A Cultural Explanation of Motivation-Achievement Paradox in Math
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9730776 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiang Hu (0000-0001-5310-010X, Renmin University of China, Beijing, corresponding author), Jiesi Guo (0000-0003-2102-803X, Australian Catholic University, North Sydney), Ronnel B King (0000-0003-1723-1748, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin), Frederick K S Leung (0000-0003-1725-3883, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 115-124 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Researcher (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-189X • E-ISSN: 1935-102X |
| Publisher | American Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3102/0013189x251370677 |
| OpenAlex | W4414362663 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
Although math motivation is positively associated with math achievement, the pattern reverses at the country level such that societies with higher motivational levels show lower achievement. This motivation-achievement paradox has puzzled researchers, and existing explanations have failed to fully account for the phenomenon. We advance and test a cultural explanation of the paradox using two large-scale studies. Both studies found that long-term orientation was negatively associated with country-level motivational factors but positively associated with national achievement (i.e., confounded the relationship between country-level motivation and achievement). When controlling for long-term orientation, the negative association between country-level motivation and achievement became nonsignificant. Our research highlights the importance of national culture, particularly long-term orientation, in shaping students’ motivational process and academic performance
Academic achievement · Association (psychology · Future Orientation · Goal Orientation · Implicit-association test · Need for achievement · Test (biology · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Grit, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |