Chinese chemistry motivation questionnaire II: adaptation and validation of the science motivation questionnaire II in high school students

Abstract

This study aimed to adapt a new version of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II, the Chinese Chemistry Motivation Questionnaire II, for high school students in China, focusing specifically on chemistry. The sample consisted of 1635 students from four high schools, by stratified random sampling. Data was collected online. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original five-component motivation (intrinsic motivation, career motivation, self-determination, self-efficacy and grade motivation) structure after dropping four problematical items, and the factorial invariance was also confirmed across gender, region of residence, and choice of chemistry. Five components were strongly correlated in the Chinese context. Among the five components, students scored the highest in grade motivation. Generally, students who would continue chemistry scored much higher in all five components than those who would discontinue, with boys scoring slightly higher than girls and urban students scoring slightly higher than rural students. Specifically, for students who would continue chemistry, there were medium gender differences in self-efficacy, small gender differences in intrinsic motivation, career motivation, and self-determination, no significant gender differences in grade motivation, and small regional differences in all five components. For students who would discontinue chemistry, there were no significant differences in all five components across gender and region of residence. The internal structure of the questionnaire, correlations among the five components, and group differences in motivation were discussed. Some implications for researchers and practitioners were presented.