Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Academic expectations as sources of stress in Asian students

  • Published:
Social Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Education is highly valued in Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) countries such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea but the expectations of parents, teachers and students themselves to excel academically can also be a source of intense stress for many students. The Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI), developed by Ang and Huan (Educ Psychol Meas 66: 522–539, 2006) to measure parent, teacher and self expectations as sources of academic stress in Asian adolescents, was administered to 176 Singaporean secondary and college students one month before their major examinations. Rasch analyses of the students’ responses to the AESI showed the nine items in the inventory formed a robust unidimensional scale of academic stress, with two separate unidimensional subscales of Expectations of Parents and Teachers and Expectations of Self complementing the factor analysis conducted by Ang and Huan (Educ Psychol Meas 66: 522–539, 2006). The item thresholds showed the AESI measured the student trait range adequately, and affirmed the inventory as a brief yet valid measure of academic stress for Asian students from a CHC background. The AESI is a valuable tool for teachers and researchers, as it provides an understanding of the role of parents, teachers and self expectations as sources of academic stress among students from a CHC background.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams R. J., Khoo S. T. (1993) Quest-the interactive test analysis system. ACER, Hawthorn, Victoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson L. W. (1994) Attitude measures. In: Husén T. (ed.) The international encyclopedia of education, Vol. 1. (2nd ed.) Pergamon, Oxford, pp 380–390

    Google Scholar 

  • Ang R. P., Huan V. S. (2006) Academic expectations stress inventory (AESI): Development, factor analysis, reliability and validity. Educational and Psychological Measurement 66: 522–539

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ang R. P, Huan V. S., Braman O. R. (2007) Factorial structure and invariance of the academic expectations stress inventory across Hispanic and Chinese adolescent samples. Child Psychiatry and Human Development 38: 73–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs J., Watkins D. (1996) The Chinese learner in retrospect. In: Watkins D. A., Biggs J. B. (eds) The Chinese learner: Cultural psychological and contextual influences. CERC and ACER, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond T. G., Fox C. M. (2007) Applying the Rasch model. Fundamental measurement in the human sciences. (2nd ed). Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Mahwah, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchmann C., Dalton B. (2002) International influences and educational aspirations in 12 countries: The importance of institutional context. Sociology of Education 75: 99–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callingham R., Bond T. (2006) Research in mathematics education and Rasch measurement. Mathematics Education Research Journal 18(2): 1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell R. T. (1983) Status attainment research: End of the beginning or beginning of the end?. Sociology of Education 56: 47–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen C., Stevenson H. (1995) Motivation and mathematics achievement: A comparative study of Asian-American, Caucasian-American, and East Asian high school students. Child Development 66: 1215–1234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung R. C.-Y., Walkey F. (1989) Educational and achievement aspirations of New Zealand Chinese and European secondary school students. Youth and Society 21(2): 139–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Curtis D. D., Boman P. (2007) X-ray your data with Rasch. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives 8(2): 249–259

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vet H. C. W., Adèr H. J., Terwee C. B., Pouwer F. (2005) Response. Quality of Life Research 14: 1223–1224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edelen M. O., Reeve B. B. (2007) Applying item response theory (IRT) modeling to questionnaire development, evaluation and refinement. Quality of Life Research 16(Suppl. 1): 5–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fox C. M., Jones J. A. (1998) Uses of Rasch modeling in counselling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology 45: 30–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Genshaft J., Broyles J. (1991) Stress management with the gifted adolescent. In: Bireley M., Genshaft J. (eds) Understanding the gifted adolescent: Educational, development and multicultural issues. Teachers College Press, New York, pp 76–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Hambleton R. K., Cook L. L. (1977) Latent trait models and their use in the analysis of educational test data. Journal of Educational Measurement 14(2): 75–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho D. Y. F., Kang T. K. (1984) Intergenerational comparisons of child-rearing attitudes and practices in Hong Kong. Developmental Psychology 20: 1004–1016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho K. C., Yip J. (2003) YOUTH.sg: The state of youth in Singapore. National Youth Council, Singapore

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofsteded G. (1986) Cultural differences in teaching and learning. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 10: 301–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huan V. S., Yeo L. S., Ang R. P., Chong W. H. (2008) The impact of adolescent concerns on their academic stress. Educational Review 60(2): 169–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isralowitz R. E., Ong T. H. (1990) Singapore youth: The impact of social status on perceptions of adolescent problems. Adolescence 25: 357–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones R. W. (1993) Gender-specific differences in the perceived antecedents of academic stress. Psychological Reports 72: 739–743

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kao G., Tienda M. (1998) Educational aspirations of minority youth. American Journal of Education 106: 349–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau S., Nicholls J. G., Thorkildsen T. A., Patashnick M. (2000) Chinese and American adolescents’ perceptions of the purposes of education and beliefs about the world of work. Social Behaviour and Personality 28: 73–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus R., Folkman S. (1984) Stress, appraisal and coping. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee W. O. (1996) The cultural context for Chinese learners: Conception of learning in Confucian Tradition. In: Watkins D. A., Biggs J. B. (eds) The Chinese learner: Cultural psychological and contextual influences. CERC and ACER, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Lew J. (2006) Asian American in class. Teacher College Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Linacre J. M. (1999) Category disordering vs step (threshold) disordering. Rasch Measurement Transactions 13: 675

    Google Scholar 

  • Masters G. N. (1982) A Rasch model for partial credit scoring. Psychometrika 47: 149–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGuire D. P., Mitic W. (1987) Perceived stress in adolescents: What normal teenagers worry about. Canada’s Mental Health 35: 2–5

    Google Scholar 

  • Nunnally J. C., Bernstein I. H. (1994) Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill, New York, NY

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasch G. (1960) Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests. Danmarks Paedogogiske Insitut, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  • Reise S. P., Widaman K. F., Pugh R. H. (1993) Confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory: two approaches for exploring measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin 114: 552–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robotham D., Julian C. (2006) Stress and higher education student: A critical review of the literature. Journal of Further and Higher Education 30(2): 107–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross S. E., Niebling B. C., Heckert T. M. (1999) Sources of stress among students. College Student Journal 33(2): 312–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Salili F., Chiu C. Y., Lai S. (2001) The influence of culture and context on students’ motivational orientation and performance. In: Salili F., Chiu C. Y., Hong Y. Y. (eds) Student motivation: The culture and context of learning. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp 221–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider B., Lee Y. (1990) A model for academic success: The school and home environment of East Asian students. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 21(4): 358–377

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scollon R., Scollon S. W. (1995) Intercultural communication: A discourse approach. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Shek D. T. L. (1995) Adolescent mental health in different Chinese societies. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health 8: 117–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sue S., Okazaki S. (1990) Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation. American Psychologist 45: 913–920

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volet S. (1996) Chinese students at an Australian university: Adaptability and continuity. In: Watkins D. A., Biggs J. B. (eds) The Chinese learner: Cultural psychological and contextual influences. CERC and ACER, Hong Kong

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong J., Salili F., Ho S. Y., Mak K. H., Lai M. K., Lam T. H. (2005) The perceptions of adolescents, parents and teachers on the same adolescent health issues. School Psychology International 26: 371–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright B. D., Stone M. H. (1979) Best test design: Rasch measurement. Mesa Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright B. D., Masters G. N. (1982) Rating scale analysis. MESA Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright B. D. (1999) Fundamental measurement for psychology. In: Embretson S. E., Hershberger S. L. (eds) The new rules of measurement: What every psychologist and educator should know. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ, pp 65–104

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeh C. J., Huang K. (1996) The collectivistic nature of ethnic identity development among Asian-American college students. Adolescence 31: 645–662

    Google Scholar 

  • Zumbo B. D., Koh K. H. (2005) Manifestation of differences in item-level characteristics in scale-level measurement invariance tests of multi-group confirmatory factor analyses. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods 4(1): 275–282

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, 5001, Australia

    Joyce Beiyu Tan & Shirley Yates

Authors
  1. Joyce Beiyu Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shirley Yates
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joyce Beiyu Tan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tan, J.B., Yates, S. Academic expectations as sources of stress in Asian students. Soc Psychol Educ 14, 389–407 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9146-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9146-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation