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Introduction: This research project examines student perspectives on independent learning in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Independent learning describes learning undertaken by students outside of standard institutional learning environments. Prior research has suggested that motivations to undertake independent learning and the strategies involved may differ across cultural contexts, institutions, and individual learners. Methods: This research employs primary qualitative research consisting of interviews with 16 students in Business Studies (eight British and eight Chinese). The study takes a social constructionist approach to better establish the ways in which culture may serve as a mediator for motivation to learn independently and the strategies pursued to this end. Results: The study's findings note key differences in the motivations to complete independent learning across either cohort, as well as distinct conceptualizations of what strategies and practices facilitate effective independent learning. Discussion: This research highlights significant cultural differences in the motivations, strategies, and skills related to independent learning between students in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. It also notes the potential for socioeconomic factors, institutional structures, and assessment methods, alongside culture, to contribute to these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on mastery motivation has documented its importance in personality development and school achievement, yet there is little research that examines school subject-specific motivation, specifically cross-cultural research. The objective of this study was to investigate the school subject-specific nature of mastery motivation in the context of middle and secondary school grades 5, 7, and 9 in Hungary (N = 1121) and Moldova (N = 939) in Reading, Math, Science, English as a foreign language, Music, and Art. The findings indicated that subject-specific mastery motivation (SSMM) domains in Hungary and Moldova have different paths across grade levels. In Hungary, there was a constant decreasing trajectory across all grades in all domains with the exception of English, whereas in Moldova, the decrease was identified in Math, English, Music, and Art between the fifth and the seventh grades but not between the seventh and the ninth grades, while Reading mastery motivation levels remained stable. Upon conducting a cross-cultural comparison of SSMM levels across the countries and grades, we identified only one statistically significant difference in science mastery motivation. The study attempts to explain the absence of cross-cultural differences not only through a conventional lens focusing on the unique characteristics of individual educational systems but also by considering the cultural values associated with each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]