A comparative study of motivation and learning strategies between American and Chinese undergraduate engineering students

This paper presents the results of a comparative study of motivation and learning strategies between American and Chinese undergraduate engineering students. A total of 109 sophomore engineering students from two American and Chinese universities responded to a Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) survey. The survey includes six motivation scales (totaling 31 items) and nine learning strategy scales (totaling 50 items). Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests are performed to analyze students´ responses to each MSLQ scale. The results show that statistically significant differences exist in three motivation scales and six learning strategy scales between American and Chinese students surveyed. Overall, American students exceed Chinese students in motivation, but fall behind in learning strategies.