The use of help-seeking by Chinese secondary school students: Challenging the myth of 'the Chinese Learner'

Magdalena Mo Ching MOK, Kerry John KENNEDY, Phillip John MOORE, Wenjing Peter SHAN, Shing On LEUNG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article aims to investigate reasons underpinning academic help-seeking behaviours of Chinese students in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Data were collected from 23,563 secondary students. The study found significant differences both in attitudes and reported behaviour among secondary school students from the three locations, however, the effect sizes were all very small. Importantly, it was found that no matter which location, students considered grade enhancement to be the least important benefit of help-seeking. Rather, the most important benefit was that help-seeking enabled them to solve their learning difficulties or to solve their learning problems. The study also found that losing face was the last deterrent for the students not to seek help. Instead, Chinese secondary school students refrained from seeking help because they were afraid to disturb others in the act of help-seeking. In addition, a high proportion of students reported seeking help in the past two months in order to get advice on problem-solving approaches. Comparatively, a much smaller proportion of students reported seeking help in the last two months in order to improve on their grades. These results were discussed in light of the previous images of Chinese students. Copyright © 2008 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)188-213
JournalEvaluation & Research in Education
Volume21
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2008

Citation

Mok, M. C. M., Kennedy, K. J., Moore, P. J., Shan, W.-J. P., & Leung, S. O. (2008). The use of help-seeking by Chinese secondary school students: Challenging the myth of 'the Chinese Learner'. Evaluation & Research in Education, 21(3), 188-213.

Keywords

  • Chinese learners
  • Academic help-seeking
  • Hong Kong
  • Taiwan
  • Macau
  • Problem solving

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