Learning and motivation of Chinese students in Hong Kong: A longitudinal study of contextual influences on students' achievement orientation and performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of medium of instruction and ability grouping (banding) of schools on students' learning and achievement orientation. A total of 1,807 male and female seventh graders studying in different school bands, using either English or Chinese as a medium of instruction (EMI and CMI respectively) participated in this study over a period of 3 years. They were administered measures of self-regulated learning strategies, goal orientation, general self-efficacy, anxiety in learning history as well as measures of self-efficacy, attitude, and motivation in learning English. The results showed that students studying in upper band schools (i.e., low-ability schools) used fewer strategies in learning, had lower self-efficacy, higher surface goal and lower attainment scores than those in lower band schools. In addition, they had less positive attitude, lower levels of motivation and were more anxious in learning English and history than their counterparts in lower bands. The results also showed that CMI students made more use of learning strategies than EMI students. All students, regardless of school types or gender, rated higher on performance goal than any other goals in all 3 years. These findings and others were interpreted in terms of sociocultural values and context of learning in Hong Kong.