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A cross-cultural study of Australian and Chinese university academics?? work motivation

This study examined university academics?? valence for teaching and research, and the relationships between the valence and self-efficacy for teaching and research, with an Australian and a Chinese sample. In addition, the study also investigated modelling of research activity and Chinese university academics?? attributions, experience of western research activities, and ingroup and outgroup relationships between models and observers. Design and conduct of the research was guided by a theoretical framework. Several hypotheses were generated and tested, and research questions were answered. Quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews were used in this study. The quantitative analysis comprised exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis, and content analysis was used for free responses in the surveys and the interview data from the sample of Chinese academics. Within the context of the research, the results suggested that valence for academic work may be related to university academics?? cultural orientation and their self-efficacy for academic work. The study also suggested that observing modelling by others may have been related to the Chinese university academics?? self-efficacy for research. Effects of modelling and the Chinese academics?? attributions for models?? success in research appeared to be moderated by ingroup and outgroup relationships between the models and observers. Moreover, overseas experience was found to be the most important external attribution for Chinese models?? success in research.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258034
Date January 2009
CreatorsLi, Feng Edward, Education, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, UNSW
PublisherPublisher:University of New South Wales. Education
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Rightshttp://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright

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