Academic motivations of Yi youths in China: Classmate support and ethnic identity

Angel Hor Yan Lai, Cheryl Hiu Kwan Chui*, Kin Yu Wong, Cecilia Lai Wan Chan

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    To enhance the academic achievements of Yi ethnic minority youths in rural school settings, the authors examined the effect of classmate support and the meditating role of ethnic identity in promoting their academic motivation. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from Yi youths sponsored by a philanthropic organization to attend local schools in Liangshan, rural China (n = 657; 7–12 years old; 52% boys). Results of structural equation modelling showed that classmate support positively affected ethnic identity-commitment and ethnic identity-exploration, which then had positive impacts on three academic motivation outcomes: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation-external and identified regulation, and extrinsic motivation-introjected regulation. The mediating effects of ethnic identity-exploration and ethnic identity-commitment were statistically significant, except for the pathway from classmate support to extrinsic motivation-introjected regulation via ethnic identity-commitment. The authors found that ethnic identity can be facilitated through building supportive classroom environment for positive academic motivations in Yi youths. Cross-cultural significance of this study is also discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)550-563
    Number of pages14
    JournalJournal of Educational Research
    Volume112
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 4 Jul 2019

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Education

    User-Defined Keywords

    • academic motivation
    • classmate support
    • Ethnic identity
    • rural China
    • youths

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Academic motivations of Yi youths in China: Classmate support and ethnic identity'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this