Assessing Expectancy and Value Beliefs in Mathematics: Measurement Invariance and Latent Mean Differences Across Two Ethnic Cultures

Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation has attracted the interest of many researchers over the last four decades. However, little research has discussed the situative and culturally focused aspects of this theory. The present study aims to validate a Chinese version of the expectancy value scale (EVS) and compare mathematics achievement motivation between Dai and Han ethnic groups to illustrate the influence of cultural background on students’ developing expectancy and task value. Seven hundred ninety-seven Dai and Han secondary school students from Xishuangbanna, China, participated in this study. Confirmatory factor analyses and multi-group analyses were used to examine the validity of the EVS and measurement invariance across Dai and Han groups, respectively. Results indicated that the EVS possessed sufficient psychometric properties and measurement invariance across Dai and Han groups. Besides, there was no significant difference in mathematics expectancy between these two groups, while the task values of Dai students were significantly lower than those of Han students. Possible cultural explanations for the results and the implications for school practitioners are discussed.