marks, curriculum, and even pregnancy and substance abuse did define cultural groups differences both in aggregate and when broken down by sex.]]
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationAustralian Association for Research in Education 2005 conference papers
    PublisherAustralian Association for Research in Education
    Number of pages1
    Publication statusPublished - 2005
    EventAustralian Association for Research in Education. Conference -
    Duration: 2 Dec 2012 → …

    Publication series

    Name
    ISSN (Print)1324-9339

    Conference

    ConferenceAustralian Association for Research in Education. Conference
    Period2/12/12 → …

    Keywords

    • motivation in education
    • sex differences in education
    • cross-cultural studies
    • students
    • attitudes

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