Purpose

            The main purpose of this study was to investigate the links between intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and the three learning strategies (memorization, elaboration and control strategies).

Academic significance of research

            Few studies in the past examined intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Artelt, 2005; Schiefele, Wild, & Krapp,1995; Yildirim, 2012) simultaneously. Consequently, the sole use of intrinsic motivation might underestimate the actual effect of intrinsic motivation in the use of learning strategies (Schaffner, Schiefele, & Ulferts, 2013; Schiefele, Schaffner, Moeller, & Wigfield, 2012). In addition, most prior research has used the learning strategies variable as a centered approach, such as correlation, regression, or hierarchical linear modeling (HLM ), to investigate the relationship between motivation and the use of learning strategies. Based on these approaches, it assumed that within a population, students are homogenous, it is however fully possible, that within a population, the students are heterogeneous. Furthermore, in the centered approach there is an assumption of normality which cannot always be met in the real world. To overcome the limitations of the centered approach, the latent class analysis LCA is promising because it can detect the heterogeneity of a population and it does not require that the normality assumption be met. Due to the advantages of LCA, in this study we applied LCA in each East Asian country to investigate the heterogeneity of the use of learning strategies in each East Asian country. After obtaining the latent class, we investigated the relationship between motivation and learning strategies by applying the New LCA 3-setp approach (Vermunt , 2010).

Theoretical framework

In education, researchers have agreed that self-regulated learning (SRL) involves cognition, motivation, and metacognition. (Boekaerts, 1995; Pintrich, 1999; Zimmerman, 2001).  The process of self-regulated learning is how students monitor, regulate, and control their behavior and motivation in order to achieve their performance (Pintrich, 1999; Zimmerman, 2001).  To achieve the level of performance, students must not have only the “skill”, but also the “will” (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). When students are highly motivated, they are willing to exert the effort and time to constantly adjust their learning behavior.

In SRL, there are two essential elements in the use of learning strategies and motivation (Pintrich, 2000; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). The use of learning strategies is the manner in which students act to gain information; motivation is that students are willing to  do something, either intrinsically or extrinsically (Ryan and Deci, 2000). 

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