Papua New Guinea (PNG), a country characterised by tremendous linguistic, environmental, and cultural diversity, has experienced a history of educational reform and political and social turbulence. Attempts to inform educational interventions and successful policy change in PNG have been erratic. In addition, there is a paucity of sound methodological research which has impeded effective change. As such, little is known about the key determinants of academic outcomes for PNG students. The purpose of the current study was to test a comprehensive cross-cultural model of the relation of a suite of psycho-social constructs to academic outcomes for PNG students from urban, rural, and village educational settings. This model examined the influence of socio-economic status, parent education, future goal orientation, perceived instrumental value, motivation, self-concept, and self-regulation upon PNG students’ academic outcomes. In order to test this model in PNG, three main studies were conducted. The first study (n=917) aimed to examine the psychometric properties of relevant instrumentation, and the differences in students’ endorsement of future goals, perceived instrumentality, motivation, self-concept, and self-regulation, across different groups in PNG. This study found the instrumentation to be valid and reliable for use in PNG, as well as structurally invariant across gender, grade, and region groups. Gender, grade, and region profile differences were also found for each of the five psychological variables. The second study (n=917) aimed to examine the relations between key socio-economic and psychological factors, and the impact that these variables had upon achievement and effort outcomes. The results firstly highlighted students’ socio-economic status and parent education as being positive predictors of student outcomes. Next, village-oriented future goals and perceived instrumentality, mastery and social motivation, and domain specific academic self-concept, were all found to be significant, positive predictors of students’ achievement and effort scores. Furthermore, authority future goals and perceived instrumentality and performance motivation were found to be negative predictors of student outcomes. Finally, the third study (n=52) aimed to illuminate and extend the results of the quantitative studies with qualitative data from students, teachers, and parents. This study found that these groups emphasised the importance of future goals, perceived instrumentality, motivation, and self-regulation as predictors of students’ educational experiences, and they highlighted the underlying relations between these variables and student outcomes. Results also highlighted a number of additional psychological, linguistic, and socio-cultural factors, as serving important roles in students’ educational experiences. Findings of the current investigation were interpreted within the cross-cultural framework of the student model that was utilised. The findings have important implications for our understanding of the key determinants of student achievement and effort within PNG, but also for future cross-cultural research examining related determinants within other Indigenous, developing, and Indigenous majority countries. Furthermore, the findings have implications for future research, practice, and policy interventions within PNG, and provide guidance for the development of culturally sensitive and appropriate interventions to aid the achievement and effort of students living in PNG. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/182528 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Nelson, Genevieve F., University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Psychology |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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