The purposes of this study were twofold: (a) based on the analysis of covariance structures, to test for the equivalence of a well-known measuring instrument across two culturally diverse groups and (b) provided with findings of nonequivalent items, to identify possible determinants of their noninvariance; post hoc investigations included tests for evidence of item bias using an ANOVA-based approach and examination of graphical displays of item response and distributional patterns. Example data comprised item responses to the four nonacademic subscales of the Self Description Questionnaire I (SDQ-I) for Australian ( N = 497) and Nigerian ( N = 439) adolescents. Despite similarly specified and well-fitting factor structures for both cultural groups, findings revealed evidence of both measurement and structural noninvariance. Results underscore previous caveats regarding interpretation of instrument equivalence; they add also to the growing body of skepticism that queries whether measuring instruments can ever be totally equivalent when used in cross-cultural comparisons.

In this article research on teaching and learning is reviewed from a cross-cultural perspective. A meta-analysis indicates that across a number of very different cultures higher quality learning strategies, at both school and university level, are associated with higher student self-esteem and an internal locus of control. Such strategies tend to be encouraged in classrooms where students feel involved, the teachers are supportive, the workload is fair, and the assessment system re ects broader notions of learning beyond examination marks. In-depth research on Chinese students questions the validity of a number of basic Western notions of educational psychology regarding the nature of motivation and the role of memorisation. Other research suggests that the Western teacher education emphasis on getting students on task and coping with behavioural problems may not be as relevant in the Chinese context. Chinese educators tend to see both creativity and understanding as slow processes requiring much effort, repetition, and attention rather than relatively rapid, insightful processes. Such views are grounded in hundreds of years of Chinese philosophical thought. Any attempts to reform education by importing ideas from one culture to another must consider the overall contexts of the societies involved.

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While the findings of this study cannot be considered definitive, it is suggested that the emphasis on attentive effort among HKC students is consistent with a traditional, Confucian perspective on learning. The results also indicate that 'the intention to both memorize and understand', found in previous investigations of the study approaches of HKC students, may arise out of being simultaneously aware of two possibilities inherent in repetition: creating a deep impression on the mind and discovering new meaning. Finally, it is argued that the differences between the two ethnic groups are consistent with earlier research findings that Chinese, unlike Western, students tend to consider effort attributions more salient than ability attributions.

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