• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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• v.14 no.1_spc
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• pp.319-348
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• 2008

Self-efficacy, achievement goals, task value, and attribution are some of the representative motivation constructs that explain adolescents' cognition, affect, and behavioral patterns in achievement settings. These constructs have won researchers' recognition by demonstrating explanatory and predictive utility that transcends various social and cultural milieus learners are exposed to. Korean adolescents' motivation is generally in line with this universal trend and can be described adequately with these constructs. Nonetheless, there also exist a host of indigenous factors that shape these motivation constructs to be uniquely Korean. The purpose of the present article was to explore some of the socio-cultural factors that appear to wield particularly determining effects on Korean adolescents' academic motivation. Review of the relevant literature identified interdependent self-construal, traditional morals of filial piety, familism, educational fervor, academic elitism, and the college entrance system as important cultural, social, and policy-related such factors. Also discussed in this article were the roles of these factors in creating more immediate psychological learning environments for Korean adolescents, such as parent-child relationships, teacher-student relationships, and classroom goal structures.