A cross-cultural analysis of achievement goals and self-efficacy between American and Chinese College students in Physical Education

This study was an initial attempt to examine the levels of college students' achievement goals, self-efficacy, and persistence as well as the relationships between them across the American and Chinese cultures. Participants were 249 American and 298 Chinese college students who completed questionnaires assessing their achievement goals (task and ego orientation), self-efficacy, and persistence in physical education. Correlation analyses indicated that task orientation, self-efficacy, and persistence were related to one another for the American students. However, all the variables were associated with one another for the Chinese students. Regression analyses revealed task orientation and self-efficacy were positive predictors of persistence for the American students, where as self-efficacy and ego orientation emerged as positive predictors for the Chinese students. Cultural variations emerged with the American students scoring higher on task orientation and self-efficacy, but lower on ego orientation than the Chinese students.